Pre-Race Notes and Quotes
Martinsville Speedway
Kroger 250
Saturday, March 28, 2009
BAD BOY, BAD BOY…MOWERS: The No. 5 Randy Moss Motorsports Toyota Tundra, driven by Mike Skinner, will be sponsored by Bad Boy Mowers for this Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Bad Boy Mowers, a commercial and residential lawn mower company, announced last week that they have partnered up with Mike Skinner once again, as the pair has worked together in the past. Bad Boy Mowers, based out of Batesville, Arkansas, just released a new multi-terrain vehicle (MTV) to their 2009 line-up, as it features a powerful high-torque, electric traction motor with push button and on-the-fly 4WD. For more information about Bad Boy Mowers, please visit www.badboymowers.com.
SKINNER AT MARTINSVILLE: Skinner has competed in 12 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway. In those 12 races, the 1995 Truck Series champion has three wins, two of which came in 2007 when Skinner swept both races (spring and fall). He has also recorded five top-five and eight top-10 finishes, along with one pole. Skinner’s average starting position is 9.2 and his average finishing position is 11.8, while he has led a total of 593 laps in NCWTS competition. Also, Skinner has competed in 16 Sprint Cup Series races at the 0.526-mile short track, resulting in one top-five and three top-10 finishes. Skinner has also led a total of 148 laps in NSCS competition.
CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Eric Phillips and the No. 5 team will unload Randy Moss Motorsports chassis, MDM-106. This Toyota Tundra is a brand new chassis that saw its first laps during a test session held on Tuesday, March 24th at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Virginia.
VIEW FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT: Mike Skinner and the No. 5 Bad Boy Mowers Toyota Tundra will carry a Toyota in-car camera for this weekend’s activities at Martinsville Speedway. This in-car camera will allow fans at home an up close view from inside the truck as it races at the track known as the “paperclip.”
ROUND UP RECAP: Two weekends ago, Mike and his wife, Angie hosted their Third Annual Toyota Skinner Round Up presented by Halifax Health. On March 12th and 13th, the Round Up took place at Daytona International Speedway and Spruce Creek Country Club in Daytona Beach, Fla., where many celebrities, including RMM co-owner Randy Moss, came out to show support and participate in the event’s activities. This year’s event raised over $130,000 for local Daytona Beach charities, such as the Council of Aging, Greyhound Pets of America, Halifax Health Foundation, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Concerned Citizens for Animal Welfare.
ROUND ONE: Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway will mark the first short track race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this season. This will also be race one of the season at Martinsville, as Truck Series action will return to the Virginia short track on Saturday, October 24th.
MARTINSVILLE MILESTONE: Martinsville Speedway is one of just three tracks that have hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race every year since the inaugural season in 1995. Also, this weekend’s Kroger 250 will the mark the 15th season of Truck Series racing at Martinsville.
DID YOU KNOW?: Mike Skinner is not only the inaugural Truck Series Champion, but he holds the honor of winning the first ever Truck Series race, which was held at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway on February 2nd, 1995. Skinner went on to tally seven more victories during that season, driving the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet owned by Richard Childress.
CATCH THE ACTION: The Kroger 250 from Martinsville Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, March 28th at 2 P.M. Eastern. Race coverage will be televised live on FOX, beginning at 1:30 P.M. Eastern, and heard live on select affiliates of MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Both practice sessions on Friday will be televised live on SPEED at 11 A.M. and 1:30 P.M. Eastern respectively, along with qualifying on Saturday morning at 9:00 A.M. Eastern.
SKINNER (On racing at Martinsville): “I’m very excited to be heading to Martinsville this weekend. I’ve won two of the last four races the Truck Series has had there, so to go back to a track where you’ve had success in the past is always fun. We are taking a brand new truck this weekend and my team has put in a lot of time and effort to get this new Toyota ready to go racing. Bad Boy Mowers has come on board this weekend and hopefully we will be able to get them to Victory Lane. I know that it is going to be a good one and I’m ready to get on the track. Martinsville is always an exciting track to race at and I’m really stoked about going to the track with my Randy Moss Motorsports team.”
SKINNER (On his preference between short tracks and intermediate tracks): “I enjoy racing at all types of tracks, but if I had to pick one type it would be short tracks. Short tracks are always fun and exciting, not only for the drivers and teams but for the fans. The Truck Series puts on great racing every week and this weekend’s race at Martinsville is not going to be any different. I seem to run really well at intermediate tracks, but short tracks are still my favorite.”
SKINNER (On the Third Annual Toyota Skinner Round Up): “First of all, the Third Annual Toyota Skinner Round-Up went unbelievably good. Lots of people opened their hearts and opened their wallets to give to some of the great charities that we are going to be able to help. We had a great time, with some of my good friends – Randy Moss, Jim Kelly, Edwin McCain, Ron Hornaday, TJ Bell, Rick Crawford, and Steve Park, to name a few. I had some of my NASCAR friends along with some football friends come and have a good time with us and I can’t thank them enough for joining us in Daytona Beach. Edwin McCain and Stacy Mitchhart are two of the most talented people on the planet and they actually got on stage and performed together, which was really neat for all of the people who came out. We couldn’t have done it without Toyota, Exide, the presenting sponsor, Halifax Health, and all of the great sponsors that helped us put on this wonderful event. It was awesome to see lots of people come together for a great cause. Everyone is hearing all of the negative problems with our economy and for us to be able to come so close to the numbers that we have had the past couple of years is just amazing. Right now we are over $130,000 in total amount raised, which is so awesome. We were truly blessed.”
ABOUT BAD BOY MOWERS: Founded in 1998, Bad Boy Mowers started in a small 900 square foot garage, producing the Bad Boy zero-turn commercial lawn mowers. The Bad Boy Mowers research team started working to achieve their goal: to develop the strongest, most durable zero-turn mower available and to deliver excellent quality of cut, reliability, productivity and comfort. Because of the rapid success that the company has seen as their goal has become reality, Bad Boy Mowers are now manufactured, assembled, and stored in multiple facilities comprising over 600,000 square feet in Batesville, Arkansas. Bad Boy Mowers’ vision for the future is to become the “Bad Boy” of the commercial mowing industry by continuing to work with the experts in the commercial turf industry to provide their customers with a superior performing machine second to none in power, durability and accessibility. Bad Boy Mowers just released a new multi-terrain vehicle (MTV) to their 2009 product line-up, as it features a powerful high-torque, electric traction motor with push button and on-the-fly 4WD. For more information about Bad Boy Mowers, please visit www.badboymowers.com.
ABOUT RANDY MOSS MOTORSPORTS: Randy Moss Motorsports ownership consists of Randy Moss, New England Patriots All-Pro Wide Receiver; and David Dollar, a long-time participant in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team fields the No. 81 Toyota Tundra and the No. 5 Toyota Tundra full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. For more information about Randy Moss Motorsports, please visit www.randymossmotorsports.com.
-RMM-