Subway Fresh 500 - Mike Bliss Notes

Mike Bliss will make his 43rd NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start when the green flag drops for the Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway this Saturday evening.

BLISS ON PHOENIX... "I think we're looking for a drama-free weekend in Phoenix. No problems during the race, nothing out of the ordinary happening during qualifying. It's been a rough three weeks, but I'm proud of this team because no matter what has happened, they haven't let themselves, or me, get down. Last week we hit the wall in qualifying and they worked really hard to repair the car and get it race ready. We didn't have the greatest run, but we stayed out of trouble and earned a respectable finish, which is half the battle these days. Phoenix is a great place to race and it couldn't come at a better time for us. I've run in a couple different series' at PIR and had some success, so I always look forward to time spent at this track.

"It will be an interesting race this year being that it starts so late in the afternoon. I don't know if we'll be running under the lights necessarily, but certainly the track will change throughout the race and that just means there's something extra to consider when you're making changes to the car. Hopefully we'll be able to roll off the truck pretty good and get in a good qualifying run. During the race, everyone will battle the same things with the track and the sun and things like that, so you can't worry too much about it."

PHOENIX NOTES OF INTEREST -