Mieke Bliss Finishes 14th: Mike Bliss made his 699th career NASCAR start Saturday afternoon at Watkins Glen International. After qualifying 19th for the Zippo 200, Bliss was ready to pilot his No. 19 TriStar Motorsports Camry through the twists and turns of Watkins Glen. Once the green flag dropped, Bliss was working his way through the field. 10 laps into the 200-mile race, Bliss had worked his way up to the 16th position and continued to gain positions. When the first caution came out for debris in turn 6, the No. 19 team decided to stay out on track and restarted 9th. At lap 21, Bliss was scored in the 5th position and by lap 22 the race had a new leader, Mike Bliss. When he pitted for four tires and fuel, Bliss left the pits with the Sunoco Racing fuel can in tact and the team received a penalty. With 50 laps to go, Bliss was shown in the 16th position and on lap 44 he had worked his way up to the 12th position. The No. 19 team pitted with 28 laps to go for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Bliss was scored in the 15th position with 15 laps to go and would advance one position to finish 14th.
Carlos Contreras Finishes 23rd: The “Road Course Warrior” was back this weekend at Watkins Glen behind the wheel of the No. 44 38 Special/Ingersoll Rand/Voli Camry. Contreras qualified 20th Saturday morning and he was ready to return to the track for the 200-mile race on Saturday afternoon. Early into the race, Contreras came on the radio and reported that his No. 44 Camry was “too free” and the team came to pit on lap 14 for four tires, fuel and adjustments. When the caution flag waved for the second time, Contreras reported that his Camry was “too tight” and he came to pit road for four tires and fuel on lap 29. Unfortunately all of the lug nuts were not all the way on the No. 44 Camry and Contreras had to return to pit road on lap 30 to tighten all of the lugnuts. With 25 laps to go, the No. 44 Camry was scored in the 28th position and was starting to have issues with power. The team came down pit road twice to raise the hood and diagnose the problem, which was an electrical issue. With 15 laps to go, Contreras was scored in the 26th position and would advance three positions to finish the 200-mile race in the 23rd position.
Eric McClure Finishes 24th: Eric McClure started off his Saturday morning by qualifying 29th for the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen. Early into the race, McClure was scored in the 31st position and when an early caution flag waved, McClure brought his Camry to pit road for four tires and Sunoco Racing fuel. During the first round of green flag pit stops around lap 21, McClure was scored in the 21st position. With 50 laps to go, McClure was scored in the 30th position and when the caution flag was shown on lap 48, McClure came to pit road for four tires and fuel. Late in the race, McClure was reporting that his No. 14 Hefty®/Reynolds Wrap® Camry was getting stuck in gear, which led to a possible transmission issue. McClure battled through the issue and with 28 laps to go he was scored in the 23rd position. With 15 laps to go, McClure was running in the 27th position and would advance three positions to finish the Zippo 200 24th.
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