Mike Skinner (NASCAR)
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| Born: | June 28, 1957 (age 49) | |
| Birthplace: |  Susanville, California |
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| Awards: | 1995 Craftsman Truck Series Champion | |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
| 2006 NCTS Position: | 10th | |
| Best NCTS Position: | 1st - 1995 (Craftsman Truck Series) | |
| First Race: | 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | |
| First Win: | 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | |
| Last Win: | 2007 Kroger 250 Martinsville, VA (Martinsville Speedway) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 22 | 80 | 34 |
| All stats current as of March 31, 2007. | ||
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.
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[edit] Craftsman Truck Series
Mike Skinner competed in the inaugural 1995 SuperTruck Series (now Craftsman Truck Series). He was the series' first champion. He also holds the distinction of winning the first ever Truck Series event, barely edging NASCAR legend Terry Labonte. Skinner went on to win seven more races in 1995. In 1996, he impressively recorded another eight wins. He currently ranks third on the all-time Truck Series wins list with 22. He has earned 34 pole positions, a Craftsman Truck Series record. In 2007 he won 3 of the first 4 races of the season, and 3 in a row- all on different tracks: California (2 miles), Atlanta (1.5 miles), and Martinsville (.526 miles). He currently leads the points in the Craftsman Truck Series. This is the second time he has won 3 races in a row in his Truck Series career, the first Truck Series driver ever to accomplish that feat.
[edit] Busch Series
Mike Skinner has one NASCAR Busch Series victory. It came in 1999 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the #19 Yellow Freight Monte Carlo. NASCAR briefly stripped the win from Skinner for a post-race inspection violation. Runner-up Dave Blaney was given the win. Within a couple days, the victory was awarded back to Skinner.
[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 Craftsman 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. Skinner has significantly helped Bill Davis Racing's Nextel Cup Toyota Camry program through testing, and possibly racing a few events in NASCAR's top series in 2007. He failed to qualify the #23 Bill Davis Racing Camry for the 2007 Daytona 500.
Skinner is often referred to over the years as the best driver not to have won a Winston/Nextel Cup points race. He has several exhibition and non-points race wins in NASCAR's top series.
Mike currently drives the number 5 Toyota Tundra / 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. |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champions |
|---|
| Skinner • Hornaday • Sprague • Hornaday • Sprague • Biffle • Sprague • Bliss • Kvapil • Hamilton • Musgrave • Bodine |
