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[/media-credit]#19 BanditChippers.com Toyota Camry – Mike Bliss Bristol NNS Post Race, March 19, 2012
Mike Bliss made his historic 250th career NASCAR Nationwide Series start when he took to the .54 mile track at Bristol Motor Speedway this past weekend, chipping away at the field and bringing the #44 BanditChippers.com Toyota Camry home with yet another quality 15th place finish in Saturday’s EcoBoost 300. Bliss was the fastest qualifying Toyota at Daytona and led 6 laps prior to getting involved in a race ending wreck, but with the support from Bandit Industries Inc. the #44 Team has bounced back nicely in the last three NNS races. Mike has now scored a 16th place finish and two Top 15 finishes for the #44 BanditChippers.com Toyota, vaulting Mike into 10th overall in the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings after these first four races.
Bliss’s 250th NNS start at Bristol had him run practice laps as fast as 3rd quick, qualify in the lucky 13th position on St. Patrick’s Day and finish in 15th. Mike ran on the lead lap and battled in the top 15 of the NNS field all day long. Bandit’s Backing at Bristol made for a BIG 250th start for Mike and the Team.
Mike Bliss Comments:
“I had a really fast #44 BanditChippers.com Toyota Camry in practice, but mentioned to Paul that I was just a little bit loose overall after Friday. We made some adjustments, but the track conditions seemed to change on race day and that probably is what made the #44 too tight during the EcoBoost 300 race. With that long green flag run untypical of Bristol, we didn‘t have enough caution flags to make the proper adjustments in race to make the car turn better. I would like to thank Bandit Industries for their continued support and for joining our #44 BanditChippers.com Team for my 250th career NNS start at Bristol. I look forward to running with them again and scoring a few Top 5‘s and Top 10‘s”
Paul Clapprood (crew chief) Comments:
“The #44 BanditChippers.com Toyota Camry unloaded at Bristol for Mike’s 250th career start and was fast. Mike commented that he was loose during last practice session so we made the adjustments accordingly. With the rubber that was put down on Friday and Saturday during qualifying, it made us tight during the race. The #44 crew continued to work on the car, but with the limited cautions on the short .54 high banked track it just didn’t leave us enough time. We qualified 13th , finished 15th and didn’t get caught up in the Bristol BIG one and that’s a plus all around. We were proud to once again rock the Black and Gold BanditChippers.com scheme on our #44 Toyota Camry. We hope to continue working with them because we can and will run better and there is no doubt about that.”
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