Mike Skinner (NASCAR)
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| Born: | June 28, 1957 | |
| Birthplace: | Suanville, Carolina | |
| Awards: | 1995 Craftsman Truck Series Champion | |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
| 2005 NCTS Position: | 5th | |
| Best NCTS Position: | 1st - 1995 (Craftsman Truck Series) | |
| First Race: | 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | |
| First Win: | 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | |
| Last Win: | 2006 Smith's Las Vegas 350 (Las Vegas) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 19 | 74 | 27 |
| All stats current as of October 28, 2006. | ||
Mike Skinner (born June 28, 1957) is a NASCAR driver from Susanville, California who drives the #5 truck in the Craftsman Truck Series for Bill Davis Racing.
[edit] Craftsman Truck Series
Skinner competed in the inaugural 1995 SuperTruck Series (now Craftsman Truck Series). He was the series' first champion. He currently ranks third on the all-time Truck Series wins list with 19.
[edit] NEXTEL Cup
Mike Skinner's rookie season in NEXTEL Cup was in 1997 and started out on top by winning the pole of the 1997 Daytona 500 in his Lowe's sponsored Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He went on to claim Rookie of the Year at the NEXTEL Cup level. 1998 was uneventful for Skinner, though he helped then teamate Dale Earnhardt hold the lead on his way to victory in the 1998 Daytona 500. He finished a career high 9th in the points in 1999. In 2000 he was on his way to a dominating victory in the spring Atlanta race before his engine expired within sight of the checkered flag, and finished second to Jeff Gordon five races later at Talladega. He was let go from Richard Childress Racing late in 2001 due to injury and performance problems. He drove for the struggling Morgan-McClure Motorsports car in 2002 and 2003, after scoring only 1 top ten finish in 2 seasons, he left the NEXTEL Cup series to join Toyota's entry in the Craftsmen Truck Series.
In 2006, Mike was scheduled to drive the #23 Bill Davis Racing Dodge part-time in Nextel Cup. In the car, he failed to make the Daytona 500. Bill Lester subsequently made more starts in the car. He has subsequently made appearances in the #34 Front Row Motorsports car and the #37 R&J Racing car. He is not currently under contract to any Nextel Cup team.
Mike currently drives the number 5 Toyota Dealers / XM Toyota in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He drove at the Winston Cup level for Richard Childress Racing from 1997 to 2001 and for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 2002 and 2003.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: None |
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion 1995 |
Succeeded by: Ron Hornaday, Jr. |
| Preceded by: Johnny Benson |
NASCAR Rookie of the Year 1997 |
Succeeded by: Kenny Irwin, Jr. |
