Happy Tuesday.  

Today In Nascar History

January 13, 1931: Ron Hornaday Sr., a member of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, is born on this day. Hornaday started 17 Cup Series races, all in the West, during 10 seasons from 1955 to 1973. Fifteen starts were in California and the other two were in Phoenix. Hornaday's best finishes were a fourth at California State Fairgrounds in Sacramento in 1960, and a fifth at Ascot Stadium in Los Angeles in 1961. Both races were on dirt.

Number of the Day

We are counting down the days until the 51st running of the 2009 season-opening Daytona 500 on February 15. Each day we are highlighting a number that corresponds to the countdown number:

33: Cup Series victories for two-time champion Tony Stewart. In 10 years with Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart also had 129 top-five finishes and 207 top-10s. Stewart is now an owner/driver with Stewart-Haas Racing and will drive the No. 14 after 356 races in the No. 20.

33 Days and counting to the Daytona 500

Bits and Pieces

Yates and HOF partner up, new sponsor: Hall of Fame Racing [#96] and Yates Racing [#28, #38, #98], are forging a relationship that is expected to include sponsorship from Ask.com, one of the few companies with new money to spend in the sport.(Sports Business Journal), no other details mentioned.

Labonte to #8? Target to #42? UPDATE: There have been numerous Bobby Labonte sightings at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, but the latest twist places the 2000 Cup champion in the #8 Chevy where he would be reunited with his former Petty crew chief Doug Randolph. Randolph moved to DEI last year to become crew chief for Paul Menard. Labonte worked with Jeff Meendering on the #43 Petty Dodge in 2007. Meendering has since left to be the car chief for Tony Stewart. It's also been rumored that the Target sponsorship will move to the #42 Dodge and Juan Pablo Montoya.(Fox Sports) BUT: Announced in mid-November, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing agreed to merge creating a Chevy-powered, four-car stable with Almirola in the #8 car, Martin Truex Jr. in the #1 car, and Montoya in the #42 car. The fourth driver in the #41 car could be Bobby Labonte with Target's support but then again team leaders told Almirola he may slide into the car as well. "It is something they have kicked around and talked about," Almirola said. "But really and truly we want to run four cars. That is the goal because everybody knows to be competitive you have to have a multi-car team. They have said if we have to run three cars it may be a possibility but it is not our goal."(NASCAR.com) UPDATE: Bobby Labonte in the #8, Juan Pablo Montoya in the #41, Martin Truex Jr. in the #1 and Aric Almirola in a part-time role. That is the scenario officials at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing are discussing, sources close to the situation told ESPN.com. Almirola was slated to drive the #8 vacated by Mark Martin this season, but the company was having trouble finding sponsorship for the untested driver. Labonte ... according to sources, has drawn interest from several sponsors. Montoya drove the #42 during his first two years with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. But with that car only half sponsored by Wrigley's and the #41 fully funded by Target, officials are looking to make the switch for what had become the top driver at Ganassi. Almirola would drive the fourth car in next month's opener at Daytona and a select number of other races unless officials find a way to fully sponsor that car for the season.(ESPN.com)

Castroneves' tax case forces driver change for Penske

By Mike Harris/The Associated Press

Australian driver Will Power will step in for Helio Castroneves of Brazil at Team Penske while the two-time Indianapolis 500 champion fights tax evasion charges in court.

The deal was confirmed late Monday by a source familiar with the decision who asked to remain unidentified because the details of the agreement have not been released.

Power, whose contract with KV Racing Technology expired at the end of last season, will handle testing for Penske's No. 3 car, which has belonged to 2008 IndyCar Series runner-up Castroneves.

"We remain hopeful that Helio's situation will have a positive outcome and the team is fully behind him," team president Tim Cindric said in a story on the Indianapolis Star's Web site. "While Helio prepares for his court case, we're excited to welcome (Power) to the team. Will has already proved that he's a terrific racer, and we think he's going to be a good fit with Team Penske."

