Pre-Race Notes and Quotes
Bristol Motor Speedway
O’Reilly 200 Presented by Valvoline
August 19, 2009
SKINNER AT BRISTOL: Mike Skinner will be making his 194th start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series when the green flag drops for the O’Reilly 200 Presented by Valvoline at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Wednesday evening. The Susanville, California, native has raced in seven NCWTS races on the .533-mile track and has one pole position and one win to his credit. Skinner has posted three top-five and five top-10 finishes on the high-banked, concrete oval and has been running at the end of each of the seven events. Skinner has completed 99 percent of the laps in which he has competed at BMS and has led 478 of them.
PHILLIPS’ CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew Chief Eric Phillips and the Exide team will utilize chassis No. 101 for this week’s race. This is the second time the team will unload this particular truck, which was first run at Texas Motor Speedway in June. Skinner qualified in 11th place and drove to a 10th-place finish in that event.
WHAT SKINNER SAYS: “Bristol is one of my favorite tracks. I just love the concrete tracks and I love how aggressive the driving style is at Bristol. I’ve got a win in the trucks there and it’s one of my most precious racing accomplishments. For me, going to Bristol is as special as going to places like Daytona (Fla.) and Indianapolis. The atmosphere and all the seats and the feeling you get when you walk through the gates is amazing, so I’m looking forward to getting there.
“There’s just something about the short tracks that I like and I think that a lot of the reason that we run well there is because I really look forward to racing there. I think that’s half the battle. If you’re not excited and looking forward to racing at Bristol or any other place like that really, chances are you’re not going to have a very good day.”
THE GREATEST 72 HOURS OF YOUR LIFE: NASCAR Angels, a weekly reality television program from NASCAR® that hits the road to help those in desperate need of a transportation fix, is teaming up with Exide® Batteries – the official battery of NASCAR – on a unique promotion that combines auto racing and football, two of America’s favorite spectator sports.
The grand prize winner of the Exide Extreme Tailgate Sweepstakes will score a package that is billed as The Greatest 72 Hours of Your Life and includes a trip to Fort Worth, Texas, for a NASCAR race, a private tailgate with NASCAR Champion Mike Skinner, hospitality, VIP tours and passes, combined with a trip to Boston, Massachusetts for a football game tailgate in the Exide Extreme Tailgate Party Van, and a chance to meet NASCAR team owner and football great Randy Moss – all in one exciting weekend. The sweepstakes, running from August 10 through September 14 gives fans around the country a chance to win a positively ultimate weekend experience. The grand prize package includes roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations, transportation, and more. Other lucky participants can win prizes such as a tailgate grill, folding tailgate chair and a daily instant prize of a collapsible cooler to be given away each day during the promotion.
THE SEASON’S STATS: The No. 5 team has posted six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 14 events this season, including one win, which came at Kansas Speedway in April. Skinner holds down the third spot in the NCWTS point standings, 32 markers behind second place.
SKINNER CAREER NCWTS STATS: Mike Skinner has scored 26 victories in 193 starts in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition and has earned 86 top-five and 124 top-10 finishes since making his first start in Phoenix (and going on to win) in 1995.
MAKING THE MOVE TO N.C.: After years of commuting between their home in Daytona Beach, Florida, and race shops in North Carolina, Mike and Angie Skinner have loaded up their belongings and headed north. The Skinner’s have purchased a house in the Statesville area and are busy settling in to their new place
BACK TO DOUBLE DUTY: Skinner will once again be behind the wheel of the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing entry for Saturday evening’s NASCAR Sprint Cup event after taking a two-week hiatus. Skinner is hoping to make his fourth start of the season in the TBR Toyota.
POINT AND CLICK: Fans can continue to vote for their favorite driver for the Most Popular Driver Award through the end of October. The results of the online balloting will be announced at the NCWTS awards banquet at the end of the season. Visit www.nascar.com for more details and to cast your vote for Mike.
WATCH AND LISTEN: Race coverage will be televised on SPEED and heard live on select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio Channel 128, beginning at 8 p.m. (ET).
ABOUT EXIDE TECHNOLOGIES: Exide Technologies, with operations in more than 80 countries, is one of the world's largest producers and recyclers of lead-acid batteries. The Company's four global business groups – Transportation Americas, Transportation Europe and Rest of World, Industrial Energy Americas and Industrial Energy Europe and Rest of World – provide a comprehensive range of stored electrical energy products and services for industrial and transportation applications.
Transportation markets include original-equipment and aftermarket automotive, heavy-duty truck, agricultural and marine applications, and new technologies for hybrid vehicles and automotive applications. Industrial markets include network power applications such as telecommunications systems, electric utilities, railroads, photovoltaic (solar-power related) and uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and motive-power applications including lift trucks, mining and other commercial vehicles.
Further information about Exide, including its financial results, are available at www.exide.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.