Haas tabs Bliss to replace W. Burton

Ward Burton has gone from having three rides this weekend at Darlington Raceway to completely being on the sidelines.

Mike Bliss

NASCAR veteran Mike Bliss has replaced Burton in Haas CNC Racing's No. 0 NetZero Chevrolet for Sunday's Southern 500 at Darlington as well as next weekend's season finale at Homestead.

Owner Gene Haas released Burton after the Checker Auto Parts 500, a Burton spokesman said.

"We've made a lot of changes at Haas CNC Racing this season and our performance still isn't where we think it should be," Haas CNC general manager Joe Custer said. "We feel like we are capable of a lot more and putting Mike in the car will give us an opportunity to assess another aspect of the team.

Ward Burton

"We appreciate everything Ward has done for us during the past year and wish him the best. He has tremendous talent and heart and was an excellent spokesperson for Haas CNC Racing and for NetZero.

"We saw this change as a necessity to further our race team, look toward the future and bring it to the level at which we think we should be."

Currently 29th in points, Burton had three top-10 finishes in 34 races this year, including a season-best fourth-place finish at Martinsville three weeks ago.

However, he's had eight finishes of 34th or worse.

Justin Labonte

Bliss, the 2002 Craftsman Truck Series champion, was informed last month that while he was not released from his ride in Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet -- which he has driven to sixth in the Busch Series standings -- he was free to look for other employment for 2005.

Bliss has 33 career Cup starts and two top-10s, including a career-best fourth at Richmond two months ago.

"This is a great opportunity for me," Bliss said. "I'm looking forward to finishing out the year in the NetZero Chevrolet and then we'll see what happens after that.

"I know this was a hard change to make and I appreciate the team's confidence in my abilities to help with its program. Hopefully I can come in and help the team build for the future."

Haas CNC Racing informed the NASCAR Competition Department at mid-day Tuesday that Justin Labonte had replaced Burton as the driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet in the Busch Series.

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Saturday's Bi-Lo 200 would have been Burton's first start in that car.

On Tuesday, NASCAR issued an updated entry list for Friday night's Darlington 200, in which Jason Leffler had replaced Burton in Morgan Dollar Motorsports' No. 47 Acxiom Chevrolet.

Burton's appearance in the truck as part of the Chevy Silverado Celebrity All Star program would have completed the unique tripleheader weekend.

A spokesman said Burton was unavailable for comment.