Monday, July 26, 2010

Mike Skinner ORP Recap

Mike Skinner

No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RV Toyota Tundra
O’Reilly Raceway Park – AAA Insurance 200
July 23, 2010

Mike Skinner brought the No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra home in the 15th position after a long day of competition at O’Reilly Raceway Park. The International Truck/Monaco RVs team worked tirelessly throughout the day adjusting their Toyota Tundra to the changing track conditions hoping to ultimately find the balance Skinner was looking for.

During the morning practice sessions, the team worked to get their truck exactly where they needed it for race trim. During the first practice session, Skinner placed himself second on the board and ran inside the top three for the majority of final practice. When it came time to qualify Skinner laid down a lap of 22.698 seconds placing him sixth on the starting grid.

Shortly after the AAA Insurance 200 began, Skinner called into the crew to report trouble with the handling of the No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra. Skinner spent the early portion of the event struggling to find grip around the Indianapolis short-track and even went a lap down early in the race.

The team rebounded to earn the free pass during the third caution period allowing Skinner to return to the lead lap of competition. Meanwhile the No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra team worked diligently during each pit stop to adjust on Skinner’s truck and to allow him to pick up speed around O’Reilly Raceway Park.

The International Truck/Monaco RVs team took one more swing at adjusting Skinner’s truck with a combination of chassis adjustments and air pressure changes. While he continued to deal with a loose truck, Skinner raced inside the top-15 for the remainder of the 200-lap event

“I’m really proud of the effort my team gave today,” said Mike Skinner, driver of the No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra. “We made a lot of changes to our truck throughout the day and we did the best we could. We had fast laps throughout practice and laid down a solid qualifying run. We struggled with handling throughout the race and Stacy [Johnson, crew chief] made all kinds of adjustments but nothing seemed to work.

“I’m really excited about going to Pocono next weekend. I think we have a great truck for that race and I’ve fortunate to be one of the drivers that has experience at that track. Our team has made a few discoveries over the last few weeks at the wind tunnel and 7-post and I think we’ll be in good shape for the race next weekend.”

Next weekend, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will make their debut at Pocono Raceway. A few series regulars like Skinner have conquered the “Tricky Triangle” in other racing series, but for many drivers it will be a completely new challenge. Watch the action live on Saturday, July 31st at 12:30 p.m. EST on SPEED Channel. Fans can also tune into MRN or Sirius Satellite Radio for live commentary and a play-by-play of the action at Pocono Raceway.