MIKE SKINNER LOOKS TO REGAIN FORM AT INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PAR

Date Posted — August 01, 2005

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MIKE SKINNER LOOKS TO REGAIN FORM AT INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) personified the word “domination” at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1995 and ‘96.

Skinner led all 350 laps in winning the first two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events held at the .686-mile oval.

But memories, no matter how sweet, are exactly that.

Skinner, among five former IRP winners entered in Friday night’s Power Stroke Diesel 200, hasn’t scored a victory in the season-and-a-half he’s spent at Bill Davis Racing.

Maybe this will be the week; maybe not.

“I think IRP fits my driving style. I love short tracks,” said Skinner. “I feel like I am a better short-track racer [but] I do not think our program is where it needs to be to capitalize on them.”

“IRP was a race track that was good for me and it has been very frustrating this year because we have been so good on the short tracks in the past.”

Skinner finished 13th in last year’s IRP event. His best short-track finish of 2004 is ninth at Martinsville Speedway. Performances outside the top 25 at Mansfield, Ohio and most recently at Memphis Motorsports Park are among the reasons the 1995 series champion ranks only 11th in the current point standings.

The Susanville, Calif. veteran, who counts four fourth-place finishes in 2005, believes that can change.

“I think this race team has the potential to be as strong as my [Richard Childress Racing] team back in 1995,” Skinner said. “We are not there yet. [Crew chief] Jeff Hensley and I are really working hard on trying to put our finger on the problem so we can get back in short track form.”

Skinner, RCR and chassis specialist Todd Berrier – now Kevin Harvick’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series crew chief – probably shouldn’t have been as good as they were. They won 16 races over a two-year span with chassis setups the driver called “outdated.”

“The differences between 1995 and today are the shock packages that we run each week,” Skinner said. “What I did was run the packages that I had on my late model car and Todd made it better and better. It really worked for the first couple of years and then everybody caught up.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES NEWS AND NOTES - INDIANAPOLIS

“I think the trucks are a lot more aero dependent now than they were back in the early days. The tires and chassis have changed so much and the level of competition gets higher and higher each year that passes.” One thing that hasn’t changed over the series’ first decade is the difficulty of winning. It isn’t easy to win now; it wasn’t easy then.

Many of this season’s winners – Dennis Setzer (No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet), Ted Musgrave (No. 1 Mopar Dodge), Bobby Hamilton (No. 04 Dodge), Jack Sprague (No. 16 Chevy Trucks Chevrolet) and Steve Park (No. 62 Orleans Dodge) – are among the most experienced drivers in NASCAR competition.

Skinner remembers having to outrun NASCAR NEXTEL Cup stars Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Ken Schrader and Ernie Irvan. The regular series competitors included Sprague, Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet) and Joe Ruttman.

“It was really good times when we started this thing,” Skinner said. “We were really on our game.”

And, Skinner hopes, he will be back on that game in the very near future.

NEWS & NOTES, PART II

Setzer holds point lead of historic proportions … Setzer is 158 points ahead of closest rival Ted Musgrave (No. 1 Mopar Dodge) entering the 15th race of 2005. The last time there was a lead greater than 158 points in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the last race of the 2000 season, following California Speedway on Oct. 28, 2000. Greg Biffle's lead was 230 points over Kurt Busch, 110 races ago. The largest lead in the series came the same season – following Dover International Speedway’s September event – when Biffle led Mike Wallace by 290 points.

ETC. … Defending race winner Chad Chaffin (No. 60 Wyler.com Toyota) will become the series’ 28th $1 million career-winner by starting Friday’s race. Chaffin has current winnings of $997,839. Chaffin’s last-lap pass of Johnny Sauter (No. 43 Menards Chevrolet) was among the most dramatic finishes in series history. … The 2004 IRP finish was the second in three races in which the winner led only the final lap. … The IRP winner has started no worse than fifth and from among the top three on eight occasions. … Johnny Benson’s (No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Cars Toyota) first of four second-place finishes – his series bests – came at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1995. … The Power Stroke Diesel 200 is the fourth of seven short-track races on this year’s schedule. There have been three different winners. … The 1998 race featured the most leaders, eight and most lead changes, 11. The series’ closest finish at the track – Biffle beating Stacy Compton by .261-second – came in 1999. … U.S. Auto Club 2004 National Midget champion Bobby East, 20, will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck debut this week in the No. 33 Roush Racing Ford. … Co-owner Don Arnold has departed Germain Racing to concentrate fulltime on his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup team. Germain Racing fields the No. 9 AISIN Toyota of Raybestos rookie contender Shige Hattori and the No. 30 Allman Brothers Band Toyota of Todd Bodine.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

IRP has been kind to Terry Cook … Indianapolis Raceway Park would seem a perfect place for Terry Cook (No. 10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel Ford) to end a 72-race winless streak. Cook’s last of five series wins was recorded Aug. 2, 2002 at IRP, a race he won from the Bud Pole after leading 178 laps. Cook finished second in 2001 and ninth in 2003.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES NEWS AND NOTES – INDIANAPOLIS

Hamilton, Roush are two-time IRP winners … Four owners have won twice at IRP with Bobby Hamilton and Jack Roush looking to add a third victory in 2005. Hamilton’s No. 18 Dodge, then driven by Chaffin, is the defending race winner. Chase Montgomery is Hamilton’s driver this season. Ruttman won in the No. 18 truck in 2000. Roush’s victories came in 1999 and 2003 with Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, respectively.

QUOTEBOOK

“I love short tracks, there’s nothing neater than running at a short track and getting it on.” – Jimmy Spencer, No. 2 Team ASE Racing Dodge, who’ll make his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck start at IRP this week.

“[IRP] is a track where you have to think ahead about who and what is in front of you because passing isn't easy and you have to set them up before you can get around them.” – Jack Sprague, two-time Power Stroke Diesel 200 winner and last year’s Bud Pole qualifier.

“I know how to run at IRP and have had good success there in the past. You can be aggressive there and use the nose and fenders to make a hole. Everyone is pushing and shoving for position and that is when I am the most comfortable.” – 1997 Power Stroke Diesel 200 winner Ron Hornaday Jr.

“You’re only as good as your last race. It’s weird really – when you’ve had a bad race or some bad luck keeps you from getting a good finish and believe me, we’ve had our share of those, you say that to yourself as a ‘pick-me-up.’ Now, on the other side, that saying is meant to bring you back to earth and keep you focused.” – Brandon Whitt, No. 38 McMillin Homes/Cure Autism Now Toyota, winner of the most recent series race on July 23 at Memphis Motorsports Park.

10 YEARS TOUGH The 1998 schedule of 25 races saw NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitors competing twice during the same week on two occasions. The July 30 Power Stroke Diesel 200 was run on Thursday night followed by an event at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 2. Teams did another “double” in September – on Thursday night at Richmond International Raceway and Sunday afternoon at Memphis Motorsports Park.

FROM THE ARCHIVES There have been two repeat winners of the Power Stroke Diesel 200 – Mike Skinner in 1995-96 and Jack Sprague in 1998 and 2001. A different driver has won the race in six consecutive years dating to Greg Biffle’s victory in 1999. An IRP victory has been on the season champion’s record just twice – Skinner (1995) and Sprague (2001).