Michael Duane Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver. A journeyman
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
competitor and the
2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, he has run in all three national series.
Racing career
Bliss began racing at age 10. He captured his first major victory in 1993 with the
USAC Silver Crown National Championship.
1995–1999
![Heartland Park - Topeka - Kansas (2850290970)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Heartland_Park_-_Topeka_-_Kansas_%282850290970%29.jpg)
Bliss began racing in NASCAR in 1995, driving the Nos. 08 and 2
Ford F-150
The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. ...
for
Ultra Motorsports
Ultra Motorsports was a NASCAR Winston Cup and Craftsman Truck Series racing team. Jim Smith helped start the team and the Craftsman Truck Series. It ran full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series from 1995 to 2005, earning 31 series wins and a ch ...
in the new
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
. Competing in 19 out of 20 races, Bliss picked up a win at
North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short oval racetrack located on U.S. Route 421, about east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, or 80 miles north of Charlotte. It measures and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill fr ...
and finished eighth in points. The next year, with sponsorship from
Team ASE Racing, he won at
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
and
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
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
Kevin Schwantz (born June 19, 1964) is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was the world champion of the 1993 FIM Road Racing World Championship.
Early life
Schwantz, whose parents owned a motorcycle shop, learned to ride ...
, then two weeks later, finished seventh at
Indianapolis Raceway Park
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about northwest of Downtown Indianapolis, do ...
for
Michael Waltrip Racing
Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...
. He also ran a pair of
Winston Cup
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
races that season, finishing 25th at
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...
in the No. 96 for
American Equipment Racing
American Equipment Racing was a racing team that competed in the SCCA Trans-Am series in the 1980s and 1990s, and in the NASCAR Busch Grand National and Winston Cup Series during the mid-1990s.
Owned by American Equipment Company owner Buz McC ...
.
After winning six poles and finishing tenth 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
Exide was originally a brand name for batteries produced by The Electric Storage Battery Company and later became Exide Corporation doing business as Exide Technologies, an American multinational corporation, multinational lead–acid battery, ...
Ford. He picked up a win at
Heartland Park Topeka
Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly known as Heartland Park Topeka, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility south of downtown Topeka, Kansas near the Topeka Regional Airport.
When it opened in 1989, Heartland Motorsports Park was the first new ...
and finished ninth 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
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
races for
Bahari Racing with sponsorship from
Sara Lee
Sara may refer to:
Arts, media and entertainment Film and television
* Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui
* Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda
* Sara (2010 ...
products.
2000–2004
In 2000, Bliss signed to drive the No. 14
Conseco
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (formerly Conseco, Inc. (from Consolidated National Security Corporation)) is a financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana. Its insurance subsidiaries provide life insurance, annuity and supplemental he ...
-sponsored
Pontiac Grand Prix
The Grand Prix is a line of automobiles produced by the Pontiac Division of General Motors from 1962 until 2002 for coupes and 1989–2008 for sedans.
First introduced as a full-size performance coupe for the 1962 model year, the model varied ...
owned by
A.J. Foyt Racing
A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...
in a bid for
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors. Because the team had no owner's points, Bliss failed to qualify for three out of the first four races of the season, and he was quickly released. He soon signed to drive the No. 27
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
/
Viagra
Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...
-sponsored Pontiac for
Eel River Racing
Bahari Racing was a NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch team that operated from 1981 to 2001.The Busch team ran from 1989-1996 with Ronnie Sliver and Michael Waltrip driving, and one race with Johnny Benson at Homestead. The team's history of drivers inc ...
. He had a ninth-place run at
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
and finished 39th in points that year.
Bliss was unable to pick up a full-time ride for the 2001 season. He finished 40th at
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
in a one-race deal for
David Ridling, but that team soon closed its doors. During the middle of the season, he briefly returned to Eel River after they fired their regular driver but he was unable to qualify for a race. Late in the season, he garnered a ninth-place run at
South Boston
South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...
in a one-race deal for
IWX Racing's Steve Coulter
Steve Coulter is a team owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.Covitz, Randy (2003) "NASCAR trucks season preview: Rookie Kvapil moves in to championship truck", ''Kansas City Star'', 2003-02-16 His team, Xpress Motorsports, won the Truck Ser ...
