Mike Skinner (NASCAR)
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| Born | June 28, 1957 | ||||||
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| Hometown | Susanville, California | ||||||
| Achievements | 1995 Craftsman Truck Series Champion | ||||||
| Awards | 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series statistics | |||||||
| Car #, team | #70 - TRG Motorsports | ||||||
| 2009 Sprint Cup position | 55th | ||||||
| Best cup position | 10th - 1999 (Winston Cup) | ||||||
| First race | 1986 Sovran Bank 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
| Last race | 2009 Dickies 500 (Texas) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Nationwide Series statistics | |||||||
| 2006 NNS position | 46th | ||||||
| Best NNS position | 44th - 1999 (Busch Series) | ||||||
| First race | 1987 Country Squire 200 (Darlington) | ||||||
| Last race | 2006 Ford 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
| First win | 1999 Yellow Freight 300 (Atlanta) | ||||||
| Last win | 1999 Yellow Freight 300 (Atlanta) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics | |||||||
| Truck #, team | #5 - Randy Moss Motorsports | ||||||
| 2009 NCWTS position | 3rd | ||||||
| Best NCWTS position | 1st -1995 | ||||||
| First race | 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | ||||||
| First win | 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | ||||||
| Last win | 2009 Copart 200 (Gateway) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of February 12, 2010. | |||||||
Mike Skinner, born June 28, 1957 in Susanville, California, is a NASCAR driver now living in Daytona Beach, Florida. He currently drives the #5 Navistar International/Monaco RV Toyota Tundra for Randy Moss Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is the father of former NASCAR drivers Jamie and Dustin Skinner.
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Early career
Skinner began racing at Susanville Speedway in the 1970's in a Plymouth Road Runner at various California dirt tracks, winning three championships. He soon moved to North Carolina and worked as a crew member for Rusty Wallace and at Petty Enterprises. In 1986, he made his NASCAR debut in the Sprint Cup Series, driving the #19 Pontiac for the Zanworth Racing Team, and had a best finish of 22nd in three starts. The following year, he made his Nationwide Series debut at Darlington Raceway, finishing 27th in the #0 Hunt Tire Oldsmobile. He did not compete in NASCAR again until 1990, when he drove the #13 Glidden Paints Buick for Mansion Motorsports at North Carolina Speedway, finishing 35th with rear end failure. He ran four races for Dixon over the next two years, before running one race in 1993 for Jimmy Means.
In 1994, Skinner began racing late models for Gene Petty, and won a local track championship. He and Petty also began racing in the Nationwide Series in the #88, winning one pole in the Kentucky Fried Chicken Chevrolet, but failing to finish a race.
RCR
Skinner was selected by Richard Childress Racing to drive the #3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Silverado in 1995, the inaugural season for the Camping World Truck Series. He won the first race in the series, and collected 7 more victories en route to winning the first championship in series history. He equaled his win total the following season, but fell to 3rd in the standings. That year, he ran 5 races for RCR in the Sprint Cup Series, qualifying in the top-ten 3 times and having a best finish of 12th in the #31 Realtree car. He also filled in for teammate Dale Earnhardt when Earnhardt was recovering from injuries suffered in a wreck.
In the 1997 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Skinner was promoted to full-time, driving the #31 with Lowe's sponsorship. He won poles at both of the season's races at Daytona International Speedway, and had 3 top-ten finishes. Despite failing to qualify for 1 race and a 30th place points finish, he won the Rookie of the Year award. He had 9 top-tens his sophomore season, but finished 21st in points after being forced sit out three races due to injury. He also won a pair of exhibition races in Japan during those two seasons, when NASCAR raced in Asia for the first time since its inception. He finished no worse than 6th in the first four races of the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and held the points lead briefly during the early portion of the season. He had a total of 14 top-tens and ended the year a career-high 10th in points. He also returned to the Nationwide Series, driving the #19 Yellow Freight Systems Chevy for Emerald Performance Group. He won his only career race at Atlanta after being disqualified for a rules infraction, before NASCAR overturned its decision.
Skinner had 11 top-tens in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup season, but fell to 12th in points and lost crew chief Larry McReynolds. In the 2001 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, he had only 1 top-ten and suffered severe injuries in a wreck at Chicagoland Speedway. He was forced to miss the next 5 races, and returned for a limited schedule, but was released near the end of the season.
2002–Present
Skinner signed on to drive the #4 Kodak Chevy for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in the 2002 NASCAR season. He only had one top-ten finish and finished 31st in points at season's end. He continued to struggle when the team switched to Pontiac in the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and after failing to qualify for the Sirius 400, he was released. He spent the majority of the rest of season running part-time in the Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports before being selected to fill in for Jerry Nadeau at MBV Motorsports in the Cup Series. His final race of the season came at Homestead for Michael Waltrip Racing.
In 2004, Skinner returned to the Truck Series to drive the #42 Toyota Tundra for Bang! Racing. He was running 9th in points when conflicts between Toyota and Bang's owners caused the team to split and run the #5 Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing. He won 2 poles and finished the year 11th in points with no victories. He collected 2 wins in 2005 and finished 5th in points in the Truck Series while running a part-time Cup schedule for Davis and R&J Racing. He won only once in 2006 and fell to 10th in points, while filling in at other series at FitzBradshaw Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and CJM Racing. In 2007, he won five Truck races and fell short of winning the championship by 54 points.
Skinner's lone 2008 win came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he finished sixth in Truck points. He also ran a part-time schedule in Sprint Cup, filling in for A. J. Allmendinger at Team Red Bull early in the 2008 Sprint Cup season. Skinner made 2 additional starts in the #84 Red Bull Car during the Chase for the Sprint Cup, as Allmendinger would not be back in the car in 2009. Skinner was also hired by Michael Waltrip Racing to drive the #00 Champion Mortgage car in the Sprint Cup Series for 3 races: Michigan, Bristol, and Auto Club Speedway.
Skinner was under contract to drive for Davis through 2009, but the team was sold and ceased operations. On January 29, 2009, it was announced that Skinner would drive one of two trucks that Randy Moss Motorsports fields, the #5 Exide Tundra. Skinner attempted to qualify for the 2009 Daytona 500 in the R3 Motorsports #23 Mahindra Tractors Chevrolet Impala SS, but failed to qualify due to engine trouble at the Gatorade Duels at Daytona. Skinner drove in a few Sprint Cup races in Tommy Baldwin Racing's #36 Car in 2009. He also ran the #70 Chevrolet Impala SS for TRG Motorsports in NASCAR's top series late in the 2009 season.
External links
| Preceded by None |
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion 1995 |
Succeeded by Ron Hornaday, Jr. |
| Preceded by Johnny Benson, Jr. |
NASCAR Rookie of the Year 1997 |
Succeeded by Kenny Irwin, Jr. |
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