MBNA America 400 - Mike Skinner Notes

ANGELA, NOT ISABEL, HAS SKINNER BEAMING

DOVER, Del. (Sept. 17, 2003) – Despite the buzz about the impact of Isabel, it’s Angela that is Mike Skinner’s ray of sunshine as he gets ready to take on the Monster Mile at Dover International Speedway.

The U.S. Army Pontiac driver is beaming with pride following the recent printing of the book his wife, Angela, authored – Turning Points – a collection of defining moments in the lives of NASCAR superstars and the life lessons learned about overcoming adversity and reaching goals.

“This was quite an accomplishment and I am very proud of her,” said Skinner. “She sacrificed and put plenty of effort into the project. But it was worth it in the end. It’s a motivational-type book and it sure had a positive impact on us during the time she was interviewing people.

“Angie would come back and tell me stories about other people’s experiences and I really enjoyed them – it was uplifting. You realized that you weren’t alone in regards to having problems and battling adversity. When Angie was writing the book it was probably the worst time of our racing career.”

Skinner did admit that Angela’s literary prowess was only part of what he calls a “very hectic year.”

“It seems like we’re doing everything that any married couple can do to seriously test a relationship and marriage,” said Skinner. “Angie wrote a book, we’re building a house and I’m a Winston Cup driver. Now if you can’t screw up a marriage with all of that stuff going on at the same time, then you know you have an exceptional situation. And we do and we couldn’t be happier.”

Angela, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in communications with a double minor in professional writing and theater at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, said it was simply a personal goal to write a book.

“I did some writing while working as a television and radio reporter and writing a book had always intrigued me,” said Angela. “But in 1999 my life got flipped flopped -- I dropped my career and ran off with a racecar driver.”

The Skinners were married in November of 2000 and Angela played a vital role in the racing organization. But the itch to write a book never went away and while on an airplane, returning from the Fontana, Calif. Winston Cup race in April of 2002, she came up an idea for a book.

“As soon as I got off the plane, I called a publisher (UMI) and they liked the idea,” recalled Angela. “When they gave me the go ahead, I started to dig into it.

“I was worried about Mike’s response and support at first. He was little timid, but when he realized I was actually serious and talking to a publisher, he did get pretty excited about the project.

“It wasn’t always easy. Mike was used to getting 100 percent of my time. After a practice we would be back at the motorcoach and he would want to watch a movie, but I would have to run off and do another interview. He might not have liked it, but he understood and hung in there. And the day he saw the cover of the book, he was pretty proud. He was running around the office showing everybody. That really made me feel good that he was proud of me. I guess we thrive on being proud of each other.”

Next for Angela is the promotional tour – book signings, interviews, etc. “That will be a challenge to promote the book, but I think I will enjoy it and I am looking forward to it,” said Angela.

“No question, Angie will do a great job promoting the book – she’s a natural,” said her PROUD husband.

Note: Turning Points by Angela Skinner can be purchased by calling 800-747-9287 or at the following web sites: www.umipub.com and www.mikeskinner.com.

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