Mike Bliss
No. 4 Open Joist Dodge Race Recap
The Casino Arizona 150
Phoenix International Raceway

To an outsider you would have guessed Crew Chief Marcus Richmond was in Las Vegas Friday night by the way he gambled on pit road during the running of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Casino Arizona 150.   Realizing that track position is key to success in Phoenix, Richmond put his driver Mike Bliss and the No. 4 Open Joist Dodge in the right spot.  Bliss inherited the lead on lap 39 after the entire lead pack hit pit road for service and he stayed out.  Then, trying to make it on only one stop, Bliss pitted under the next caution but quickly worked his way back through the field.

The gutsy call to get off schedule with other teams on pit road proved to be a gamble worth taking. The track position allowed Bliss to take the lead again on lap 75 when the field pitted again and he used his savvy driving skills to run off with it, even leading the most laps.  He almost scored his first win for Bobby Hamilton Racing before he got pushed out of the way by competitor Ron Hornaday.  Bliss went on to finish the event in the third spot, another stellar performance for the Open Joist Dodge.

After qualifying 10th for the race on Friday afternoon Bliss knew he had a strong piece for the 150 lap event later that night. When the green flag dropped Bliss maintained his 10th starting position, but struggled with a tight truck. “It just is not turning enough,” he told Richmond on lap 19.

The fourth of 13 cautions waved on lap 37 for a spin in turn one. Everyone in the lead pack elected to come down pit road except Bliss. “Are you sure about this Marcus,” said Bliss while running ninth. “I am 100 percent sure,” responded a confident Richmond.

The decision moved Bliss into the lead just before the restart on lap 39. Bliss was able to get a great restart and jumped ahead of fellow competitor Regan Smith. The next caution waved on lap 43 for an accident in turn three which resulted in the race being red flagged for five minutes. Richmond once again elected to not bring Bliss down pit road for service. “We can go to lap 90 on fuel,” said Richmond. “I’m not pitting until we get close to that.”

Once again Bliss pulled off a stellar restart and maintained the lead, but another caution waved just a few laps later. Richmond made the call to bring Bliss down pit road for service. “This may be our last chance,” said Richmond. “We still have time to get the track position back.” The Open Joist Racing Team jumped into action changing all four tires and adding fuel.

“You can go all the way on fuel now,” said Richmond right before the restart. “Everyone else will have to pit again so just use your head getting through traffic.” Bliss restarted in the 28th spot on lap 60.

Bliss began to work his way through the field. He was running in the 17th position when the eighth caution of the night came out for an accident in turn three. Once again the lead pack came down pit road for fuel and Bliss stayed out. “They did exactly what I wanted them to do,” said Richmond. Bliss took over the lead on lap 83.

Over the next 20 laps Bliss led the field through every turn around PIR. A charging Kyle Busch on fresh tires passed Bliss on lap 112 just following a restart. For the next several laps Busch and Bliss raced side by side for the top position. Busch eventually took the lead and Bliss fell into second place.

An accident on the frontstretch forced red flag conditions with just 12 laps remaining in the event. “I have all the confidence in the world in you,” encouraged the spotter under the break. “You can get him back.” Bliss remained silent on the radio.

The race restarted 16 minutes after the red flag first waved on lap 140. Bliss jumped to the inside of Busch entering turn one and drove all the way up to his door before Busch pulled away down the backstretch. Bliss tried again on the next lap to pass Busch, but had his hands full trying to hold off Ron Hornaday Jr. for second place. On the next lap Hornaday pulled to the inside of Bliss and knocked him to the right into the wall to complete the pass. Bliss recovered quickly and was able to maintain the third position.

After leading the most laps of the Casino Arizona 150 Bliss finished in the third position. It was his fourth top-five and his eighth top-10 finish in the Open Joist Dodge this season.

Kyle Busch won The Casino Arizona 150 before an estimated crowd of 30,000. Ron Hornaday Jr., Bliss, Jason Leffler and Kevin Harvick followed in the top five. The final event for the NCTS will be at Miami-Homestead Speedway on Friday night.