Ward Burton drove the No. 0 Chevrolet in 2004. Credit: Autostock

Haas CNC names Bliss driver of No. 0 Chevrolet

Three-year deal announced at Busch Series Award Ceremony

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Mike Bliss will return to the Nextel Cup Series in 2005 with Haas CNC Racing.

Bliss announced his three-year deal to drive the No. 0 NetZero Chevrolet for owner Gene Haas during the Busch Series Award Ceremony on Friday.

Mike Bliss Credit: Autostock

The deal with Haas marks Bliss' first full-time ride in the Cup series since 2000, when the 1993 USAC Silver Crown champion had a rough go of it after posting five consecutive top-10 points finishes in the Craftsman Truck Series.

"That seems like a long time ago -- yeah, it does (feel like another lifetime)," Bliss said. "It seems like I told myself that I never wanted to do it again just because I had such a bad taste from when I did it before."

After starting the season for A.J. Foyt, making the Daytona 500 but then hitting a dry spell that led to his release, Bliss made 25 Cup starts in 2000, with one top-10 finish.

After a sparse 2001 season, Bliss returned to dominate the Truck Series in 2002 with five victories and his first NASCAR championship.

He then raced for two Busch seasons for Joe Gibbs Racing, accruing 14 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes but, despite getting his first NBS win at Lowe's Motor Speedway in October, Bliss' contract was not renewed.

"The Busch Series this year was really tough," Bliss said. "We ran really well at times and real competitive at times, especially towards the later part of the year, when we ran real competitive.

"But the door shut on that opportunity and this was an opportunity that I thought (was something) that I needed to do."

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Bliss made two starts at the end of the Nextel Cup season, at Darlington and Homestead for Haas CNC, qualified 12th at Homestead and had a top-10 finish at the final Southern 500.

The opportunity to work with respected crew chief Robert "Bootie" Barker for a team that has support from Hendrick Motorsports made Bliss' decision easier, he said.

"This is an opportunity, I think, that has potential," Bliss said. "I didn't want to do another ride in the Nextel Cup Series unless I really thought it had potential.

Haas' team had three top-10 finishes in 34 starts this season before the owner put Bliss in the car at Darlington, where he finished 10th.

MIKE BLISS •   Driver Page

"That was surprising even to me," Bliss said of the Darlington result. "But the equipment they have and the support from Hendrick's -- everything's there, it's just what they do with it and from what I understand everything they're doing now is getting back towards Hendrick's."

Bliss' career best Cup finish, fourth, came in a Gibbs Racing car in September at Richmond. He said he has three tests planned with Haas CNC before Christmas.