FanHouse MikeBliss

CONCORD, N.C. - Mike Bliss has again found some tremendous success at the only track in NASCAR's Nationwide Series he's ever won at.

Five years after scoring his first career Nationwide win at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Bliss used a bit of pit road luck, a timely caution and an even more timely rain shower to win the delayed and shortened Carquest 300 that say yours truly and thousands of others walk out thoroughly soaked.

The win, and the right-time-and-right-place racing luck, also gave his Phoenix Racing team their second surprise win in a month in NASCAR competition.

Jason Leffler drove Toyota to victory lane for the first time in the NASCAR Busch Series after a nail-biting finish at O'Reilly Raceway Park. Fellow Toyota drivers David Reutimann and Mike Bliss gave the manufacturer a top 10 trifecta with their 3rd and 9th place finishes.

I've never been a huge fan of Leffler or the #38 team, but I was ecstatic about their win today, which makes for five top 5s and eight top 10s on the season. That team has struggled for the past several years--they lost Kasey Kahne to Evernham Motorsports, Shane Hmiel to drugs and several cars to the wall, many of them put there by Anthony Foyt IV. Speaking of Hmiel, he holds the record at ORP for most laps led by a non-winner (153).

What made Leffler's win even more exciting is that he is only the second non-Cup driver to win a Busch race this season (not counting Aric Almirola). But any race fan who skips Busch races thinking they aren't worth watching because of the Buschwhacking missed out on some fantastic racing today.

Leader of the Outside the Top 35 Pack
For the second week in a row, Red Bull driver Brian Vickers claimed the top starting spot among those teams outside the Top 35. Vickers' team currently sits in 39th position in owner points. While he sits only less than 200 points back from the 35th spot, he has not yet been able to close the gap because those drivers in between keep making races, too.

Following the Leader
Fellow Toyota driver Dave Blaney scores the second sweet spot for the second consecutive week. He'll start in 17th.

The Wood Brothers/JTG Racing #21 Motorcraft Genuine Auto Parts Ford will start 21st. Bill Elliott qualified on time for the third time in four entries and still has five championship provisionals left. Having Elliott in the car hasn't produced the results they were looking for yet. The team has gone from 39th to 40th since Elliott stepped in at Lowe's.

Scott Riggs, who has only had one DNQ despite having to race in every weekend, will start 22nd.

Paul Menard, David Reutimann and A.J. Allmendinger will bring up the rear starting in 38th, 40th and 43rd respectively.

Losers of the Week (DNQs)
Mike Bliss (11), Ward Burton (8), Dale Jarrett (4), Kevin Lepage (12), Jeremy Mayfield (10), Kenny Wallace (7)

Leader of the Outside the Top 35 Pack
Brian Vickers was the top qualifier of all drivers outside the top 35 in owner points.

As predicted, the red bull had no trouble qualifying on the Pocono tri-oval. He'll start in the 9th position, a season best.

For now, Vickers is pleased with his team's progress and the direction in which it is headed:

"We seem to be really good in the races and I'm really proud of Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development). They've been working real hard and it has shown in the last couple races with how well the Toyotas have been running. I'm real proud of our entire Red Bull team that's building these race cars -- our intermediate program has really been improving week after week. We've been doing a good job in the race and Doug (Richert) has been calling great races. I'm just excited to race Sunday and hopefully we can be just as good when we get to Michigan."

Following the Leader
Dave Blaney returns after sitting Dover out. He starts 14th. Ward Burton 20th. Paul Menard starts his first race with a new crew chief in the 21st spot.

David Reutimann will be the sole representative for Michael Waltrip Racing, starting in 23rd. Vickers Red Bull teammate A.J. Allmendinger will pull off 28th. Scott Riggs 31st.

Bill Elliott was forced to used a championship provisional this week and will start 43rd.

Losers of the Week (DNQs)
Mike Bliss (10), Dale Jarrett (3), Kevin Lepage (11), Jeremy Mayfield (9), Kenny Wallace (6), Michael Waltrip (12)

Leader of the Outside the Top 35 Pack
Kenny Wallace raced his Furniture Row #78 Chevrolet into the show for the seventh time this season. He will start 6th tonight at Darlington Raceway, matching his best qualifying effort of the season last week in Richmond.

Good thing, too, because Kenny really wants to race in Charlotte and now he gets another chance to remind fans to vote for him:

"The 'Vote for Kenny' campaign has grown its own legs and developed into a huge deal. I am very appreciative to Furniture Row for being such a supportive sponsor by getting behind the 'Vote For Kenny' campaign. I don't think that many other sponsors, if any at all, would give up the hood of their racecar for a weekend to promote voting their driver into the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Being voted into this race would be a huge deal, not just for me, but for my Furniture Row Racing team too!"

Following The Leader
Ken Schrader also starts in the top 10 in the 8th position. David Reuitmann starts 14th.

Both Red Bull racers are on track this weekend for just the second time this season, the first being Bristol. Brian Vickers starts in the 15th spot and A.J. Allmendinger starts 20th.p>Paul Menard starts 23rd in his eighth race of the season, Dave Blaney starts 27th and Ricky Rudd 40th.

Kevin LePage will start his first race of the season after attempting to qualify for 9 of the previous 10 races.

Losers of The Week (DNQs)
Scott Riggs, who has been outside the top 35 since the beginning of the season, failed to qualify for his first race in 2007 in Darlington.

Michael Waltrip (10), Jeremy Mayfield (8), Mike Bliss (7), Dale Jarrett (2), Ward Burton (6)

Scott Riggs will start 3rd Saturday in Richmond, his best start of the season and the best of those drivers sitting outside the top 35 who had to race their way in.

Riggs' qualifying effort for the Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 marks the fifth consecutive race the 36th points position holder has qualified for on time. With only seven points to gain on Casey Mears, he's likely to move into the top 35 this week.

Dave Blaney, who added his name to the 2007 DNQ list last weekend in Talladega, will start 10th Saturday.

A.J. Allmendinger, the top qualifying rookie, starts 13th in his third race of the season, his first at Richmond International Raceway.

David Reutimann, the only Michael Waltrip Racing driver in the show this weekend, starts 14th for the second consecutive week--his highest for the season.

Ward Burton makes his 5th start and Kenny Wallace his 6th in 25th and 26th positions respectively.

NCTS driver Johnny Benson qualified 31st in his first Cup effort since 2005.

Losers of the Week (DNQs)
Brian Vickers (6), Ken Schrader (3), Michael Waltrip (9), Jeremy Mayfield (7), Dale Jarrett (1), Kevin LePage (9) and Mike Bliss (6).