Federated Auto Parts 200 - Official Results
Mike Bliss in Victory Lane
Mike Bliss in Victory Lane
View High Sierra Gallery for this race
Bliss Wins Big In Nashville

Mike Bliss, the Bud Pole starter, came from a distant third to edge Rick Crawford in Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Federated Auto Parts 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. The victory was the fourth of the season for Bliss and the No. 16 IWX Motor Freight/Knights Inn Chevrolet team. Coupled with Terry Cook's seventh place finish, the $45,385 win increased Bliss's championship lead to 34 points with seven races remaining. Ted Musgrave, who led 66 of the race's 151 laps, finished third behind Crawford's No. 14 Circle Bar Racing Ford.  Musgrave appeared untouchable for much of Saturday's event, having lapped all but eight trucks before making a scheduled pit stop with 25 laps remaining. Crawford, running second, followed suit. That shuffled Bliss into the lead.  Moments later, Jason Leffler hit the Turn 1 wall to bring out the caution. Bliss pitted for four tires and fuel, cycling Musgrave - who had only taken two tires and a splash of fuel during his stop -- back into the lead.  However, on the restart, Coy Gibbs cut a tire just ahead of Musgrave, forcing Musgrave to slam the brakes. Subsequently, Bliss and Crawford were able to slip past. Once out front on new tires, Bliss was untouchable. The win marks Bliss' fourth of the season, tying him with Terry Cook atop the series victory chart. Together, Bliss and Cook have won eight of the season's 15 events. Moreover, Bliss added to his points lead and, by winning from the Bud Pole, takes home an extra $10,000 bonus from Craftsman. Crawford, who finished a season-high second and was one of just five competitors that finished on the lead lap.  "I wanted to win really bad. Bliss is tough. He drove a good race tonight."   He's driven well throughout the 2002 campaign, and is on the fast track to his first career championship. On Saturday, he stretched his points lead on Cook from five to 34, giving the No. 16 Chevrolet team added momentum as the series takes the next three weeks off.  "This is real good for us, we can spin off of this for a couple weeks," said Bliss.
02-21-2005 | Race 15 - Nashville Superspeedway - August 10, 2002

F S # Driver Sponsor / Owner Truck Laps Money Status
1 1 16 Mike Bliss IWX Motor Freight Chevrolet 151 $45,385 Running
2 8 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Motel & RV Ford 151 $27,900 Running
3 3 1 Ted Musgrave Mopar Performance Dodge 151 $21,515 Running
4 7 4 Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Square D Dodge 151 $10,375 Running
5 14 46 Dennis Setzer Acxiom / Computer Assoc Chevrolet 151 $11,725 Running
6 11 62 Brendan Gaughan NAPA Auto Parts Dodge 150 $10,850 Running
7 9 29 Terry Cook Power Stroke Diesel Ford 150 $9,400 Running
8 19 50 Jon Wood Navy Racing Ford 150 $9,200 Running
9 4 18 Robert Pressley Dickies / Square D Dodge 150 $9,100 Running
10 10 52 Mike Wallace Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet 149 $9,375 Running
11 2 75 David Starr Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet 149 $9,000 Running
12 20 20 Coy Gibbs MBNA Chevrolet 149 $8,890 Running
13 26 43 Carlos Contreras Hot Wheels Dodge 149 $10,340 Running
14 15 08 Bobby Dotter People Against Drugs Chevrolet 148 $8,815 Running
15 24 07 Jason Small Sunbelt Rentals Chevrolet 148 $8,990 Running
16 12 8 Bill Lester Dodge Motorsports Dodge 148 $8,640 Running
17 13 45 Joe Ruttman Richard Petty Driving Exp Dodge 148 $6,340 Running
18 22 88 Matt Crafton Menards / Colorpave Chevrolet 147 $8,540 Running
19 28 86 Lance Hooper Motor State Performance Chevrolet 147 $8,490 Running
20 17 90 Lance Norick Express Personnel Services Chevrolet 147 $8,665 Running
21 29 5 Andy Thurman Akita Copy Products Dodge 147 $6,865 Running
22 16 39 Steve Portenga Roto-Rooter Chevrolet 146 $6,815 Running
23 31 15 Mark Gibson Williams Brothers Lumber Ford 146 $6,765 Running
24 27 34 Eric Jones Safelite Auto Glass Chevrolet 145 $5,715 Crash
25 32 51 Brian Rose Ware Racing Enterprises Dodge 144 $5,690 Running
26 35 28 Conrad Burr UFA-FDNY Chevrolet 144 $5,640 Running
27 34 73 Loni Richardson Cellution/Intensitee Chevrolet 140 $5,615 Running
28 6 2 Jason Leffler Team ASE / Carquest Dodge 134 $5,590 Crash
29 33 79 Jerry Hill RDS Racing Engines Dodge 79 $5,565 Engine
30 5 60 Travis Kvapil CAT Rental Stores Chevrolet 56 $5,545 Engine
31 21 87 Chad Chaffin Andy Kirby Children's Fund Ford 49 $5,535 Timing
32 18 93 Norm Benning Troxell Racing Chevrolet 28 $5,525 Vibration
33 25 89 Stan Boyd NGK / Auto Value Chevrolet 22 $5,515 Vibration
34 36 25 Dana White Red Line Synthetic Oil Chevrolet 22 $5,505 Handling
35 23 21 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Motorsports Ford 18 $5,470 Ignition
36 30 72 Randy MacDonald U.S. Security Chevrolet 6 $5,460 Engine

Failed to Qualify:  (1) Tom Powers (#55).

Time of Race:   1 hour 33 minutes 18 seconds
Average Speed:  129.442 mph
Margin of Victory:  .305 seconds

Bud Pole Award:
Mike Bliss, #16 IWX Motor Freight/Knights Inn Chevrolet, 30.503 seconds, 157.322 mph (RACE RECORD)

Clevite Engine Builders Award:
Mark Smith, #16 IWX Motor Freight/Knights Inn Chevrolet

Featherlite Long Haul Award:
Mike Bliss, #16 IWX Motor Freight/Knights Inn Chevrolet

Gatorade Front Runner Award: 
Ted Musgrave, #1 Mopar Performance Dodge

Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award:
Brendan Gaughan, #62 NAPA Auto Parts Dodge

Waste Management Picking Up Places Award:
Carlos Contreras, #43 Hot Wheels Dodge (13 places)

Caution Flags:  Laps 9-13 (Truck #72 spin, Turn 4); 136-139 (Truck #2 accident, Turn 2); 146-149 (Truck #15, 34 accident Turn 4). 3 for 13 laps.

Lap Leaders:  Mike Bliss 1-2, Ted Musgrave 3-21, Rick Crawford 22-60, Bliss 61-64, David Starr 65, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. 66-68, Terry Cook 69, Coy Gibbs 70-74, Crawford 75-80, Musgrave 81-124, Crawford 125, Bliss 126-136, Musgrave 137-139, Bliss 140-151.

Total Laps Led:  Ted Musgrave 66, Rick Crawford 46, Mike Bliss 29, Coy Gibbs 5, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. 3, David Starr 1, Terry Cook 1. 13 changes involving 7 drivers.

Points following this race:

Rank Driver Points -Back
1 Mike Bliss 2259  
2 Terry Cook 2225 -34
3 Ted Musgrave 2198 -61
4 Rick Crawford 2187 -72
5 Robert Pressley 2159 -100
6 Jason Leffler 2129 -130
7 David Starr 2128 -131
8 Dennis Setzer 2126 -133
9