Mike Bliss - Koolerz 300 Notes

MIKE BLISS
NO. 20 ROCKWELL AUTOMATION PONTIAC
DAYTONA QUOTES AND NOTES

Event: Koolerz 300 Date: February 15, 2002
Track: Daytona International Speedway TV: FOX 1:00 PM ET
Laps/Miles: 120/300 Radio: MRN 12:30 PM ET

QUOTES
Driver Mike Bliss on driving at Daytona International Speedway…
“I am really looking forward to Daytona. The entire team at JGR and I have been working extremely hard getting ready for the season. We were testing new cars just two days after the Truck Banquet and have not stopped since. I think we are prepared for a great season.

I enjoyed restrictor plate racing. There is not a whole lot to qualifying. You just put the gas peddle on the floor and drive around. The race will be a little more dicey. It is fun playing the chess game with the other drivers. Pit stops are going to be crucial, but also find a fast drafting partner be another key.”

Crew chief Tim Shutt on DIS…
“Daytona is not my favorite race track. With all the strict rules, it really takes the set-up control out of the hands of the crew chief. We spend a lot of time getting our car aerodynamically sound. The real test will be the ability to get our car to suck up and handle well in the draft. Our engine department have put in the overtime to give us some extra horsepower.”

NOTES

Setting a Standard… After competing in two races this weekend, Mike Bliss will become the first driver who will have competed in a Winston Cup Race, Busch Series Race, Truck Series Race and IROC race at Daytona International Speedway. He won’t be alone though. If Jack Sprague qualifies for the Daytona 500, he will join Mike in this unique distinction.

Don’t get confused… During the off season, both the Joe Gibbs Racing Busch and Winston Cup Operations transformed their fleet of cars from Pontiac Grand Prixs to Chevrolet Monte Carlos. However, since NASCAR has not approved a 2003 superspeedway car for the Busch Series, Mike Bliss and teammate, Coy Gibbs, will race Pontiacs during all three restrictor plate races this year.

Double Duty… Mike Bliss will be doing a pulling a unique double duty this weekend. In addition to the Busch Race on Saturday, he will also be racing in the IROC race as the representative from the NASCAR Truck Series. The other IROC races are at Talladega, Chicago and Indianapolis.

Continuing the tradition… Mike Bliss hopes to keep up with the standards the last couple of NASCAR Truck Series Champions have set. Greg Biffle, Jack Sprague and Ron Hornaday followed up their Truck Series Championships with immediate success in the Busch Series. All three posted at least one win and a top-five final points position during their first season in the Busch Series.

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