Bliss Wins Carquest Auto Parts 300

Never let a good thing go by not grabbing on for the ride! On Saturday night in the Carquest Auto Parts 300 Nationwide Series race on Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Mike Bliss used this idea to take advantage of superior fuel management and mileage to take the lead and then Mother Nature did the rest. As three short laps after Bliss took the lead the rain began to fall and NASCAR officials decided to pull the red flag out, making Bliss the official winner with thirty laps remaining in the scheduled 200.

Mike Bliss takes his second NASCAR victory

This is Mike Bliss’s second victory in the Nationwide series, his first win also happened at Charlotte on October 15, 2004. Bliss managed to keep his car in one piece along with Gaughan and stay out on the track longer than the other drivers and this turned out to be the deciding factor. His fuel management and track management skills allowed him to give team owner James Finch his second win of the month, Brad Keselowski drove to victory for him in the Sprint Cup race at Talladega in April, and will certainly give him and the team confidence heading into the main part of the Nationwide season.

This result is probably a surprise to the other drivers, and many may think he kind of stole the race, but good timing and car management are important and essential to winning in NASCAR. Bliss actually had a pretty good car during practice runs and he managed to work his way into the top ten, so fuel mileage was only a significant element in the win, not the only determining factor.

The fastest cars and hottest drivers lately, Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers, finished third and fourth respectfully, and Kyle Busch was even heard commenting that Bliss definitely stole one today. Mike Bliss after hearing the comments of Busch, mentioned that this was interesting coming from a driver who wins all the time, and who the other drivers tend to shy away from.

What will happen next in the Nationwide series? You can find out on Saturday at 2 PM on CBC or MRN radio as the NASCAR pulls into the Dover International Speedway to run the Heluva 200. Kyle Busch will certainly be there to defend his points lead and the field will be gunning for him as always, and I am sure Mike Bliss will be hoping for Lady Luck to smile on him again.

“Image: Newscom”