Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images


Bliss Stretches Fuel, Wins Rain-Shortened Race
By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

CONCORD, N.C. (May 23, 2009) - Superior fuel mileage got Mike Bliss out front late in Saturday night's Carquest Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Rain did the rest. Three laps after Bliss took the lead from runner-up Brendan Gaughan on Lap 167, NASCAR red-flagged the race because of rain and made Bliss' win official by calling the event 30 laps short of its scheduled distance of 200 laps.

Bliss' only other win in the series also came at Charlotte, on Oct. 15, 2004. The second-place finish was a career-best for Gaughan.

Where Kyle Busch charged to the front after changing an engine, Bliss used fuel mileage to compensate for his engine change. He and Gaughan were the only two drivers who remained on the track during a cycle of green-flag pit stops that started on Lap 144.

"We stayed out as long as we could, and it paid off," said Bliss, who gave team owner James Finch his second unlikely victory in a month. Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Talladega in April driving a car owned by Finch and powered by a Hendrick Motorsports engine. "I knew we had a pretty good car in practice and kind of worked our way into the top 10. We stretched our fuel mileage quite a bit, and that's why I'm here, I guess."

Asked whether he felt as if he had stolen the race, Bliss chuckled, "Yeah, I did -- but from a guy who wins too much (Busch) -- and nobody likes him."

Gaughan felt he had an eighth-to-12th-place car but wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"The only thing that could have been better for us was for (the rain) to come about three laps earlier, after we passed Mike Bliss," said Gaughan, who got past Bliss in traffic on Lap 165 but surrendered the lead two laps later.

The two best cars in the race, the Toyotas of Busch and Brian Vickers, finished third and fourth. Busch led a race-high 98 laps after streaking from the rear of the field to the front in the first 41 laps. Joey Logano was fifth, followed by Jason Leffler, David Ragan and Keselowski.

Jeff Burton and polesitter Carl Edwards completed the top 10.

Busch made short work of the rest of the field as he motored up to eighth in the running order before Michael Annett's spin in Turn 2 brought out the yellow flag on Lap 23.

Eleven laps after a restart on Lap 30, Busch passed Edwards for the lead and held it until he came to the pits under green of Lap 86. Busch regained the top spot after the cycle of stops and remained out front until Vickers overtook him on Lap 140.

Vickers came to the pits under green on Lap146, returning the lead to Busch, who stopped for tires and fuel three laps later. When caution flew for the fourth time for Kevin Hamlin's spin in Turn 2 on Lap 153, Bliss was the only driver who hadn't stopped for service, and as such, his No. 1 Chevrolet was the only car on the lead lap.

Busch was third, at the tail end of the lead lap, for a restart on Lap 161, with Bliss in the lead but restarting 12th in the order behind 11 tail-end cars. That left Bliss and Gaughan to battle for the lead, with Bliss regaining the top position two laps before rain caused the fifth caution of the evening on Lap 169.

Busch expanded his lead over Edwards in the Nationwide Series standings from 37 to 73 points.

"You could say it was a good points day, but we want wins," Busch said.

Unofficial Race Results click here

Driver Point Standings click here

Fast Facts

The Race: CARQUEST 300
The Place: Lowe’s Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, May 23
The Time: 8:30 p.m. AT
The Distance: 300 miles / 200 laps
TV: ESPN2 & TSN2, 8 p.m. ET
Radio: Sirius XM Radio / PRN
2008 Winner: Kyle Busch
2008 Pole: Brian Vickers
Event Schedule: (local track time) Thursday—Practice, 1-2:30 p.m.; Final Practice, 6-7:00 p.m. Saturday—Qualifying, 3:45 p.m.
Year-To-Date Results & Standings: click here

Broadcast Times - AT*

Qualifying: Friday May 22 at 4:30 p.m./SPEED

Countdown: Saturday May 23 at 8 p.m./ESPN2 & TSN2

Race: Saturday May 23 at 8:46 p.m./ESPN2 & TSN2

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET...

