Madison, Ill. ? Mike Bliss, back as a regular in the NASCAR truck series after a two-year absence, edged Dennis Setzer to win the pole Saturday for the Dodge Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway.

Bliss qualified his Chevrolet at 129.549 mph, and will start on the pole today for the first time since May 16, 1999. It was his 15th career pole, matching Mike Skinner for third in series history.

Setzer, who won three weeks ago in Martinsville, Va., drove his Chevy around the 1.25-mile speedway at 129.470. Ted Musgrave was third-fastest in the 36-truck field in a Dodge at 129.403.

Rick Crawford’s Ford qualified fourth, followed by Musgrave’s teammate, Jason Leffler. Travis Kvapil, points leader Robert Pressley, Terry Cook, Jon Wood and Lance Hooper completed the top 10.

“I took a vacation from racing, but it wasn’t my choice,” said Bliss, who enters the fourth race of the season fifth in points after top-five finishes in Darlington, S.C., and Martinsville. “We’ve got all the tools we need to be competitive.”

Bliss, released by A.J. Foyt in 2000 after failing to qualify for the Daytona 500, drove a partial season in the Winston Cup series but entered only a handful of open-wheel events last year. He rejoined the Craftsman Truck series with Steve Coulter’s Xpress Motorsports team for a single race late last year and now has a full-time ride.

Bliss, a seven-time winner in the series, got his most recent victory in 1999 in Topeka, Kan.

Mike Wallace qualified Winston Cup driver Ken Schrader’s Chevy 14th. Schrader planned to race here after competing Saturday night in the Pontiac Excitement 400 in Richmond, Va., but that race was suspended by rain and will be completed today.

Wallace will remain in the truck for the race.