Race 2 Win: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

Nextel Cup Series

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Allstate 400 at the Brickyard - Mike Skinner Notes

Mike Skinner No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Racing Event Preview

Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval) in Indianapolis, Ind.
Race: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Date: 08.07.05

Notes:

The No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Dodge Charger at Indianapolis Motor 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.

Skinner & Wimmer play it again …Mike Skinner and Scott Wimmer will team up for the fifth time this year this weekend at IMS. Skinner will again pilot the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Dodge in this weekend’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Skinner most recently raced the No. 23 AUTOMANIAC car in the Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway in June, (started 31st, finished 34th). Skinner was scheduled to race the same car at Dover International Speedway just a couple of weeks before that, but rain forced NASCAR to cancel the Friday afternoon qualifying session, putting the brakes on the No. 23 BDR team’s plans to race that weekend. Since Skinner and the No. 23 BDR team do not run a full-time schedule in the Nextel Cup Series, they did not have enough owner points to make it into the show at Dover. This weekend’s run at IMS is the makeup date for the missed Dover race. Skinner also piloted the No. 23 BDR Dodge in April at Talladega 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 May, he piloted the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway where he qualified 23rd, but engine woes during the race ended his night early and relegated him to a 41st-place finish. 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.

Preparing for the Brickyard … The No. 22 CAT Racing team and the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Racing team tested at Indianapolis Motor Speedway July 18 and 19. Skinner posted the fastest lap on Monday’s speed charts with a speed of 180.692 mph. By the end of the day, Skinner and his No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team had the two fastest cars on the track. Wimmer and his No. 22 CAT Racing crew were 15th fastest, with a top speed of 176.918 mph. Wimmer headed home Monday night to prepare for the birth of his son, Hayden, who was born on Tuesday, July 19, just before 6 p.m. ET. Skinner also tested at Indianapolis on Tuesday and put up the eighth-fastest lap by the end of the day (180.396 mph).

Make it two for Skinner … Before climbing into the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Dodge Sunday at IMS to race in the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, Skinner will race the No. 5 Toyota Tundra truck Friday in the 15th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the 2005 season at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Skinner is currently 11th in the series championship standings. Qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Power Stroke Diesel 200 is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET Friday, Aug. 5. The Power Stroke Diesel 200 is scheduled to start at 8:45 p.m. ET later that same day and will broadcast LIVE on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio Channel 144. Below is a breakdown of Skinner’s schedule he will juggle Friday so he can prepare to compete in both the Craftsman truck and Nextel Cup races this weekend in Indianapolis. (Please note all times listed are in the Central Time Zone.) 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series first and final practice sessions at IRP
1:10 p.m. Tentative time for Skinner to chopper to IMS
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. NASCAR Nextel Cup Series first and second practice sessions at IMS
4:35 p.m. Tentative time for Skinner to chopper back to IRP
5 p.m. Qualifying for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race
7:30 p.m. Driver Introductions for truck race
7:45 p.m. NCTS Race (200 laps, 137.2 miles)

History and Goldberg making it happen … Skinner’s recent NASCAR 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 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 premiered on The History Channel at the beginning of June and airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. To learn more about AUTOMANIAC, go to www.historychannel.com.

Goldberg will be back … Goldberg visited Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May to take in the Coca-Cola 600 action and spend some time with the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC driver and crew. He will return to the NASCAR scene this weekend at Indianapolis Motor 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 Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

Watch and Listen … Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is scheduled to start at 11:10 a.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 6, and will broadcast LIVE on TNT (TV), IMS Radio Network and XM Radio Channel 144. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is scheduled to start at 2:40 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 8, and will broadcast LIVE on NBC (TV), IMS Radio Network and XM Radio Channel 144.

Q&A with Mike Skinner:
Mike, you had a strong test at Indy a couple of weeks ago. How did the overall test go for you and your No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC team? “We had a pretty good test at IMS and discovered what was first designated, or thought to be, my backup car had to be my primary car simply because it ran a little bit faster. Our deal is, because we are not a full-time team, we really have to be able to ‘go’ when it comes time to qualify, or we go home. We know we have to make the race on time. Indianapolis is an awfully tough race to make. I am pleased Bill and Gail Davis have given me the opportunity to try to make one of the biggest races of the year for The History Channel. I really do think our chances are good. Bill Davis is one of the best guys I’ve ever met. He is a wonderful man to work for, and I really would like to see both of his cars up front, running strong at the Brickyard.”

Looking at your stats, it looks like IMS is definitely one of your strong tracks. What are your thoughts on racing at The Brickyard? “I just like Indy’s course. There are eight corners instead of four. Everybody calls it a four-corner track, but in my opinion it is an eight-corner track. It’s like road course racing a lot. It’s really flat and almost like a big short track. It is a short track that you are running 210 miles per hour on as you go into the corners.”

What else is in the works for Mike Skinner in the Cup Series? Anywhere else you would like to race on the Cup schedule before season’s end? If so, where and why? “Well, that’s depending on if Bill Davis Racing comes up with another race or two on the schedule that makes sense. I would love to do it. I like the short tracks. I love Bristol and would give anything to run it under the lights again.”

This is your third and (as of right now) your final race with The History Channel AUTOMANIAC crew. Have you caught any of the shows? If so, what did you think? “I’ve watched a lot of the shows and am just amazed how well [Bill] Goldberg does as the host. He is such a big guy and just a great person to work with. If you want to find out about the history behind a certain vehicle, it is the show for you. I’ve enjoyed watching it.”

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