Mike Skinner (NASCAR)
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| Born: | June 28, 1957 | |
| Birthplace: | Ontario, California | |
| Achievements: | — | |
| Awards: | 1995 Craftsman Truck Series Champion | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics | ||
| 2007 Sprint Cup Position: | 65th | |
| Best Cup Position: | 10th - 1999 (Winston Cup Series) | |
| First Race: | 1986 Sovran Bank 500 (Martinsville) | |
| Last Race: | 2008 Subway Fresh Fit 500 (Phoenix) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 39 | 6 |
| NASCAR Nationwide Series Statistics | ||
| 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) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 1 | 16 | 3 |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
| 2007 NCTS Position: | 2nd | |
| 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 200 (Martinsville) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 24 | 102 | 41 |
| Statistics current as of May 13, 2008. | ||
Mike Skinner (born June 28, 1957 in Ontario, California) is a NASCAR driver from Susanville, California now living in Daytona Beach, Florida. He currently drives the #5 truck in the Craftsman Truck Series for Bill Davis Racing. He is the father of Jamie Skinner, a former NASCAR competitor, and Dustin Skinner, who is a development driver for Key Motorsports.
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[edit] 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 Winston 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 Busch 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 Busch Series in the #88, winning one pole in the Kentucky Fried Chicken Chevrolet, but failing to finish a race.
[edit] Childress Racing
Skinner was selected by Richard Childress Racing to drive the #3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Silverado in 1995, the inaugural season for the NASCAR SuperTruck Series. He won the first race in the Series, and collected seven more victories en route to winning the first championship in series history. He equalled his win total the following season, but fell to third in the standings. That year, he ran five races for Childress in the Winston Cup Series, qualifying in the top-ten three 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 1997. Skinner was promoted full-time to WInston Cup, driving the #31 with Lowe's sponsorship. He won poles at both of the season's races at Daytona International Speedway, and had three top-ten finishes. Despite failing to qualify for one race and a 30th place points finish, he won the Rookie of the Year award. He had nine 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. He finished no worse than sixth in the first four races of 1999, and held the points lead briefly during the early portion of the season. He had a total of fourteen top-tens and ended the year a career-high tenth in points. He also returned to the Busch 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 eleven top-tens in 2000, but fell to twelfth in points and lost crew chief Larry McReynolds. In 2001, he had only one top-ten and suffered severe injuries in a wreck at Chicagoland Speedway. He was forced to miss the next five races, and returned for a limited schedule, but was released near the end of the season.
[edit] 2002-Present
Skinner signed on to drive the #4 Kodak Chevy for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 2002. 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 2003, and after failing to qualify for the Sirius 400, he was released. He spent the majority of the season running part-time in the Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports before being selected to fill in for Jerry Nadeau at MBV Motorsports. 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 ninth in points when conflicts between Toyota and Bang's owners caused the team to split and run the #5 for Bill Davis, where Skinner has been ever since. He won two poles and finished the year eleventh in points with no victories. He collected two wins in 2005 and finished fifth in points while running a part-time Cup schedule for Davis and R&J Racing. He won only once in 2006 and fell to tenth in points, while filling at FitzBradshaw Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and CJM Racing. In 2007, he won five races and fell short of winning the championship by fifty-four points.
He will continue to drive for Davis through 2009. He also ran a part-time schedule in Cup filling in for A. J. Allmendinger at Team Red Bull.
[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. |
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| Bill Davis Racing | |
| Sprint Cup Drivers | Dave Blaney (#22) |
| Craftsman Truck Series Drivers | Mike Skinner (#5) | Scott Speed (#22) | Johnny Benson (#23) |
| Development drivers | Michael Annett |
| Owner(s) | Bill Davis |
