Mike Bliss (16) is looking to get Chevrolet its second consecutive victory in the Truck Series. Credit: Autostock

Truck Series putting on special bow tie for Texas

Chevy drivers have extra incentive to do well in Friday night's race

It took four years for Mike Bliss to return to Victory Lane in the Craftsman Truck Series. Now he's hoping for a repeat performance in Friday night's Silverado 350K (8:30 p.m. ET, SPEED) at Texas Motor Speedway.

	Dennis Setzer said drivers always want to represent their manufacturer well, but especially when they sponsor the race. Credit: Autostock
	SILVERADO 350K •   Entry List •   2006 Standings •   2006 Loop Data •   TV Schedule •   Complete Coverage 2005 FlashbackCatch all the highlights of Todd Bodine's 2005 victory Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"After coming off of a huge win for the whole Xpress Motorsports team, we are ready to go to Texas and be in the hunt for another win," Bliss said of his 13th career victory in the series.

Bliss has been fast at Texas -- winning poles in the inaugural 1997 event and again in 2002 -- but hasn't achieved the same success in the race, with a best finish of fifth. However, he was 10th in the spring, and expects some of the positives from Atlanta to continue on a track with similar characteristics.

"I ran the bottom the whole day, and usually you don't run the bottom, you go to the top when it slicks up but it ran good on the bottom, and our motor ran great," Bliss said. "The Xpress team won a race in Texas last season, so hopefully we can use our momentum from last weekend to get Chevrolet and the team another win."

Bliss' victory -- only the fourth for a Chevy this season -- was somewhat ironic, since General Motors announced last weekend that it would be changing its Truck Series program from a sponsorship role to a technical support role, one week before Chevrolet's sponsorship of the race at Texas.

GM's program director for the trucks, Dayne Pierantoni, promised that Chevrolet would not be pulling out of the series. However, there is concern for teams like Bliss' Xpress Motorsports and Morgan-Dollar as they search for funding for 2007.

Still, Dennis Setzer said it's business as usual this weekend.

"It is our highest priority to promote Chevrolet and the Silverado every weekend, but we have special races that Silverado is the sponsor, so Chevrolet is a sponsor of the track, and all of the vehicles at the track are Chevrolets or Silverados," Setzer said. "That puts another little boost in the weekend, and you try a little extra hard.

MOST POPULAR Features Headlines Opinion Video Conversation: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Conversation: M. Waltrip Conversation: E. Sadler Last Lap: Best of the rest By the Numbers: Daytona 500 More Features Roush No. 6 Cup hauler involved in injury crash Big checks from Toyota a threat or mere myth? Higher speeds, added wrecks close LVMS test Driver opinions differ on LVMS after testing NASCAR puts limit on past champ provisional More Headlines Here's hoping NASCAR fixes the 2007 schedule Jr.: I expect to drive the 3 Top 35 rule is Toyota's worst enemy for 2007 Top 10: Predictions Partial in the buff pose shows Edwards is buff More Opinion NASCAR.COM Junior's future with DEI Earnhardt Jr. on his contract and relationship with Teresa Improve competition Learn how the Car of Tomorrow could improve competition More Videos

"It would really be nice to win at a Chevrolet track. I know there will be some high ranking officials there. You just want to solidify your team in any way possible."

In Bliss' case, Texas is all about the roar of the crowd.

"Texas is a great place to visit and the racetrack is awesome," he said. "The fans in Texas are great too, and usually draws a pretty good crowd for our race, plus, lately, the racing has been really exciting for all of the fans, so having them cheer us on makes it that much cooler to head to Texas."

Todd Bodine has to be the odds-on favorite, having won three of the last four Texas races. However, Setzer has 12 top-10 finishes in 16 starts.

Looking for a longshot? Try Rick Crawford, who is winless at Texas but has 10 top-10s there.

Houston native David Starr would love to score a victory in his home state. He's finished third three times and fourth on three other occasions.