Mike Bliss Finishes 24th at Atlanta Motor Speedway
(Hampton, GA) March 7, 2010 -- Mike Bliss drove the No. 36 Wave Energy
Drink Chevrolet to a solid 24th place finish in today's Kobalt Tools 500
at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The finish marked the second top-25 effort
for the Tommy Baldwin Racing team so far in the early stages of the 2010
season.
Under picture perfect skies, the teams took the green flag with Bliss
starting in the 30th spot. The race was only three laps old when the
first of many cautions on the day flew for a single car incident. Bliss
reported that the car was loose and the race track was very slick.
The team's second pit stop of the day occurred on lap 80, following
the fourth caution. Crew Chief Kevin Buskirk called for a track bar
adjustment and air pressure change to tighten the car for the next run.
Bliss cracked the top-30 running order on lap 153 and just ahead of the
sixth caution of the day. Buskirk wisely kept Bliss out on the track
instead of pitting and the No. 36 Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet led lap
160 for five extra bonus points. Bliss then pitted and restarted the
event from the 26th spot, the last car on the lead lap.
By lap 200, Bliss was inside the top-25 for the first time all day,
but the car was getting a bit loose in the corners. On lap 206, Bliss
briefly went one lap down to then leader Kasey Kahne, but the team would
get their lap back later in the event. Bliss ran solidly between 29th
and 24th place for the next 100 laps, doing a masterful job of keeping
the car together in the high banked turns.
On lap 292, Bliss and the team had a scare when the race restarted.
Two cars got together just in front of the No. 36 Wave Energy Drink
Chevrolet and Bliss had to go low on the track to miss the two cars
bouncing off the outside wall under the flag stand. Team spotter Mike
Brown guided Bliss out of harms' way in an instant and the car was safe.
As the laps wound down, the team pitted for the final time, taking
on four tires and enough fuel to make it to the finish. But the race
actually had many more laps to go than advertised. With about five laps
to go in the race, a huge accident erupted on the front stretch as Carl
Edwards got together with rookie Brad Keselowski and sent him hard into
the outside wall--and upside down. Keselowski was taken to the infield
care center and NASCAR ordered Edwards to park his car for the rest of
the race.
Bliss restarted the race for the final time on lap 339 of what was
supposed to be 325 laps. The race ended three laps later with Kurt Busch
taking the checkered flag. He was followed to the line by Matt Kenseth,
Juan Pablo-Montoya, Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard rounded out the top-five
finishers on the day. The Wave Energy Drink team ended up 24th in the
final run down, heading into the first "off-weekend" of the year.
"That was a tough race," said Bliss, after climbing from his car. "We
really worked at it today to get the car handling right and we were able
to stay out of trouble. The guys worked really hard on pit road, up in
the spotter's stand and on the pit box. Thanks to Wave Energy Drink for
all their support. I hope our finish today gives us a nice boost in the
points," he added.
Bliss would turn out to be correct, as the team jumped three spots in
the owner points to 34th overall, with one race remaining before all
teams switch over to 2010 points. If the Tommy Baldwin race team can
remain inside the top-35, they will be locked into the upcoming events,
so long as they maintain their owner point position.
-source: tommy baldwin racing
