Mike Bliss pulled off a gutsy three-wide move around Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson to take the lead and claim his first career Busch Series victory in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300 Friday night at Charlotte. The victory was even sweeter as Bliss beat 12 full-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series drivers, in addition to the Busch Series regulars, as he powered his Rockwell Automation Chevrolet to the checkered flag and Victory Lane.

"I just drove my heart out," said a jubilant Bliss in Victory Lane. "I do it every weekend. We are here at Charlotte and we hadn't won a race. Nobody was getting by me. I didn't care about second, third, fourth or fifth. I didn't care. I just wanted to win this race."

Bliss took the green flag in seventh in his #20 Rockwell Automation Chevy for the start of the 300-mile race, but he failed to move forward after getting blocked by rookie Blake Feese. Bliss waited patiently for a hole to open up so he could move around Feese. Just as Bliss got underneath Feese to make the pass, Jason Keller got loose and spun in Turn 2, bringing out the race's first caution flag on Lap 4. Bliss took the caution in tenth.

The green flag was displayed on Lap 7, and Bliss went to work on the leaders. He finally passed Feese for ninth on Lap 14, and then he passed Jamie McMurray for eighth on Lap 17. Four laps later Bliss got around Dave Blaney for seventh. "Stay after it," instructed crew chief Steve Addington. "You're faster than anyone else out there."

Bliss continued his forward march. He motored around the #21 of Kevin Harvick on Lap 22 for sixth, and then broke into the top five when he passed Martin Truex, Jr. for fifth. Joe Nemechek spun and hit the wall on Lap 36, bringing out the race's second caution flag. Nemechek was leading, thus his misfortune propelled Bliss up to fourth.

"We're just a little loose off of Turn 2 and Turn 4," explained Bliss. Addington brought Bliss to pit lane for service from his Rockwell Automation crew. The team changed all four tires, added wedge and added fuel to the #20 machine. Bliss left the pits in fifth.

The green flag waved on Lap 42, and Bliss wasted little time in passing Matt Kenseth for fourth. Rookie Boston Reid spun on the frontstretch to bring out another caution on Lap 46. The leaders elected not to pit, and the green flag was back again on Lap 51.

Jimmie Johnson was showing some strength in the early going, and he passed Bliss on Lap 58, pushing Bliss back to fifth. Kasey Kahne hit the Turn 2 wall on Lap 59, and NASCAR displayed the caution flag once again on Lap 59. " We are a little tight now," said Bliss. "We might need to go back on that wedge adjustment."

The leaders all stayed on the racetrack, and the green flag was back on Lap 65 with Bliss in fifth. On Lap 75, Bliss got underneath Robby Gordon and completed the pass for fourth. Boston Reid encountered more problems as he hit the wall on Lap 76 to bring out another caution flag. This time, all of the leaders came to pit road for service. Bliss stopped in his pit stall and his Rockwell Automation crew changed all four tires, filled the car with fuel, and made another wedge adjustment. The crew turned in a fantastic 14.0-second stop and Bliss left pit lane in third.

Green-flag racing resumed on Lap 80, and three laps later Bliss passed Robby Gordon for second. But as the laps ticked away, Bliss started to fight the handling on his car. "We're getting loose again," explained Bliss. "I feel like we're really wearing out the right rear tire."

"Hang on to it the best you can," said Addington. "We've still got a long way to go." Bliss was unable to maintain his position, and he fell back to sixth by Lap 116. NASCAR spotted debris on the track and displayed the caution flag for the sixth time on Lap 122 with Bliss still in sixth. Bliss came back to the pits for more service from his Rockwell Automation crew, this time for four more tires and fuel, and the team made another wedge adjustment to remedy his loose condition. Another fantastic stop by the Joe Gibbs Racing team put Bliss back on the track in third.

The green flag was out on Lap 127, and Bliss immediately knew that they did not make enough adjustments to the car. Kenseth got by on Lap 133 to push Bliss back to fourth. Ashton Lewis got hit by another car and spun, forcing another caution flag on Lap 134. Many of the leaders stayed out, but Bliss and Addington agreed that more adjustments were necessary if they were going to win. Bliss pitted for fuel and another wedge adjustment. Bliss left pit road in 12th.

On Lap 139, the green flag was out and Mike Bliss in his #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet was on a mission. He passed Ron Hornaday and Michael Waltrip on Lap 140 to move back into the top 10. Then he moved around David Green for ninth on Lap 142. Engine trouble for David Stremme spoiled the Rockwell Automation car's progress momentarily while NASCAR cleaned the track. Just as soon as the track was ready and the green flag was displayed, Aaron Fike hit the wall on Lap 154. Cleanup from Fike's accident concluded and NASCAR waved the green on Lap 162. Bliss passed Clint Bowyer and Kenny Wallace on Lap 163 to move up to seventh when the race's tenth caution flag was brought out after Tim Fedewa spun and collected Mike Wallace and Casey Atwood.

As soon as the track officials cleaned the racing surface from the accident and racing resumed, Bliss immediately passed Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick to move up to fourth when Robby Gordon spun to bring out the race' s 11th caution flag at Lap 176. "Guys, I don't care about anything right now but getting to the front," said Bliss.

"That's what we want to hear," said Addington. "Go on with your bad self and go get them."

Matt Kenseth was the leader, while Jimmie Johnson was second and Mike McLaughlin was third. "We can't waste much time getting around the 25 (McLaughlin)," explained Addington. "If we do, the 17 (Kenseth) and the 48 (Johnson) will get away from us."

The green flag was displayed on Lap 181, and Bliss passed McLaughlin going into Turn 1 for third. Johnson made a move to the high side of Kenseth, and the two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series regulars battled side-by-side for the lead into Turn 3. As they exited Turn 4, they had company. Bliss got a huge run and went to the bottom of the track off of Turn 4 and got underneath both Kenseth and Johnson. The drivers went three-wide across the start/finish line, and Bliss beat both of them to Turn 1 and took the lead for good.

Only a brief caution on Lap 187 would slow Bliss down. An event record tying 12th caution occurred when Blaney and Busch got together and Blaney slid into the wall. The final 11 laps were all finished under green, and Bliss led them to the checkered flag.

"I can't explain how great this feels," said Bliss. "We have had such great support from everyone at Rockwell Automation, Allen-Bradley, Rockwell Software, Dodge, Reliance Electric, Triad Packaging, DVT, Spectrum Controls, Hytrol and Cintas, I just can't say enough about them. I've got the best sponsor any driver could ask for, and this victory is for them."