Superior fuel mileage got Mike Bliss out front late in Saturday night’s Carquest Auto Parts 300 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. NASCAR.com
“We stayed out as long as we could and it paid off,” Bliss said. “We had great fuel mileage.”
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Bliss scored his second career Nationwide victory. His first win came in the 2004 fall event at Lowe’s when he drove for Joe Gibbs Racing at the time.
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.”
“It hasn’t sunk in, but I’m getting there,” he said.
Bliss gave Phoenix Racing its second NASCAR victory this season. Last month, Brad Keselowski won the Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega in a thrilling finish. Keselowski captured his first win in just his fifth Cup start and gave team owner James Finch his first victory in NASCAR’s top-tier circuit.
“James, I wish you were here,” Bliss said. “They’re in (Las) Vegas having fun right now.”
Gaughan finished a Nationwide career-best second in his first year at Rusty Wallace Racing. MiamiHerald.com
Kyle Busch finished third, followed by Brian Vickers and Joey Logano.
It was the second consecutive disheartening finish for Busch. He had to start at the back because of an engine change, but wasted little time moving through the field. He darted by slower cars, working his way into 10th after just 17 laps — 11 of them under green-flag conditions.
He passed pole-sitter Carl Edwards on lap 40, then started pulling away. Busch ended up passing more than half the field twice, some even more.
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But Busch got caught back in the field when the caution flag came out while drivers were cycling through green-flag stops. Rain didn’t give him a chance to get back to the front, either.
“I’m sure people will say it’s a good points day, but I’m not worried about points,” Busch said. “I want wins. Just very, very frustrating to have the fastest car week in and week out and not have anything to show for it.”
Busch swept both Nationwide races at Lowe’s last season and was looking to make it three in row. It didn’t happen. The Associated Press
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