Race Review

Mike Bliss and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates turned in a solid weekend in the sandhills of North Carolina with a respectable 13th place finish in the Goody's Headache Powder 200 at North Carolina Speedway. The track, affectionately named "The Rock", has always put a premium on tire management with its abrasive asphalt, and Saturday's race was certainly no different.

During Friday's qualifying session, Bliss was only 26th fastest as the car was a little too loose during his hot lap. The team was very confident in their race setup, and that confidence was further solidified during Happy Hour practice as Bliss was 5th fastest among the 43 drivers.

Under sunny conditions on Saturday, the green flag waved and Bliss immediately passed several cars in the opening laps to move up to 22nd. Bliss was racing hard with Hermie Sadler and Michael Waltrip when Waltrip passed Bliss at lap 10. On lap 12, Bliss picked up two positions when he passed David Stremme and Sadler to move up to 21st.

As the teams continued under green-flag conditions, each driver's lap times began to get slower as their tires wore out. Bliss was doing a great job conserving his tires, and at lap 15, his lap times were consistently as fast as or faster than the leaders. Bliss motored around David Reutimann and Tim Fedewa for the 19th position. Crew chief Steve Addington asked for an update on the car, and Bliss responded, "The car is a little tight going in the corners, but it's a little jumpy loose off of Turn 2."

At lap 25, the top 5 consisted of Johnny Sauter, David Green, Martin Truex, Jason Keller and Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Bliss was still mired in traffic but continued to make progress. He moved around Mike Wallace and Kyle Busch on lap 32 for 17th. On lap 34, Johnny Benson passed Bliss, dropping the Rockwell Automation Chevy back to 18th. Benson had won the pole on Friday, but NASCAR officials found an illegal front spring in his car, and Benson was forced to start at the rear of the field on Saturday.

Bliss followed Benson around Robby Gordon on lap 41 to move back up to 17th. Then on lap 54, the caution flag came out for the first time when the #16 car hit the wall. There were only 22 cars on the lead lap, and Bliss was 17th. Prior to making a pit stop, Bliss gave Addington another report on the handling conditions of the car. "When I run the bottom groove in the corners, the car gets a little free on me. But when I run up top, the car is more neutral, neither tight nor loose." Addington instructed the crew to make an air pressure adjustment in addition to a minor wedge adjustment. The crew turned in a fantastic stop, moving the team's standing up four positions to 13th.

NASCAR displayed the green flag at lap 60, but the drivers would only race for a few laps before several drivers reported debris on the track, and the caution came back out at lap 64. Greg Biffle was the new leader, and Bliss was still in 13th. After removing the debris from the track, the green was displayed again, but it would not stay that way for long. Biffle's motor expired on lap 79, and Bliss moved up to 12th. All of the lead lap cars pitted under this caution period, and once again the crew performed a terrific pit stop, catapulting Bliss from 12th up to 7th.

As the green flag was displayed once again at lap 86, the top 10 was Martin Truex, Michael Waltrip, Ron Hornaday, Jason Keller, David Green, Jamie McMurray, Mike Bliss, Kevin Harvick, Johnny Sauter and Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Harvick got by Bliss on lap 89, then Sauter and Hamilton, Jr. passed Bliss to drop the #20 car back to 10th. Bliss remained focused on saving his tires, and as Kyle Busch was providing pressure to the back of his car, Bliss let Busch go. Bliss was now in 11th at lap 91.

The strategy began to work as Bliss caught Sauter, Busch, Hamilton, Jr. and Harvick at lap 102. The five drivers put on a great show over the next several laps. Bliss got by Harvick and Busch, only to watch them pass Bliss back at lap 104. Bliss watched over Harvick like a hawk, but the handling on his car gradually began to go away. "The car is tight going in the corner, in the middle, and even a little bit off the corner," explained Bliss.

A few of the leaders began making green-flag stops at lap 145. Addington, knowing his driver was fighting the car, elected to bring him to pit road at lap 151. The team gave their driver 4 fresh tires and fuel, and Bliss left the pits in 17th, one lap down. As other lead lap cars began making their pit stops, Bliss moved up the leaderboard. There was only one more car left to pit (Harvick), and Bliss could see Harvick just ahead. Bliss was probably two laps away from passing Harvick when Aaron Fike lost control of his #43 car in Turn 3, bringing out a caution at lap 163 that the #20 did not want to see. The caution trapped them one lap down to the leader, Harvick.

There were only 12 cars on the lead lap, and Bliss was 14th. All of the teams made their final pit stops under the caution. Bliss was one lap down, just behind Robby Gordon. Others one lap down included Mike Wallace, Kenny Wallace, Ashton Lewis, Tim Fedewa and Casey Atwood. The green flag was displayed for the final time at lap 176.

Bliss was careful not to get in the way of the leaders as they raced for the win, but he made sure he kept Gordon in his sights. As the laps ticked away, Bliss moved in and got by Gordon on lap 193. Four laps later the race ended, as Bliss took the checkered flag in 13th. Jamie McMurray won the race, while Bliss's finish made him one of the biggest movers in the NASCAR Busch Series standings, gaining 11 spots to move up to the 19th position.

Quotes

"We certainly had a top 10 car, maybe even a top 5 car today. It was disappointing to get caught a lap down due to that caution, but those things happen. The crew did an outstanding job in the pits today, gaining positions for us each time we came down pit lane. I can't say enough about how fast they were. We gained some ground in the points standings, so we need to continue this momentum and get ready to go to Las Vegas." ? Driver Mike Bliss

"I am very proud of how everyone performed today. Mike did a terrific job on the track, keeping the car's nose clean and coming home with a good solid finish. These guys in the pits are phenomenal. They moved us up on the leaderboard each time. It's easier to pass cars on pit road than it is on the track, so they will be a huge asset to us this year as we fight for this championship. We had a great test at Las Vegas last month, so we are really looking forward to this next race." ? Crew chief Steve Addington