When all else fails in NASCAR, a champion’s provisional usually provides a fairly reliable safety net … unless you’re Mike Skinner and you’re batting zero in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season opener.
Lucky for Skinner, the next race on the schedule is Friday’s stop at Phoenix International Raceway (8 p.m. ET live on SPEED™; NCWTS Setup with Krista Voda at 7:30 p.m. ET), site of his career-first Truck Series win in the series’ inaugural race in 1995. In 11 Truck starts at Phoenix, Skinner has recorded two wins, two pole positions, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
But rewind to Daytona. Skinner, the 1995 NCWTS champion, failed to make the race last week after suffering unusual mechanical and electrical issues with his No. 45 Cushman/Paytas Homes Toyota. The truck’s starter shorted out before the first practice, burned up the wiring, caught the battery on fire and cost the team significant on-track time. Skinner’s qualifying lap was not fast enough to make the race on time, and to add insult to injury, the team was informed it had not designated a driver on the entry blank by the required time, disallowing Skinner the past champion’s provisional starting spot.
“With all the fluke things that went wrong on the truck with the starter shorting out and the battery catching fire and then us missing the race, I thought it had been a pretty bad start to the weekend,” Skinner recalled. “But when they told us we didn’t get the champion’s provisional because the entry blank had the driver listed as ‘TBD,’ I thought the joke was on me. I almost started looking at myself, wondering if I was living wrong or something. What else could go wrong at this point? We were the poster boys for freak things that can go wrong on a race weekend.”
But Skinner, still searching for a ful ltime ride beyond this weekend, has kept Daytona in perspective and in the rear view mirror.
“I wasn’t expecting to compete in the Truck race when we left Statesville (N.C.) for Daytona,” Skinner explained. “We just planned on hanging out, seeing friends, going to the Truck race, talking to owners and sponsors, playing golf and enjoying the sunshine. It had been as cold as hell up in North Carolina and we decided to go South. Everything that came together with Eddie Sharp Racing for Daytona was all last-minute and when that happens, you usually don’t get an optimum result. It was no fault of anyone’s on the team and I appreciate all their hard work in Daytona and what they’ll do this weekend in Phoenix.”
Skinner says neither he nor the team was aware of the written rule requiring a driver be designated, but that a rule is a rule. However, he thinks that, under the circumstances, he should have been allowed the provisional starting spot.
“If the team went out in practice and found out their truck was terrible and then went out and hired a past champion to ensure they made the race, that’s not fair to the rest of the competition,” he said. “But I was the driver before we ever went through inspection; I started practice. Under the circumstances, I think I should have gotten my champion’s provisional. But we didn’t and last week is history.”
The only part of last week that Skinner and the team won’t set aside is their commitment to the sponsors who supported them at Daytona. Previously not scheduled to compete at Phoenix, the No. 45 Eddie Sharp Racing team entered Friday’s race at Phoenix as a replacement for the one they missed at Daytona. And yes, Skinner’s name is on the entry blank.
“This week we’re going to honor our commitments to the Cushman brand and Paytas Homes of Daytona,” Skinner stated. “They came on board to help us out last week and we didn’t produce. I agreed that I would run the Phoenix race this weekend to fulfill that commitment.”
The last-minute addition to the schedule required a little thrashing on the team’s part, but Skinner hopes his strong record at Phoenix will compensate for the lack of proper preparation.
“The bad news is they didn’t have time to prepare a truck specifically for Phoenix,” Skinner said. “It’s an older truck but they worked really hard to get it ready. You never know - I’ve won a bunch of races when we didn’t think we had a shot at running well, so we’ll start with getting it to handle well and see where we stand. The good news for us this weekend is that I’ve got a pretty good grasp on this race track and am extremely comfortable there.”
If Skinner qualifies for Friday’s Truck Series race, it will mark his 230th series start. He says he currently is undecided about his status for the remainder of the season, although he continues to search for sponsorship and the right team.
“We’ve been talking to teams and sponsors and have two or three great leads right now,” Skinner said. “But I’m at the point in my life and career where I’m not going to sign on unless I think we can run up front and contend for wins. Eddie Sharp is the same way. And until we find that right fit, Phoenix might be my last race for a little while.”
• For the original post of this full article and related mentions on SPEED Channel website, click here.
• Mike's Bio page on SPEED can be found here.
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Well, Mike sure did not sound very happy with the quality of equipment he got to work with this week. Wondering what is going to happen next? Brad
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