It was uncertain what Power's status would be if Castroneves, whose trial is set to begin March 2, becomes available.

Castroneves, who also won TV's "Dancing With The Stars" competition in 2007, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and tax evasion involving about $5.5 million in income stashed in offshore accounts.

His sister and business manager, along with his attorney, also are charged in the case.

For Kyle, Petty Enterprises ceased to be before merger

Move of race shop from family home signaled the end

By Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Richard Petty may still be in NASCAR but as far as his son, Kyle Petty, is concerned, the family owned organization ceased to exist last season when it moved away from its birthplace in Level Cross, N.C.

And regardless of his father's involvement at the newly formed team with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, the spirit of Petty Enterprises cannot be recreated.

"Petty Enterprises, when they left Level Cross, N.C., it became just another race team, they weren't Petty Enterprises anymore. So when I look at where our sport is and my father's business is, we've not existed in the guise of Petty Enterprises for a year or more because we moved away from where we were," said Kyle Petty, while attending the Sprint Sound & Speed event to benefit his Victory Junction Gang Camp.

Following the 2007 season, Petty Enterprises chose to move from the hallowed ground near Petty's childhood home to the old Robert Yates Racing shop in Mooresville, N.C., in an effort to be close to NASCAR's hub and attract more quality employees.

Richard Petty hoped the move would help return the racing team to the level of success it once enjoyed years ago, when it was winning 268 races and 10 championships. But two mergers between Petty Enterprises and first Boston Ventures in June 2008 and ultimately Gillett Evernham Motorsports have proven to be necessary to survive.

It was a string of events that left Kyle without of a ride and for the first time since the late 1990s, a Petty would not be behind the wheel of a Petty-affiliated team.

"I have been unemployed since June. I was pretty much told that around June or July that there was no place for me at Petty Enterprises moving forward to 2009 with Boston Ventures," Kyle said.

Still, he is not upset.

"There is no bitterness. I think there would be bitterness, let me be real clear -- if I come across bitter, I apologize -- because there is no bitterness at all," he said. "If I was 22 years old I would be bitter as hell, OK. I'm 48 years old. I'm at the back side of a career, not the front side. So everything runs its course, it is a part of life. I started doing TV two years ago anticipating this day would come and I would not be a full-time driver and I would have to go do something else."

That something else will include some Grand-Am races and returning to the broadcast booth with TNT this summer. "And maybe if the opportunity to drive a Cup car toward the end of the year, but I'm not running full time," he added.

The details of the merger between Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises are still being hammered out; including the name of the operation, but Kyle believes the spirit of his father's team is still in Level Cross.

"The 43 and Richard Petty is at GEM, but not Petty Enterprises. So as far as I'm concerned the last year Petty Enterprises was in existence which I consider was 2007," he said.

With all things considered, Kyle Petty still believes the merger will be a plus for his father and the team.

"He'll be apart of it," he said. "But it's not the history of the place that you see when you go to Level Cross where my grandfather [Lee Petty] worked, where Marvin Panch drove, Buddy Baker drove and guys like that."

Robbie Loomis to run GEM-Petty racing operations; crew chiefs named

Bob Pockrass/scenedaily.com

Robbie Loomis will serve as the executive director of racing operations for the team that will emerge from the merger of Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Petty Holdings, and Kevin Buskirk and Sammy Johns will join existing GEM crew chiefs Kenny Francis and Mike Shiplett atop the pit boxes.

All four crew chiefs will report to former Petty executive Loomis, according to GEM Director of Competition Mark McArdle.
 
McArdle believes the planned merger and the realigned staff will help his team. Just having Richard Petty and longtime wrenchman Dale Inman at the team’s test last Friday in Rockingham, N.C., at the old North Carolina Motor Speedway was a plus, McArdle said.
 
Loomis, who reports to McArdle, will oversee the race teams, pit crews, team management and team transport, and he ran the Rockingham test.
 
