Mike Bliss | |||||||
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Bliss at Road America in 2012
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Born |
Milwaukie, Oregon |
April 5, 1965 ||||||
Achievements | 1993 USAC Silver Crown Champion 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion |
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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
179 races run over 17 years | |||||||
2015 position | 66th | ||||||
Best finish | 28th (2005) | ||||||
First race | 1998 (Martinsville) | ||||||
Last race | 2015 Bojangles' Southern 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
359 races run over 18 years | |||||||
Car no., team | No. 10/14 (TriStar Motorsports) | ||||||
2016 position | 119th | ||||||
Best finish | 5th (2004, 2008, 2009) | ||||||
First race | 1998 Kenwood Home & Car Audio 300 (California) | ||||||
Last race | 2016 VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 (Kentucky) | ||||||
First win | 2004 Lowe's Presents the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
Last win | 2009 Carquest Auto Parts 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
206 races run over 13 years | |||||||
Truck no., team | No. 71 (Contreras Motorsports) No. 63 (MB Motorsports) |
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2016 position | 46th | ||||||
Best finish | 1st (2002) | ||||||
First race | 1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | ||||||
Last race | 2016 Rattlesnake 400 (Texas) | ||||||
First win | 1995 Lowe's 150 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
Last win | 2006 EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 (Atlanta) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of September 24, 2016. |
Michael "Mike" Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American professional driver. A journeyman NASCAR competitor and the 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, he has run in all three national series.
Bliss began racing at age 10. He captured his first major victory in 1993 with the USAC Silver Crown National Championship.
Bliss began racing in NASCAR in 1995, driving the Nos. 08 and 2 Ford F-150 for Ultra Motorsports in the new Craftsman Truck Series. Competing in 19 out of 20 races, Bliss picked up a win at North Wilkesboro Speedway and finished eighth in points. The next year, with sponsorship from Team ASE Racing, he won at Evergreen and I-70 and finished fifth in points. In 1998, he made his debut in the upper-NASCAR ranks. First, he finished 26th at the Kenwood Home & Car Audio 300 driving a car owned by Kevin Schwantz, then two weeks later, finished seventh at Indianapolis Raceway Park for Michael Waltrip Racing. He also ran a pair of Winston Cup races that season, finishing 25th at Martinsville Speedway in the No. 96 for American Equipment Racing.
After winning six poles and finishing fourth in points in 1998, Bliss announced he would not return to the team after 1998, and signed with Roush Racing to drive the No. 99 Exide Batteries Ford. He picked up a win at Heartland Park Topeka and finished fifth in points. During the season, he began to pick up offers to run in the Cup Series, and left Roush. In 1999, Bliss ran two Winston Cup races for Bahari Racing with sponsorship from Sara Lee products.