.
In 2002, Coulter returned full-time to the Truck Series and signed Bliss as the driver. Bliss picked up five wins and won the Truck series championship. He would sign to drive the No. 20
Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation whose brands include Allen-Bradley, FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 ...
-sponsored
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
for
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...
in the Busch Series the following year, posting fourteen Top 10s and finishing tenth in points. That same year, he competed in the
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...
, winning at
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...
. He ran only one
Winston Cup
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
race in 2002, subbing for
Jamie McMurray
James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 b ...
(who was subbing for the injured Sterling Marlin, but had a prior commitment) in the No. 40
Coors Light
Coors Light is a 4.2% (US) ABV light beer brewed in Golden, Colorado; Albany, Georgia; Elkton, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Irwindale, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was first produced in 1978 by the Coors Brewing Company. The Canadia ...
-sponsored
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
. In 2004, Bliss picked up his first career Busch win at
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
and finished fifth in points. After he was declined a job as driver for Gibbs’ Cup program, Bliss announced his departure, and replaced
Ward Burton
John Edward Burton III (born October 25, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has five career wins in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, including the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2001 Southern 500. He is the older brothe ...
at
Haas CNC Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champio ...
’s Cup ride, posting a tenth place run at
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...
.
Before leaving Joe Gibbs Racing, Mike Bliss had his career-best finish to date in his Cup series career in the 2004
Chevy Rock & Roll 400
The Federated Auto Parts 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, being the second of two races at the track with the first one being the Toyota Owners 400 in the spring. As of 2020 ...
. Bliss, driving the No. 80 Hunt's Ketchup-sponsored JGR car, got penalized for speeding on pit road on lap 332. Despite this, he formed a tremendous comeback, climbing through the field during the final 50 laps, and finishing 4th, his first and only Top 5 to date.
2005–2009
Bliss signed with Haas CNC full-time in 2005, where he posted two top-tens in the latter half of the season and finished 28th in points. He came near to a Cup victory, nearly winning a large bonus paycheck and a win in the Nextel Open event but was crashed by
Brian Vickers
Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured Tony ...
on the final lap in the final turn. Vickers won the race and the bonus paycheck, while Bliss slid across the finish line in 2nd place. Mike Bliss was visibly upset with Vickers in the post-race ceremonies saying "I just got plain dumped and I would not have wrecked him to win this race. Now he is in the big show (the All-Star Race) and I am not."
At the end of the year, Bliss departed to return to the No. 16 in the Truck Series, winning at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...
and finishing eleventh in the final standings. In addition, he ran a part-time in the Busch Series this season, splitting time between
Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly and
SKI Motorsports. Late in the season, Bliss began driving the No. 49
BAM Racing
BAM Racing was a NASCAR racing team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, owned by Beth Ann and Tony Morgenthau. The team began racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2000 before moving to NASCAR in 2001. They sat out 2009 due to the recession, and ...
Dodge Nextel Cup Car, and finished out the 2006 season driving the car for BAM. Bliss was signed to drive the car in 2007, but after a long string of DNQs, he resigned from the organization midway through the season. He drove the first four races of the 2007 Craftsman Truck season for
Key Motorsports
Key Motorsports (formerly The Motorsports Group and Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group) was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded by Virginia businessma ...
and drove 13 more Truck races for
Bobby Hamilton Racing
Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia is a disbanded NASCAR racing team. It was owned by four-time Winston Cup winner and 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton until his death on January 7, 2007. Bobby Hamilton Jr. was given owners ...
in the No. 4
Dodge Ram
The Ram pickup (marketed as the Dodge Ram until 2010) is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by Stellantis North America (formerly Chrysler Group LLC and FCA US LLC) and marketed from 2010 onwards under the Ram Trucks brand. The current fi ...
. He also drove 22 races in the
Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
for
Fitz Motorsports in the No. 22
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966.
The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version.
