Dodge Charger 500 - Mike Bliss Notes

Mike Bliss, driver of the NetZero Best Buy Chevrolet, will make his 45th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start when the green flag drops for the Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway Saturday night.

BLISS ON DARLINGTON... "After last week it will be nice to get back to a track where you can control a little bit more of your own destiny. I'd rather worry about getting the handling of the car just right then worry about when you'll look up, see smoke and then figure out how you're going to load a wrecked race car back into the hauler and explain to your sponsors why you just took a hit in the points. That's no fun. On the other hand, Darlington is a tough track, but if you've got your act together there isn't a place we race at that can be more fun. This is the first track the NetZero Best Buy Racing team has been to this year where we weren't going there together for the first time, and I think we're all looking forward to that. It'll be a different animal this time, what with it being a Saturday night race under the lights, but still, there's a comfort level that maybe hasn't been there before. We're not walking into the unknown this weekend in that respect, and we ran the car we're taking earlier this season in Atlanta, so we know what we can expect from it and how it responds to the changes Bootie will make. Obviously one of the biggest issues will be to get in a good qualifying run and then make any adjustments to the NetZero Best Buy Chevrolet during the race keeping in mind how the track will change as the sun goes down and the track cools down, but that's our job and we've dealt with those kinds of things before, and that will just add to your sense of accomplishment if you can walk out of there with a good finish."

DARLINGTON NOTES OF INTEREST