Mike Skinner Bio

Team Info

Car: #31 Chevrolet

Primary Sponsor: Lowe's

Owner: Richard Childress Racing (RCR)

Crew Chief: Larry McReynolds

PERSONAL

Spouse: Beth Skinner

Kids: Jamie, and Dustin

Hometown: Ontario, California

Birthdate: June 28th, 1957

Hobbies: Golf, Hunting, Fishing, Horses, and Billards

Career Stats

Years Racing

9

Total Races

99

Total Wins

8

Total Top 5's

21

Total Top 10's

37

Total Winnings

$3,649,243

BIOGRAPHY

Mike Skinner accomplished everything people expected and hoped from him in 1999 -- except the biggest and most important thing. Skinner finished in the top-10 in points and set personal records in every important category. He just couldn't quite get to Victory Lane.

That's almost certainly temporary, however. Skinner was too good, too often in '99 not to win a race soon.

Skinner started the season with four straight finishes of sixth or better, and actually led the points for three weeks. He posted top-5s at tracks as diverse as Martinsville, Daytona and Charlotte. He led the most laps twice. And he was still running at the finish in every race but one.

Sure, he'd like to climb a little higher than 10th in the standings. But mostly he'd like to win, and he should do that in 2000.

In Skinner's three seasons in the big leagues, he has actually won three races -- but all have been exhibition races -- a pair of triumphs in Japan and one in a 125-mile qualifier at Daytona. He's beaten the best, but not for points. He also has four Bud Poles to his credit.

Skinner has already had a healthy share of highlights in just two years in NASCAR's top division. He's the only driver to win both Bud Poles at Daytona as a rookie, and then there are those two wins in Japan. So it wouldn't be too surprising if he added some more memorable moments in 2000.

Although Skinner is still relatively new in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, he is no stranger to racing. His career began nearly 20 years ago at tracks in Nevada and California before his wife, Beth, gave him the ultimate ultimatum -- move east and pursue a racing career or quit talking about it.

The early years in North Carolina were filled with many victories at short tracks around the Carolinas and Virginia. Big-time success, however, didn't come as easy.

He began making spot NASCAR Winston Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series starts in 1986, but winning the pole for the 1994 Champion Spark Plug 300 NASCAR Busch Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the highlight of his career.

Along the way, though, Skinner caught the eye of Childress. In the fall of 1994 he received a call from the ultra-successful car owner to drive his truck in the newly formed NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It didn't take long for Skinner to answer his call both on and off the track.

After replying to Childress' phone call with a quick yes, Skinner went on the make history in the series' inaugural season. He won the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event -- along with seven other races.

He posted 17 top-5 and 18 top-10 finishes in 20 races en route to winning the series' first championship.

Skinner stepped up in 1996 and made five NASCAR Winston Cup Series starts for Childress in addition to the full run on the truck series. He proved he was worthy of his ride with strong runs at Rockingham, Bristol and Talladega.

Check out Skinner's home page at http://www.mikeskinner.com