TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 31, 2009) – Charging ahead from an 11th place starting position, Mike Skinner was able to take the lead on lap 31 of the 94 lap Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, Skinner was an innocent bystander in a multi-truck accident late in the event and, though able to finish the race, took the checkered flag in a disappointing 19th place.
The trucks had only one practice session Friday prior to qualifying and Mike Skinner led the way. His was the 14th of 38 trucks to take to the track for qualifying that afternoon and his speed of 177.314 miles per hour around the 2.66-mile superspeedway earned him 11th place on the starting grid.
Rain showers in the area began Friday evening and lasted into the afternoon Saturday. NASCAR and track officials did a great job drying the expansive track and the start of the race was delayed only slightly. Skinner lined up for the event in the 11th position, but drove into the top five on the first lap. An early caution flag for debris enabled crew chief Eric Phillips to call his driver into the pits for fuel on lap nine with most of the field doing the same. Skinner took the green for the restart just inside the top 10 and jumped to the outside lane not long after. Leading the charge on the outside, Skinner and those drivers following him caught up to the leaders on lap 25. Skinner won a hard-fought battle and finally took the lead six laps later. He lost the lead only once before a caution flag flew on lap 40.
Phillips made the decision to bring the No. 5 PC*MILER Navigator Toyota Tundra into the pits for four tires and fuel during the caution period and when the green flag waved for the lap-43 restart, Skinner held down the seventh position. The veteran driver worked his way back into the top five by the midway point of the race.
Disaster struck for Skinner’s Randy Moss Motorsports teammate Tayler Malsam on lap 65 when he was involved in a multi-truck accident. Phillips called Skinner into the pits for fuel during the ensuing caution period and the crew sent him back out onto the track in the third spot, where he remained through lap 87. Back to leading the outside lane and making progress toward catching the leader on lap 91, Skinner was hit from behind by the truck driven by Johnny Sauter and sent spinning up the track. Several moments later, he was hit by the No. 9 truck, which caused considerable damage to the PC*MILER Navigator Toyota Tundra.
Skinner was able to drive his wounded truck back to the pit stall and the RMM crew went to work to try to repair the damage as best they could in an effort to get their truck back out onto the track for the final laps of the race. Skinner made several stops during the caution period so repairs could be made to the heavily damaged front end and right rear. Though two laps were lost during the process, Skinner was able to make it back out onto the track to take the checkered flag in the 19th position.
The 1995 series champion was able to maintain third place in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver point standings. He now stands 327 points behind series leader Ron Hornaday and 124 markers out of second, with three events remaining on the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule.
The Series returns to action next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The WinStar World Casino 350k will be broadcast live at 9 p.m. (ET) on SPEED TV and on select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio on Friday, November 6.
ABOUT PC*MILER NAVIGATOR: PC*MILER Navigator is changing the way commercial truck drivers work, as it is the first GPS navigation system specifically designed for company drivers, owner operators, and leased operators and the only way to get industry standard PC*MILER directions in the cab. For more information about PC*MILER, please visit www.pcmnav.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.