Kevin Monroe

Kevin Monroe (born January 17, 1979 in Hometown, Illinois to Alan and is an American race car driver and team owner who competes in the ARLA Elite Series. He currently drives the #63 car full-time for M&J Racing, the team he co-owns with cousin Christian Johaanes.

Early Career
From the start of his career, Monroe was being groomed for an ARLA ride by M&J Racing, owned by his father and his uncle Chuck Johaanes at the time. Monroe began racing stock cars in the late model class at the Rockford Speedway in 1996, and won the track championship the following year. He established himself as one of the more consistent drivers in the field, a trait of his that continues to show to this day.

ARLA
In 2001, Monroe was placed in the #63 Saar vacated by his retiring father. He won in his debut at Daytona, which set off the streak of first-time winners in the season opener that was broken in 2012 by Joseph Howard. Despite what many people have anticipated based on his flashy debut, Monroe has not pursued victories in most races, admitting in a 2006 interview, "I won't try to win the race unless I know 100 percent that I can". Instead, Monroe has been keeping himself in contention for championships by scoring many more top-10 results than most of his peers.

Monroe and Christian Johaanes took ownership of M&J Racing at the beginning of 2008, which was the year Johaanes took his second championship. They established a Thunder Trucks team in 2009, along with a corresponding driver development program. The Truck team was very successful, with Monroe's protege Taylor Brillon winning the season opener, and Johaanes's (then) protege Benji Flynn taking the championship. In 2010, the M&J stable ballooned to 5 cars after the team had only fielded two entries for most of its existence.

Off-Track
Monroe is said to be very laid-back (if not somewhat apathetic) at the track, preferring to leave his team owner role at the office. Monroe has formed a business relationship with teammate (and fellow team owner) Brenda Riggs, who has reportedly helped to pick up the slack in the M&J offices with Christian Johaanes busy competing in the TM Master Cup Series.