“Robbie, with his experience and background, has got the respect and the buy-in of all the crew chiefs, all the race engineers and the drivers,” McArdle said in a phone interview Monday night. “It puts us in a stronger position at the race track. … We positioned him in an area where he is just highly suited to take it and knock it out of the park where we need help, which is at the track.
 
“I think we do an outstanding job manufacturing and developing race cars, but when it comes to getting the best out of them at the race track, some days we stumble. I think that is an area where Robbie can be a major contributor.”
 
GEM just missed having a driver in the 2008 Chase For The Sprint Cup as Kasey Kahne  finished 14th in points. Teammate Elliott Sadler was 24th. The No. 10 GEM entry with various drivers was 37th in points.
 
The merger and other departures have resulted in several changes at GEM with only Kahne and Kenny Francis remaining as the same driver-crew chief combination as last year.
 
“I felt the need to make change with a couple of the teams and have done so,” McArdle said. “It’s one of those where, hopefully, I’ve gotten it right, and with the additional catalyst of Robbie Loomis to be there as a mentoring and guiding light for that group, hopefully, we will be able to say we have turned a corner.
 
“Our inconsistency needs to go away. We show great speed; we just don’t show it often enough.”
 
Here’s the way the teams line up:
 
• Kahne’s No. 9 team has had the fewest changes. Francis remains as crew chief. Keith Rodden returns as the team engineer after a one-season absence from the road, replacing engineer Chad Johnson, who moved to Michael Waltrip Racing. Todd Devinich remains the car chief.
 
• On Sadler’s No. 19 car, Buskirk, most recently of Dale Earnhardt Inc., will be the crew chief in a reunion of sorts since he was the lead engineer for Sadler when he made the Chase at Robert Yates Racing in 2004. Kevin Kidd returns as the team engineer, while Wally Rogers, a former Kevin Harvick Inc. employee who joined GEM as its Nationwide Series crew chief in September 2008, will be the car chief.
 
Buskirk was on McArdle’s list of potential crew chiefs, and Sadler wanted to be reunited with him.
 
“Kevin has shown the ability to work with Elliott effectively,” McArdle said. “They have a mutually respectful and strong working relationship. He’s a person that Elliott wanted and asked for.
 
“Kevin [Buskirk] brings some fresh thinking and ideas, especially in the suspension and geometry area. I’ve known Kevin for a while and really think a lot of him. Robbie Loomis put it best. He said, ‘Kevin Buskirk is the best crew chief in the garage area who isn’t already a crew chief.’ ”
 
McArdle says most of that team has changed. He said he didn’t want to lose crew chief Rodney Childers, who opted to move to Michael Waltrip Racing and work with David Reutimann.
 
• On Sorenson’s car, Shiplett enters his second year as a crew chief after spending last season with the No. 10 team, mostly with drivers Patrick Carpentier and AJ Allmendinger. Phil Surgen will be the race engineer, and Tony Lunders will be the car chief. Surgen worked with Shiplett last year, while Lunders was with the No. 19 team last season.
 
Many members of the No. 19 team from last year are now working on the No. 43 car, McArdle said.
 
• Johns, who had been GEM’s executive director of operations for the shop, will work with the fourth team and likely with driver AJ Allmendinger. Although GEM hasn’t announced Allmendinger’s hiring, Johns and Allmendinger will be working together at a Goodyear test on Tuesday and Wednesday at Phoenix International Raceway.
 
Mike Wolf will be lead engineer and Brian Dantinne moves from research and development to the role of car chief.
 
“It’s always a good idea to pair experience with inexperience,” McArdle said. “Sam brings race-day savvy, a complete understanding of the way in which our organization operates under our direction because he set up the operations department. ... He has been mentored by some of the finest crew chiefs in the history of the sport.”
 
In other changes, McArdle will take over the supervision of the engine department, while Tommy Wheeler will delve more into research and development. He will focus on the building of the race cars.
 
