Aaron's 312 - Mike Bliss Notes

Mike Bliss
No. 20 Rockwell Automation PONTIAC
TALLADEGA Quotes and Notes

Event: Aaron’s 312 Date: April 5, 2003
Track: Talladega Superspeedway TV: FOX 2:00 PM ET
Laps/Miles: 118 / 312 Radio: MRN 1:30 PM ET

QUOTES

Driver Mike Bliss on driving at Talladega Superspeedway…
“I am really looking forward to Talladega. We are bringing the same racecar as we had in Daytona that ran in the top-ten all day. Talladega is a lot different than Daytona. At Daytona, your car really needs to handle and going three wide is a no-no. At Talladega, your car can run anywhere and you have enough room to run three wide around the whole track - not that you want to though.

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 finding a fast drafting partner will be another key.”

Crew chief Tim Shutt on Talladega…
“Talladega 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 has put in the overtime to hopefully give us some extra horsepower.”

NOTES

History at Talladega… Mike Bliss has only run two races at Talladega Superspeedway and both of those were in Winston Cup cars. His best finish was in the fall race of 2000 where he started 43rd and finished 9th.

The Big One…a week early… Last week at Texas Motor Speedway, Bliss was running 13th when he received contact in the rear from the #48 car of Shane Hmeil. Bliss’s car was turned across the track and when the smoke cleared was part of a 15-car altercation. Bliss was able to return to the track for 4 laps and finished 22nd.

Don’t get confused… During the off season, both the Joe Gibbs Racing Busch and Winston Cup Operations transformed their entire 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 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. During the first IROC race at Daytona, Bliss ran as high as third before getting left out of the draft and finishing ninth.

Chassis Info…This week the #20 Rockwell Automation team will bring Chassis 2035. This is the second car built for the 2003 season and has only raced once this year (Daytona). This car qualified 10th and ran in the front most of the race until it broke a rear end fitting and was taken to the garage for repairs.

©Copyright 2003 Race 2 Win