The Charger has ...
with sponsorships from
Supercuts
Supercuts is a hair salon franchise with more than 2,400 locations across the United States. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1975, by Geoffrey M. Rappaport and Frank E. Emmett. The company's first location was in Albany, ...
and
Family Dollar
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. is an American variety store chain. With over 8,000 locations in all states except Alaska and Hawaii, it was the second largest retailer of its type in the United States until it was acquired by Dollar Tree in 2015 and i ...
. He had signed to drive for Fitz full-time in 2008, but joined
Phoenix Racing shortly after the season started. He matched his career-best fifth-place finish in points and also ran part-time schedules in Cup and Trucks.
Bliss scored his second career Nationwide win, taking advantage of his fuel mileage and getting a caution at the right time, at
Lowes Motor Speedway, and
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
declared the race official after 170 of 200 laps due to rain. On August 2, 2009, Bliss was let go from Phoenix Racing but he was still raced the team in cup series. He spent the rest of the season splitting time with
MSRP Motorsports,
NEMCO Motorsports
NEMCO Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team is owned by driver Joe Nemechek and his family. NEMCO Motorsports has had success, winning the 1992 Busch Se ...
, and
CJM Racing
CJM Racing was a NASCAR Nationwide Series team. It fielded the No. 11 car for a variety of drivers.
Sprint Cup Series
Businessmen Bryan and Tony Mullet formed Victory Motorsports in 2006 when they purchased the Sprint Cup equipment of Faith Mot ...
before returning to Phoenix for the season finale at Homestead. Despite parking early in multiple races, three late top 5 runs pushed Bliss into 5th overall again. This was one spot better than when he was fired from the No. 1 car.
2010–present
![Nationwide 19 Mike Bliss 2011 Road America Bucyrus 200](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Nationwide_19_Mike_Bliss_2011_Road_America_Bucyrus_200.jpg)
On December 3, 2009, it was announced that Bliss would return to the Sprint Cup Series full-time driving for
Tommy Baldwin Racing
Tommy Baldwin Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the modified ranks. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, and is owned by former crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr., son of the late modified ...
in the No. 36 Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet Impala for the
2010 season. However, in April, Bliss parted ways with TBR after Phoenix, and returned to
Phoenix Racing to drive the No. 09 beginning at Talladega.
He returned to full-time status in 2011 by joining Mark Smith's
TriStar Motorsports
TriStar Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that used to compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series primarily during the early to mid 1990s, suspending racing oper ...
in the Nationwide Series in the No. 19 Chevrolet. Despite being originally paired with old crew chief Dave Fuge, Fuge left the team to form a Nationwide Series team with
Derrike Cope
Derrike Wayne Cope (born November 3, 1958) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He is known for his win in the 1990 Daytona 500. He last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 f ...
. After interim crew chief Wes Ward left the team, former TRG Motorsports crew chief Paul Clapprood took over, leading Bliss to a 12th-place points finish. For 2012, Bliss moved to the No. 44. When teammate
Tayler Malsam was released from the 19 team in October, he drove it for the remainder of the year. He ended the season with 1 top 10 at Daytona in July where he finished 8th, and also finished 8th in points.
While continuing to drive for TriStar in the Xfinity series through the 2014 season, he also drove part-time in the Sprint Cup Series for Smith's
start and park
Start and park is a term used in auto racing, particularly in NASCAR-sanctioned races, to describe the practice of racing teams starting races but pulling the car off the track after just a few laps in order to collect prize money while avoiding e ...
Humphrey Smith Motorsports team. In September 2013, he drove
Phoenix Racing's No. 51 Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup
AdvoCare 500 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...
, which was
James Finch
James Finch (born 1950, Lynn Haven, Florida) is an American businessman. He is the owner of Phoenix Construction, a construction company that specializes in airport construction. He owned Phoenix Racing until late 2013 when he sold the team to ...
's final start as a team owner. Bliss had scored Finch's last win during a Nationwide race at Charlotte in 2009.
Bliss served as standby driver for
David Ragan
David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on Fox ...
in the No. 34
Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partners ...
