19 Mike Bliss
Career Highlights
- Only driver to accumulate more than 200 starts in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
- From 1995-2011, ran a fulltime season in at least one of NASCAR's three national series.
- 2002: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.
- 2003: Won Chicagoland round of International Race of Champions.
- 1993: USAC Silver Crown national champion.
| Career Totals (1975 - present) | |||||||
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| Starts | Championships | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Winnings |
| 256 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 72 | 17.6 | 17.9 | 6,608,302 |
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| Year | Rank | Points | Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 8 | 259 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.2 | 18.2 | 219,140 |
| 2011 | 12 | 827 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20.7 | 19.6 | 744,529 |
| 2010 | 15 | 3450 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 26.6 | 20.8 | 878,106 |
| 2009 | 5 | 4075 | 35 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 16.7 | 17.0 | 1,126,980 |
| 2008 | 5 | 4518 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 12.7 | 12.3 | 1,075,070 |
| 2007 | 21 | 2608 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 18.2 | 18.8 | 601,202 |
| 2006 | 62 | 596 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30.7 | 29.5 | 158,960 |
| 2005 | 130 | 64 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.0 | 33.0 | 18,715 |
| 2004 | 5 | 4115 | 34 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 11.3 | 15.2 | 935,840 |
| 2003 | 10 | 3932 | 34 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 12.5 | 16.8 | 766,885 |
| 2001 | 142 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.0 | 40.0 | 23,900 |
| 2000 | 98 | 94 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 | 23.0 | 14,800 |
| 1999 | 84 | 204 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.6 | 31.6 | 21,525 |
| 1998 | 70 | 231 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.5 | 16.5 | 22,650 |
Mike Bliss Bio
YEAR-BY-YEAR NATIONWIDE SERIES RECAP
2011: Finished 12th in series points. … Finished 13th at Daytona to start the year in full season for TriStar Motorsports. … Best start, 12th at Richmond-1 and Chicagoland-1. … Best finish, ninth at Dover-2. … Also placed 11th at Lucas Oil Raceway. … Average finish of 19.7. … Completed 96.6 percent of laps attempted. … Running at finish of 30 races.
2010: Finished 15th in series points. … Ran most of season for Curtis Key, with three races for Kevin Harvick, Inc. … Best start fourth, and finish, second, at Gateway-2 for KHI.
2009: Finished fifth in series points. … Began season with Phoenix Racing, after 21 races finished year driving for six different owners, including Phoenix's James Finch in Homestead-Miami finale. … Registered second career series win, at Charlotte-1.
2008: Finished fifth in series points. … Began season with Fitz Motorsports, but after six races joined Phoenix Racing for the remainder of the year. … Posted three top fives and 13 top 10s including a third-place finish at Lucas Oil Raceway and a runner-up result at Dover in September. … Behind the wheel for Finch's 500th series start at Charlotte in October. … Sixth in Driver Rating, which was second among series-only regulars.
2007: Finished 21st in series points. … Ran in 24 races, all but one for Fitz Motorsports, after departure from NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, where he spent four races with BAM Motorsports. … Posted three top fives and eight top 10s, including a runner-up finish at Memphis, his best finish since his lone series win to that point, in 2004. … Helped Fitz Motorsports gain its best standing in the owner points (11th).
2006: Finished 62nd in series points. … Competed in eight races, four for Frank Cicci and four for Chris Lencheski. … Best finish was 12th at Texas.
2005: Finished 130th in series points. … Ran Daytona-2 for Chris Lencheski.
2004: Finished fifth in series points. … Set career-best championship standing which has since been matched twice. … Won first career race, at Charlotte-1, with a thrilling pass between Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth with eight laps to go. … Three poles, including the first of his career, at Las Vegas. … Six top fives and 14 top 10s to tie his career high in the latter category. … Completed second full season with Joe Gibbs Racing.
2003: Finished 10th in series points. … Ran his first full-time season in the series with Joe Gibbs Racing. … Was leading coming to the white flag at Gateway when he ran out of gas; finished 12th. … Career bests with eight top fives, 14 top 10s and edged his way into the top 10 in the final driver standings with a seventh-place finish in the Homestead-Miami season finale.
2001: Finished 142nd in series points. … Made one start, the season-opener at Daytona, for Dave Ridling.
2000: Finished 98th in series points. … Made one start, for Ridling, at Texas.
1999: Finished 84th in series points. … Ran three events, two for Bill Amick and one for Michael Waltrip.
1998: Finished 70th in series points. … Made his series debut at Auto Club, qualifying 12th and finishing 26th.
PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY
Has a 14-year racing legacy in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, making 130 starts from 1998-2011; including one top-five, seven top-10 finishes and running at the finish of 80 races. … In 2011 made 18 starts for three owners, including 16 for Frank Stoddard and one apiece for James Finch and Kevin Buckler. … Best series has been the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he has 13 wins and 18 poles in 12 seasons between 1995-2009; including the 2002 series championship and 136 lead-lap finishes, 109 top 10s and being running at the finish in 178 of 203 starts. … Competed in the 2003 International Race of Champions series, won the Chicagoland round and finished fourth in the championship standings. … Began racing quarter midgets at age 10, aiming at an open-wheel career. … Won the 1993 USAC Silver Crown national championship. … Made NASCAR national series' debut at age 29 at Phoenix in 1995, in the Camping World Truck Series for owner Jim Smith.
NOTEWORTHY
In 2010 at Michigan, registered his 200th NASCAR Nationwide Series start. That coupled with his 200th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start in 2009 at Martinsville gives him the distinction as the only driver to have 200 starts in each of those series.
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