HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 20, 2009) – Starting from the fifth position, Mike Skinner drove the No. 5 Exide Batteries Racing Toyota Tundra to a sixth-place finish in Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Earning a third-place finish in the driver point standings, it was the 1995 Truck Series Champion’s highest finish since 2007 and the fifth time Skinner has finished the season in the top five in points.
The No. 5 Exide Toyota sat atop the speed charts in the second practice session Thursday evening and was the 15th of 38 trucks to take to the track for his two-lap qualifying run early Friday afternoon. Skinner’s speed of 166.924 miles per hour around the mile and a half oval earned him the 5th spot on the starting grid for Friday evening’s event. The top-five effort marked the team’s 12th of the season.
Skinner took the green flag for the start of the Ford 200 and by the completion of lap one had moved into third. A caution flag on lap 32 of the event enabled crew chief Eric Phillips to call his driver into the pits for a four tire change and fuel. Phillips made air pressure adjustments to the fresh Goodyear tires and sent the No. 5 Exide Toyota back to the track for the lap 37 restart.
The veteran driver communicated to his crew that his truck was handling loose in and tight off the corners. He held down the fourth spot when the yellow flag flew once again. This time around Phillips called for a four tire change as well as a track bar adjustment to the truck in an effort to remedy the loose condition. Though still dealing with a loose condition despite the changes made to the truck, Skinner held down a spot in the top five at the midway point of the event.
A final yellow flag flew with just four laps remaining in the final race of the 2009 season, resulting in the need for a green/white/checkered finish. With only 11 trucks left on the lead lap, Phillips called his driver into the pits for a two-tire change. Returning to the track for the lap 135 restart, Skinner took the checkered flag in the sixth position.
This was the final stop on the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule. Mike Skinner battled to a third-place finish in the driver point standings and will accept the awards that come with that effort on Monday evening during the annual truck series awards banquet at the Loew’s Hotel Miami Beach.
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.
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