Race 2 Win: MBNA RacePoints 400 - Mike Skinner Notes

Nextel Cup Series

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MBNA RacePoints 400 - Mike Skinner Notes

Mike Skinner No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Racing Event Preview
Track: Dover International Speedway (one-mile oval) in Dover, Del.
Race: MBNA RacePoints 400 Date: 06.05.05

Notes:

The No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Dodge Charger at Dover International Speedway is Chassis No. 75. It has been run as the No. 23 Dodge in the past, but has since been rebuilt to comply with the new 2005 rules.

Double-duty weekend again for Skinner … Before climbing into the No. 23 History Channel AutoManiac Dodge this weekend at Dover International Speedway, Mike Skinner will race the No. 5 Toyota Tundra truck at Dover in the seventh NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the 2005 season. Skinner will practice and qualify the No. 5 Toyota Thursday, then practice and qualify the No. 23 Dodge Friday morning and afternoon. He will get back behind the wheel of the No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra to race in MBNA RacePoints 200 Friday. Skinner is currently 18th in the Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings. Qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman truck MBNA RacePoints 200 is scheduled to start at 5:10 p.m. ET Thursday, June 2. The MBNA RacePoints 200 race is scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m. ET Friday, June 3, and will broadcast LIVE on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio.

Make it two again this weekend at DIS and at MIS … Bill Davis Racing confirmed Sunday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway that Skinner and Scott Wimmer will team up at least two more times this year to compete in the upcoming NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway and Michigan International Speedway this month. Skinner most recently raced in the Coca-Cola 600 at LMS this past weekend, but fell out of competition early due to engine problems (started 22nd, finished 41st). He also piloted the No. 23 BDR Dodge last month at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, where he was taken out of contention in the 25-car pileup on lap 132 of the 194-lap event (started 34th, finished 42nd). In February, he had an impressive performance in the No. 23 during the two weeks of Speedweeks competition, qualifying 13th during the time trials and finishing third—neck-and-neck with the Dale Earnhardt Inc. cars—in the first Gatorade 150 Duel, which lined him up seventh to start the 47th running of the Daytona 500. With barely 13 laps left to run in the 500, Skinner was collected in the ninth and final caution of the race, relegating him from a top-10 run to a 30th-place finish.

History and Goldberg making it happen … Skinner’s upcoming Nextel Cup Series entries are part of The History Channel’s launch of its inventive new series—“AutoManiac.” Hosted by pro wrestling and feature film star Bill Goldberg, AutoManiac episodes will focus on unique vehicles that have made a mark in history in the last century, including gangster cars, muscle cars, extreme bikes and more. The AutoManiac series premieres on The History Channel tonight (June 1) at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The No. 23 History Channel AutoManiac Dodge made its Nextel Cup debut this past weekend in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and will run this weekend in the MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway, as well as later this month in the Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 19. To learn more about AutoManiac, go to www.historychannel.com.

Goldberg will be back … Goldberg visited Lowe’s Motor Speedway this past weekend to take in all of the Coca-Cola 600 action and spent some time with the No. 23 History Channel AutoManiac driver and crew. He will return to the NASCAR scene this weekend at Dover International Speedway to take in some more racing action and to cheer on his No. 23 AutoManiac teammates.

Team 23 roster … Along with Bill and Gail Davis, the following is a list of crew members who will help Skinner with the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Dodge Charger this weekend at Dover International:

Crew Chief: Jimmy Penland

Car Chief: Tom Hubert

Mechanic: Steve Spahr

Engine Tuner: Chuck Evans

Tires: Steven Berry

Shocks: Jason Everhart

Spotter: Mike Swain

Truck Driver: Robbie Flint Over-the-wall crew

FT Carrier: Shane Pugh

FT Changer: Phillip Norris

Jackman: Joel Taylor

RT Carrier: Curtis Martin

RT Changer: Bill Hagerthy

Gasman: Scott Weston

Catch can: Kevin Gately

Don’t miss any of it … Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup MBNA RacePoints 400 is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. ET Friday, June 3, and will broadcast LIVE on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio. The MBNA RacePoints 400 race is scheduled to start at 1:35 p.m. ET Sunday, June 5, and will broadcast LIVE on FX (TV), MRN and XM Radio.

Quotes:
M. Skinner on heading to Dover International Speedway and into his fourth NASCAR Nextel Cup race of the 2005 season:
“I haven’t been in a [NASCAR] Cup car at Dover since 2003, so I am looking forward to it. I am definitely enjoying this extra time in the Nextel Series. I’m a race car driver and just love to race, so it’s always good to get extra seat time and it only helps both programs—the truck and the car. It will be nice to get a good handle on the track by running the truck Thursday and Friday before I climb into the No. 23 Dodge. Then I’ll get to return the favor to my truck program by getting the extra track time Friday morning and afternoon in the car before I race the No. 5 Toyota Tundra later that evening in the truck race.

“I had a lot of fun hanging out with Bill Goldberg this past weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He is a class act, and I’m just real proud to get to play a part in promoting his new show, AutoManiac. I am planning to watch the first episode of the show tonight. I am hoping we’ll get a better finish for him and all of The History Channel folks this weekend at Dover. Although it turned out to be quite a long and exhausting race, I would’ve still loved to have been there through it all. I just love racing, so it never feels right when you have to climb out of your car so early into a race.”

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