NASHVILLE, TN - This weekend the NASCAR Busch Series returned to Nashville to battle for the coveted Gibson guitar trophy for the second time in the 2004 season. Teams had a shortened week of preparation due to the rain-postponed race in Dover on Monday. The #20 Spectrum Controls / Rockwell Automation crew continued to search for answers to the frustrations that have been plaguing them throughout the season. After waiting out a lengthy rain delay, the crew may have found some of those answers as they brought home their best finish of the season, a very impressive 4th place.

Heavy rain and tornado warnings hampered pre-race activities for the entire afternoon on Saturday. After hours of rain, a small window of opportunity opened in the skies. NASCAR chose to start the race early with hopes of getting to at least the half-way point in the race to avoid having to postpone another race. When the green flag dropped on the Federated Auto Parts 300, Bliss immediately went to work to improve his 11th place starting position. The strategy was to move as quickly to the front as possible with more bad weather threatening. Bliss's lap times were as quick as the leaders just 20 laps into the race until the car began to tighten up a bit.

By lap 40, Bliss was in the 10th position and still picking up positions as he passed the #21 car for 9th and the #60 car for 8th . As Bliss complained a little about losing the handle on the car, Crew Chief Steve Addington instructed, "you're sliding around there better than most of the cars in front of you. Just let the car roll through the corners and keep your momentum going". Caution halted racing action on lap 59 and Bliss brought his red-and-white machine to pit road for service as the crew changed 4 tires, added fuel and took out a left rear spring rubber.

After the restart on lap 65, Bliss found that the changes did not agree well with the car as he fell back to 12th over the next 20 laps. Caution once again stopped action on lap 84 as the #50 made contact with the turn 4 wall. As extra caution laps were used to clean up the debris, threatening weather once again hovered over the speedway. Just before the race would be red-flagged for rain, the #20 team implemented a bit of strategy by making a pit stop. Even though the stop dropped Bliss back to 20th , the payoff would come when the rest of the field would have to pit after the race resumed.

Following a 2 ½-hour rain delay, the strategy for the #20 team began to pay off. As the race restarted, several leaders came onto pit road for adjustments before the restart, moving Bliss to the 3rd position. He immediately took over 2nd and started to create much needed space between him and the rest of the field. Bliss would remain in the top three until the final pit stop on lap 156. During the stop, Team Rock turn around a great sub 13 pit stop that would return Bliss to the track first off pit road. Bliss would lead the next 16 laps before surrendering the lead to the #5 car of Kyle Busch.

With the 12:30 AM night air getting cooler, the handling of the Spectrum Controls / Rockwell Automation Chevy began to lean towards the loose side. Battling a tight race car for most of the race, Bliss drove the last few laps of the race trying to remain up front. With 10 laps to go until the checkers, Bliss battled the #2 of Ron Hornaday for the fifth position. Running side by side for two laps, the Rockwell Automation #20 finally passed Hornaday on the back stretch going into turn three to take over the 5th position. At the end of the race, Bliss and the Rockwell Automation team would take the checkered flag in the fourth position, their best of the season.

"This was a good race for us," commented Bliss following the race. "We fought the handle on the machine early, but Steve made a great call for pitting when we did & the changes he called for really helped the car. Every time the rains would come, it would clean the track and change the handling of the car. The guys gave me a great stop on the final pit stop and track position is key here. We were pretty good by the end of the race and it showed."