Qualifying Notes & Starting Lineup

Complete Starting Lineup click here Track Map



Event Preview

• Keselowski’s Stand A Springboard For Success...Last year at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch (No. 18 NOS Toyota) won the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300, but Brad Keselowski (No. 88 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet) won respect. The memorable stand he made during — and especially following — the race also seemed to serve as an ignition switch, blasting the 25-year-old into a new competitive stratosphere. Late in the event, Denny Hamlin, one of 14 double-duty drivers competing, felt NASCAR Nationwide Series-only regular Keselowski hadn’t give him enough racing room and gave a bump to the No. 88 to show his displeasure. Keselowski and his JR Motorsports team took exception, especially owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 5 Klondike Chevrolet), who gave Hamlin a retaliatory bump of his own. The on-track incidents led to fisticuffs between the teams’ crews on pit road after the race. One of the memorable quotes from the 2008 season followed at the tense post-race press conference with Hamlin, who finished second, and Keselowski, who was third, at the podium. "I race one day a week, not two," Keselowski said. "I have 200 laps to prove myself, not 400. I have to make the most of every lap." Since that confrontation, he’s certainly taken advantage of his races and laps, and has indeed proven himself. Dating back to this race last year, Keselowski has secured two wins (including his first career victory), his first career pole, 13 top fives and 21 top 10s in NASCAR Nationwide competition. He also won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race with his stunning frontstretch dash to the finish last month at Talladega Superspeedway in only his fifth start in the premier series. He’s the leader of a resurgent group of series-only regulars, six of whom are currently ranked in the top 10. “The spring race at Lowe’s last year was a race that stands out in my mind for a few different reasons,” Keselowski said. “For one, it proved to a lot of people that my team and I were not going to back down to anyone — Cup driver, Nationwide driver or otherwise — and I think that was evident during the race. “I knew my team and team owner, who was also my teammate that night, were behind me. It was kind of the same situation as this year at Talladega, with me holding my ground against Carl (Edwards) to win the race. In both situations, I feel that I made the right decision."
• Sentiment Aside, Standings Leader Busch Tries For Three Consecutive Wins At LMS...Kyle Busch may not be known as a sentimental type, but he may just have a soft spot tucked away when it comes to NASCAR Nationwide Series competition at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He made his series debut at this race in 2003, starting fifth and finishing second for team owner Joe Nemechek (No. 87 NEMCO Chevrolet), the 1992 series champion. Nemechek won this race in 1997. Busch’s results since then are well documented: 24 NASCAR Nationwide wins (tied for fifth all-time), the most among his 50 national series victories. His four wins at LMS — three in this race tying Mark Martin’s event record — are the most he’s accumulated at any one track in NASCAR Nationwide competition. He swept the 2008 races there and will try to become the third driver to win three straight, joining Rob Moroso (1988-89) and Martin (1995-96). He’s also got Martin’s all-time record for wins (six) at LMS in his sights. His excellence at this track comes at an opportune time. Busch has seen his lead in the series standings dwindle to 37 points over Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scotts Ford), the lowest his advantage has been over the second-place driver since he led Edwards by 20 points following Busch’s victory at Auto Club Speedway in February. Edwards won this race in 2006, but has an average finish of 21.7 in his other three May events. Aside from his trio of victories, Busch has an average finish of 13.6 in his other three May races at LMS.
• JD Motorsports Brings Sentimental Favorite Back To NASCAR...It started as a minor associate sponsorship deal between seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Earnhardt and his famed No. 3 Chevrolet and a soda beverage bottler out of the Charlotte, N.C. area. A decade later, Sun Drop Citrus Soda — Earnhardt was known to buy 10 cases at a time — makes its return to NASCAR this weekend at Charlotte-based Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The sponsor will adorn the hood of the No. 01 Chevrolet of JD Motorsports and driver Danny O’Quinn Jr., the 2006 NASCAR Nationwide Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Sun Drop is scheduled as the primary sponsor on the No. 01 for a limited number of races this season. The marketing package between JDM and Choice USA Beverage Inc. will also include a show car, apparel, die casts and stand-up displays — big ones — of O’Quinn, who is well over 6-feet tall. “This is a great opportunity for Sun Drop to get back in racing,” said Choice USA President Jay Falls. “We loved racing and teaming up with Dale Sr., but JD Motorsports and Danny will represent our brand well. We couldn’t be more excited about it.”
• Make Room For Burton In “300 Club”...When he starts the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300, Jeff Burton (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet) — the self-proclaimed “Nationwide driver who happens to be driving on Sundays” — will become the 13th driver in series history to start 300 races. Burton made his series debut on March 13, 1988, at Martinsville Speedway for his father, John. His race lasted only two laps due to a blown engine. He finished last. Twenty years later, Burton has more than made up for that inauspicious start. He’s collected 27 wins (fourth all-time), 11 poles, 88 top fives and 147 top 10s in Nationwide Series competition and has blossomed into one of the top drivers — and garage spokesmen — in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He’s got three series wins at LMS.
• Hockey-Crazy MacDonald Supports 'Canes'...The NASCAR Nationwide Series season may be at the quarter pole, but hockey season is in full playoff mode. And Randy MacDonald, owner of the No. 81 D.H. Griffin - Go 'Canes Dodge driven this week by Kevin Hamlin, couldn’t be happier keeping up with both. MacDonald was a standout youth hockey player in Canada, and was inducted into the Clarington Sports Hall of Fame two years ago for his hockey accomplishments at the Junior level. He’s a huge Carolina Hurricanes fan and will have the team’s logo on the No. 81 as he supports their run for the Eastern Conference championship against the Pittsburgh Penguins. “I’ve been going to the Hurricanes games since they arrived in Greensboro in 1997,” MacDonald said. When (they won) last Thursday’s dramatic 3-2 game, we had to incorporate the ’Canes into the race at LMS.” "The Hurricanes are delighted that MacDonald Motorsports (is) supporting their current run to the Stanley Cup,” said Ben Aycock, Director of Marketing and Brand Development for the team.
• Allgaier, Lagasse Jr. Lead Rookies...Justin Allgaier (No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge) has what this season is a commanding lead in the rookie rankings; he’s seven points ahead of second-place Brendan Gaughan (No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet), who has cooled off following a hot start. His average finish over the last three races is 27.6. Scott Lagasse Jr. and Michael McDowell (No. 47 Tom’s Toyota) are both eight points back. This week, it’s Lagasse who’s best among the strong rookie class in its season-long joust among the top 10 in the point standings. He’s eighth, while Allgaier is six points out in ninth.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.