Wednesday

Mike Skinner, 2010 E-Z-GO 200 NCWTS Race Preview

2010 NCWTS No. 5 International Trucks / Monaco RV Toyota (Mike Skinner) - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

• This Week’s Tundra… The No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Tundra team and driver Mike Skinner will race RMM-105 in Saturday’s 200-mile NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. RMM-105 last saw action at Homestead Miami Speedway in 2009. Skinner qualified the machine in the fifth spot, and crossed the finish line fifth.
• Most Poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway… Skinner is the only NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver to capture three poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  The NASCAR veteran holds the record for poles in the NCWTS with 50.
• Success at Atlanta Motor Speedway… Skinner is one of only two drivers to have wins in more than one of NASCAR’s top three series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Skinner took the checkered flag in the NCWTS race in 2007 and the NNS race in 1999. Kyle Busch is the only other driver with a win in more than one series at AMS.
• Toyota Skinner Round Up… Mike Skinner and his wife Angie will host the Fourth Annual Skinner Roundup on March 11^th at Daytona International Speedway. The event benefits Volusia County area charities, and is an annual event hosted an organized by the couple who reside in Daytona Beach.
• Toyota Loyalty… Skinner is the only driver to have piloted a Toyota Tundra in every NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. The two teamed up in 2004 when the manufacturer entered into the NASCAR arena.
• Watch and Listen… The E-Z-GO 200 will be seen live on Saturday, March 6 on SPEED with coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. The event will also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 128.

Mike Skinner on driving at Atlanta Motor Speedway

“I love racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  I’ve had success at the track in all three series, including a win in the Camping World Truck Series, a win in the Nationwide Series and some top-10 finishes in the [Sprint] Cup series. It’s a fast track and I am looking forward to the truck that Gene [Nead] and the team have built for this weekend. I think we’ll have a good showing at Atlanta for the International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra.”

Crew Chief Gene Nead on racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway

“We are really looking forward to this weekend.  Mike [Skinner] has had a lot of success on the mile-and-a-half tracks and we feel like we are bringing a package that will be competitive.  We had a great run going in Daytona [International Speedway] but didn’t have the finish to show for it.  We are going to Atlanta [Motor Speedway] to finish what we started in Daytona [International Speedway].

Mike Skinner

Birthdate: June 28, 1957

Hometown: Ontario, California (Raised in Susanville, Calif.)

Residence: Statesville, North Carolina

Status: Married to Angela

Children: Jamie and Dustin

Mike Skinner’s rise to greatness is unlike that of most past NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champions.  Growing up in Susanville, Calif., Skinner did not have the resources that most NASCAR racers had in the South.  He did not get behind the wheel of a race car until 1976 at Susanville Speedway, a half-mile dirt track in California, but from that moment on, he knew he wanted to make racing his career.

After winning a track championship at Susanville, Skinner decided he needed to move east to race against the best of the best. He moved to North Carolina with the hope of making a name for himself.  He competed with other NASCAR hopefuls throughout the Carolinas and Virginia, trying to get his big break.  His hard work paid off, and the then-28-year-old Skinner got behind the wheel of his first NASCAR Cup Series ride at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in 1986.

It took another nine years for Skinner to get another chance to race full-time in one of NASCAR’s top series.  Skinner was named the driver of the No. 3 GM Goodwrench truck for Richard Childress Racing in 1995, the inaugural year of the Camping World Truck Series.  Skinner won the first race of the season at Phoenix International Raceway, and his fellow competitors immediately knew he would be a force to be reckoned with every weekend.  Skinner went on to post eight wins, 17 top-five finishes and 18 top-10 finishes en route to his first Truck Series Championship.

Skinner returned to the Cup Series with RCR in 1997. He drove the No. 31 car to three top-10 finishes, swept the pole for both events at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and was named the series’ Rookie of the Year.

Skinner drove the No. 31 car through the end of the 2001 season, compiling 38 top-10 finishes and winning back-to-back NASCAR exhibition races in Japan (1997 and 1998).  Skinner also won the Gatorade 125-mile qualifying race at Daytona in 2001.

Skinner moved to the No. 4 Kodak car in 2002.  He had a solid year and posted a top-10 finish at [Rockingham] North Carolina Speedway.  He substituted for injured driver Jerry Nadeau the following season and scored a pole at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in September.

Skinner returned to the Truck Series in 2004, this time driving a Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing.  He knew Toyota had the best resources and losing was not an option, which was also his personal credo.  It was a perfect fit.  Skinner posted four top-five finishes, nine top-10 finishes and finished 11th in the year-end point standings.

The 2005 season was another strong year for Skinner and the No. 5 Toyota Tundra team.  The team claimed seven pole positions and ended BDR’s winless streak in the Truck Series by winning back-to-back races at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway.  The victories enabled team owners Bill and Gail Davis to become one of only six car owners to win in all three NASCAR national touring series. Skinner paced the field a series-best 874 laps and complied nine top-five finishes and 13 top-10 finishes.

Skinner once again piloted the No. 5 Toyota Tundra in 2006.  The team again captured the award for the most poles during the season (eight). After an outstanding win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, eight top-five finishes, 13 top-10 finishes and a 10th-place finish in the final points standings, Skinner wrapped up another great season in his career.

The 2007 season was just as dominating for Skinner and his No. 5 Tundra team.  He led the series with five victories, 17 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes and 11 poles en route to a second-place finish in the Championship standings. Skinner set the Truck Series record of most poles in a single season (11) after breaking the record (10) he set in 1995.  Skinner’s 11 poles and developmental driver Ryan Mathews’ pole earlier in the season helped BDR earn the single-season pole record in both the Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Though Skinner did not have the year he was hoping for in the 2008 battle for the Truck Series championship, he posted impressive stats and finished sixth in the driver points battle. Skinner earned four pole positions, a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, five top-five and an amazing 18 top-10 finishes in competition in 2008.

Skinner joined Randy Moss Motorsports in 2009 to drive the No. 5 Toyota Tundra. During his first year with that team, Skinner made his 200^th start in the Truck Series. He also won three races- the events at Kansas Speedway, Iowa Speedway and Gateway International Raceway. Skinner also continued his impressive record of leading the field to the green by scoring three pole positions. Skinner and his Randy Moss Motorsports crew fought their way to a solid third-place finish in the point standings.

- Randy Moss Motorsports, Press Release