Ford at the
2014 Pocono 400
The 2014 Pocono 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 8, 2014, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 160 laps on the triangular superspeedway, it was the 14th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Se ...
with Ragan on paternity watch. Later in the season, Bliss joined
BK Racing
BK Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that fielded entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series from 2012 to 2018. It most recently fielded the No. 23 Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion for J. J. Yeley, Gray Gaulding, and o ...
in the No. 93 Toyota for the
Quaker State 400
The Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart, commonly known as simply the Quaker State 400, was a annual NASCAR Cup Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. The inaugural event was held on July 9, 2011 and was won by Kyle Bus ...
, finishing 41st.
Bliss was hired by
Go FAS Racing
Go Fas Racing (doing business as Circle Sport-Go Fas Racing LLC, and often stylized as Go FAS Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Founded by long-time crew chief Frank Allen ...
to drive the No. 32 Sprint Cup car sharing it with
Bobby Labonte
Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No. 18 car. ...
and
Boris Said
Boris Said III (born September 18, 1962) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports and in the Trans-Am Series, driving the No. 2 ...
in 2015, while being scheduled to continue driving full-time for TriStar in the Xfinity Series.
At the season opening Xfinity race at Daytona in 2015, Bliss was replaced by
Scott Lagasse Jr.
Scott E. Lagasse Jr. (; born January 31, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He formerly drove in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is the son of former sports car and NASCAR driver Scott Lagasse Sr.
He is the owne ...
because Lagasse brought sponsorship. Bliss returned to the car and drove through the spring Talladega race before being permanently removed from the car because former teammate
Eric McClure
Eric Wayne McClure (December 11, 1978 – May 2, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports.
Racing car ...
brought full sponsorship. Bliss' ride was replaced by the new No. 24 driven by McClure and the No. 19 was relegated to a start and park ride. Bliss moved to a mentoring role for TriStar drivers McClure,
Blake Koch
Blake Koch (born August 7, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and businessman. He last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. He is also the founder of FilterTime, a r ...
,
Cale Conley, and
David Starr. He also continued in his part-time Sprint Cup ride with Go FAS Racing, but was released from the team after the
Quicken Loans 400
The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The A ...
at Michigan International Speedway. Late in the season, he returned to the track in TriStar's No. 14 after Conley was released due to sponsorship issues, parking the car in the last three races of the season.
In 2016, Bliss has made a handful of one-off starts across the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series for various teams including TriStar,
Contreras Motorsports and
MB Motorsports
MB Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team was based in Foristell, Missouri, and was owned by Mike Mittler until his death in 2019. The team was one of few to ...
. Since 2016, Mike Bliss has made no further starts in any of NASCAR's top 3 series. He most recently served as a driving coach for
Joe Graf Jr
Joseph A. Graf Jr. (born July 12, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 07 and 08 Ford Mustangs for SS-Green Light Racing, the No. 38 Mustang for RSS R ...
when he drove for
Chad Bryant Racing in the
ARCA Menards Series East in 2019.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Sprint Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
Xfinity Series
Camping World Truck Series
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
International Race of Champions
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
Images
Image:MikeBliss2007CraftsmanTruckSeries.jpg, Bliss in the No. 4 truck in 2007
File:Mike Bliss Phoenix Racing Dodge Atlanta March 2009.jpg, 2009 No. 09 Cup car
File:MikeBlissMilwaukee2009.jpg, Bliss in 2009
File:MikeBlissChevroletMilwaukeeMile2009.jpg, 2009 No. 1 Nationwide car
File:40MikeBliss2010Bucyrus200RoadAmerica.jpg, 2010 Nationwide car
File:Nationwide 19 Mike Bliss 2011 Road America Bucyrus 200.jpg, Racing at Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...
in 2011
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Mike
Living people
1965 births
Sportspeople from Milwaukie, Oregon
Racing drivers from Oregon
NASCAR drivers
NASCAR Truck Series champions
International Race of Champions drivers
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers
Stewart-Haas Racing drivers
USAC Silver Crown Series drivers
Michael Waltrip Racing drivers
A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
RFK Racing drivers