September 27, 2010 (Mooresville, NC) – Mike Bliss and the Key Motorsports team arrived at Dover International Speedway with a well prepared Westerman Companies Chevrolet for Saturday’s 200-mile NASCAR Nationwide Series race, while the effort fell short of the internal goal of a top 10 result the organization certainly achieved redemption with an 18th place finish after suffering engine failure in their last outing at Richmond two weeks ago.
No. 40 Westerman Companies Chevrolet Impala
Confident the return of the familiar green paint scheme of sponsor Westerman Companies would bring better results to the No. 40, Bliss and company began the weekend by posting a qualifying lap that earned the 17th starting spot in the 43-car field. “We haven’t been the greatest in qualifying this season and that is something we have been working on. We were able to get the car to stick on our qualifying lap and that paid off for us,” offered Bliss.
The veteran driver from Oregon fought a condition from the start, patiently waiting for the opportunity to visit pit road for service from the Gary Showalter led pit crew. Dover normally offers plenty of cautions, however the 2010 edition of the Dover 200 did not provide a yellow flag until lap 77, finally allowing Bliss the needed adjustments to improve the handling quality of the Westerman Companies/Key Motorsports Chevrolet. Another stop some 30 laps later situated the independent team in a competitive position for the balance of the afternoon.
“That last pit stop made a big difference in the car, we just needed a little more time to catch the leaders after we got ourselves squared away,” explained Bliss. “Gary and the crew did a great job this weekend and we appreciate Westerman Companies support here at Dover, they always bring us luck and we would like to carry their colors every week.”
Maintaining a top-20 position throughout the race, the Westerman Companies Chevrolet finished on the lead lap, gaining valuable points that will go a long way in meeting the goals of Key Motorsports by season’s end.
Key Motorsports crew chief Gary Showalter had mixed feelings about the team’s performance at the “Monster Mile.”
“Overall it was a good weekend for us,” summarized Showalter. “Our efforts at the shop and at the track warranted a top 10, circumstances resulted in a top 20. We over corrected on our race setup and anticipated more cautions than there were. Qualifying and pit stops served the Westerman Companies team well, everyone did a great job, we just came up a little short at the end. We are getting our momentum back and looking forward to Kansas next week.”
- Key Motorsports, Press Release
