(Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Mike Skinner has to be a driver to keep an eye out for at Martinsville during the Saturday afternoon, Camping World Truck Series race, even if many favor Ron Hornaday going into the weekend. In the middle of the final truck practice, Skinner tops the charts showing that he will be a factor later today in qualifying and Saturday during the race.
The Kroger 200 will mark Skinner’s 200th start in the truck series, and he will also be going for his 50th career pole. Conversely, Randy Moss Motorsports team mate, Tayler Malsam is happy to be able to race at a track that he has previously raced at in the CWTS.
Martinsville holds a special place in Skinner’s heart. “…love Martinsville. I love the fans up there and the whole setting. Short track racing is like drag racing with two hard, sharp corners, so I always enjoy going to Martinsville. My very first race there, if I’m not mistaken, was a Cup race in 1986. I ran my very first Winston Cup race at Martinsville and I’ll never forget Tim Richmond was on the pole and I think Ricky Rudd won the race. I’ll never forget standing there and being in the race with Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty and all these great drivers and champions. They started doing the National Anthem and I basically got teary eyed. I think about that moment every race when they are doing the National Anthem. I think about that moment at Martinsville, Virginia. It’s a special place to me.”
Skinner contemplates what might have been if 1997 went a different direction. “We left the truck series in 1997 and didn’t come back full time until 2004. I don’t have any regrets about what we did in the Sprint Cup Series, but if we’d have stayed in the truck series we probably could have set some records that would be hard for anybody to ever catch.”
Skinner was reflective about the circumstances that opportunity can bring a driver. “It’s a double edged sword. I don’t regret that, but I have to think that I could easily be making my 400th start or however many races there have been and the fact of some of the stats that we could have put up there. We’ve got 27 or 28 wins or something like that and 49 poles. I just wonder what those numbers could have been if we would have stayed in the trucks the whole time. It’s pretty awesome, it’s an honor…”
Conversely, rookie Tayler Malsam will bring the number 81 back to Martinsville after his spring debut at the ‘Paperclip’. “I’m looking forward to getting to Martinsville if for no other reason than to be returning to a track that we’ve already raced at this year. This will be the first time we’ve done that and I think that will really give our One Eighty Racing team a boost,” an optimistic Malsam stated.
Malsam is glad to have his debut in the rear mirror even as several drivers make their initial Martinsville start. In assessing the benefits of a return trip to Martinsville, Malsam continued, “It will give us the chance to spend more time working on qualifying and race setups in practice and less time just giving me a chance to become accustomed to the track. We are really hoping for big things in Martinsville. Our last few races have been a little disappointing all the way around, so we’re hopeful that Martinsville will give us a chance to finish the season off as strong as it started.”
Malsam has ten top-10s this season with his best finish a fifth at Gateway. Skinner has eight top-5s, 14 top-10s, and three wins this season. One of Skinner’s wins was at Gateway, which bodes well for his chances at Martinsville this weekend.
For more information on NASCAR Truck Series racing, check out:
Modified drivers get the Green LIght for Martinsville debut
Is Aric Almirola playing David to a NASCAR Goliath by taking on Ganassi and Earnhart?
Ron Hornaday ready to show Harvick who the boss is at Martinsville
Janelle is a native of Southern California who follows a variety of racing formats. She finds the competition between hard-driving veterans and rising stars in the NASCAR Truck Series some of the best in the top tiers of racing. Janelle has been published in print and online, covering topics in both sports and academics. She also serves as the Southern California Motorsports Examiner. Send Janelle an e-mail, and follow her on Twitter. Join the discussion at the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner Facebook page as well.
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