Mike Skinner (racing driver)

This article is about the racecar driver. For other uses, see Michael Skinner.

Mike Skinner
Born	June 28, 1957 (1957-06-28) (age 54) Susanville, California
Achievements	1995 SuperTruck Series Champion (now Camping World Truck Series)
Awards	1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
Car no., team	#60 - Germain Racing
2009 position	55th
Best finish	10th - 1999
First race	1986 Sovran Bank 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 39 6
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
Best finish	27th - 2001
First race	1987 Country Squire 200 (Darlington)
First win	1999 Yellow Freight 300 (Atlanta)
Last win	1999 Yellow Freight 300 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 16 3
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
Truck no., team	45 Eddie Sharp Racing
2010 position	8th
Best finish	1st - 1995
First race	1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
First win	1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last win	2009 Copart 200 (Gateway)
Wins Top tens Poles 28 144 49
Statistics current as of January 1, 2011.

Mike Skinner (born June 28, 1957) is an American driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.^[1] He is the primary driver of the #60 Big Red Soda Toyota Camry for Germain Racing. He is the father of former NASCAR drivers Jamie and Dustin Skinner. He was born in Susanville, California.

Early career

Skinner began racing at Susanville Speedway in the 1970s 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

1997 Cup racecar

Mike Skinner races the #31 Chevrolet in the 2000 Coca-Cola 600.

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 at Talladega, where he flipped after contact with Sterling Marlin.

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 Sprint 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 after cutting a right-front tire and crashing head-first in Turn 1, blacking out for 30+ seconds. He was forced to miss the next 5 races. Skinner had another wreck at Darlington Raceway before that. He would return and soon after had to undergo season-ending knee surgery and Robby Gordon took over, beginning at Kansas Speedway and for the rest of the season.^[2] Gordon had taken over before during that period of time that Skinner missed because of the accident.

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 Sprint Cup Series. His final race of the season came at Homestead for Michael Waltrip Racing.

In 2004, Skinner returned to the Camping World 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 Camping World Truck Series while running a part-time Sprint 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.

2006 truck

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. In the Truck Series, Skinner won three races with Eric Phillips and finished third in points to Ron Hornaday. The next season, however, would be quite different. Phillips left RMM after 2009 to be the crew chief for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Veteran Gene Nead initially replaced Phillips, but Nead left the team after Charlotte, being replaced by team engineer Stacy Johnson. Their season would only go downhill from there, with Skinner grabbing only two top 5's and a 8th place finish in points. Skinner parted ways with RMM on January 19, 2011.

In 2011, Skinner attempted to qualify the #45 Toyota Tundra for Eddie Sharp Racing at Daytona, but failed to make the race on speed. Surprisingly, Skinner was ineligible to use his past champion's provisional due to ESR entering the #45 after the entry deadline. He drove #60 Big Red Soda Toyota Camry for Germain Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and also spent a few races driving the #32 Ford Fusion for FAS Lane Racing. He also drove for Tommy Baldwin Racing in Alanta after medical issues forced Dave Blaney from the car.

Skinner has earned over $22 million in his NASCAR career.

References

1. ^ Mike Skinner Career Statistics
2. ^ 2001 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Yearbook. UMI Publications. 2001. pp. 240. 

External links

• Official website

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.

Persondata
Name	Skinner, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 28, 1957
Place of birth	Susanville, California
Date of death
Place of death