Mike Skinner
No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra
Pocono Raceway – Nashville 200
July 31, 2010
Mike Skinner and the No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra team raced to a sixth-place finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ debut at Pocono Raceway. Skinner was one of the few drivers in the 36-truck field who had experience at the 2.5-mile track dubbed the “tricky triangle” through his 13 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Throughout the practice sessions on Friday the driver of the No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra struggled to find the right setup that included the flexibility needed for the three vastly different corners at Pocono Raceway. The crew tried a variety of adjustments to help determine which package would net the best result in Saturday afternoon’s 125-mile event. After struggling to find grip in practice, crew chief Stacy Johnson called for a few more changes to the No. 5 Toyota Tundra prior to the team’s qualifying attempt on Saturday morning.
Skinner went out mid-pack and posted a lap of 56.214 seconds which held on for the 10th starting position. With twenty laps completed, Skinner called into the International Truck/Monaco RVs team to describe the handling and allow them to devise a strategy for his Toyota Tundra which was tight in turn one and loose in turn three.
The caution came out on lap 25 allowing the majority of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series field to visit pit road for their first stop of the afternoon. Johnson called for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The stop didn’t get Skinner as much grip as the No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra needed, but it did get him the track position he needed to stay inside the top-10.
As the laps dwindled down, the No. 5 crew elected to keep their Toyota Tundra on the race track. Skinner continued to race his way through the field and capitalized on restarts to gain positions. When the checkered flag fell after 55 laps and two green-white-checkered attempts, the No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra was scored in the sixth position.
Skinner remains ranked eighth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver’s point standings.
“Well our first race here at Pocono [Raceway] was a lot of fun, but it got awfully crazy there at the end,” said Mike Skinner following the race. “We were able to walk away with a top-ten; it looked like we were going to walk away with a top-three there for a little bit, but a top-ten is still a great points day. Our International Trucks/Monaco RVs Tundra had a lot of speed under the hood and it ran great down the straightaways. We tried a different setup under the hood this weekend. We’re trying to get better each week and I feel like we closed the gap a little bit.”
Next weekend the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will return to Nashville Superspeedway for another night of racing action under the lights in the music city. The Nashville 200 will be broadcast live on SPEED beginning at 8:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, August 7. Coverage on Sirius XM Radio and MRN Radio will begin at 8:45 p.m. EST. Practice sessions and qualifying will take place on Saturday but will not be televised.