As far as engines, McArdle said the team would not use the new Dodge engine until later in the season.
 
“We’ll be on the [old engine] in competition for the first third of the season, for sure,” McArdle said. “If we move to the [new engine], it will be in a rolling stage manner after that. Right now, it’s just down to resources and the correct expenditure of those resources.”

Top-30 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers

David Ragan, 13^th

Lee Montgomery /scenedaily.com

NASCAR doesn’t give out an award designating a driver deemed to have improved the most from one year to the next, but if it did, there’s little doubt who would’ve won in the Sprint Cup in 2008: Roush Fenway Racing’s David Ragan.
In his rookie year of 2007, Ragan had two top-five and three top-10 finishes. In 2008, he had six top-fives and 14 top-10s.
In ‘07, Ragan finished on the lead lap 16 times and led two laps. In ’08, he finished on the lead lap 25 times and led 27 laps.
In 2007, Ragan crashed out of four races. In ’08, that total was down to two – his only DNFs’ all season.
In ’07, Ragan finished 23rd in the Cup standings. In ’08, he barely missed the Chase For The Sprint Cup and ended up 13th in the points, collected purses totaling nearly $4 million.
Ragan, who turns 23 on Christmas Eve, opened a lot of eyes this season, especially Tony Stewart’s. The veteran Stewart called Ragan the driver of the year after seeing his improvement.
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 30 in 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup driver points. Here’s how Ragan’s season unfolded:

By the numbers: The way his season started, Ragan looked like a rookie again. He wrecked and finished 42nd in the Daytona 500 and then was 14th or worse in four of the next five races. But things began to click with a fourth at Talladega and a fifth at Darlington two weeks later. Ragan moved into the top 12 after the Darlington race, and he flirted with Chase contention the rest of the year. A crash at New Hampshire in June dropped him to 17th, but Ragan rallied with four top-10 finishes in six races. A 32nd-place finish in the final regular-season race ended his Chase hopes but didn’t slow Ragan down. He posted five top-10s in the Chase to end the year on a high note.
Season highlights: Ragan is quickly becoming one of the better restrictor-plate races in the sport. Only four drivers scored more points at Daytona and Talladega than Ragan, who had three top-fives at the big tracks, including a third at the second Talladega race. He also scored a third at Michigan in August.
Key setbacks: For a driver on the cusp of making his first Chase, Ragan’s biggest disappointment was a 32nd at Richmond in September. He started 13th and ran well early in the race, but then the handling on his Ford went away, and Ragan was also involved in an accident with teammate Matt Kenseth.
Newsworthy moment: UPS has been one of the most visible sponsors in the sport, notably with its television commercials with Dale Jarrett, but in September, the company announced it would be moving to Ragan’s team to back the No. 6 Ford beginning in 2009.
In his words: “Our goal for 2008 was to make the Chase. Unfortunately we didn’t achieve that, but we came very close and ran consistently, so in my eyes it was still a successful season. We finished 13th, which is the next best thing to making the Chase. … I’ve got all my same team moving into 2009, and we should be good right from the start. I need to do my part and work on road courses, but besides that, we’ll keep our goal of making the Chase and winning races.”

Sporting News’ 60 Most Beautiful People

No. 35, Shannon Wiseman

Rebecca Rudolph /scenedaily.com

In 60 years of NASCAR racing, the sport has been filled with colorful characters. This year, Sporting News decided to craft a list of the sport's 60 Most Beautiful People.

The selections were made as a result of nominations sent in by readers and NASCAR fans to the Sporting News' publications and Web sites.

The list was finalized and published in a special edition, which is now available on newsstands and at the online store at streetandsmiths.com. SceneDaily is running the list, with one person from the top 60 to be featured each day.

Today's installment features No. 35, Shannon Wiseman.

Though she's not a NASCAR driver or team owner, former Miss Winston Shannon Wiseman is a force on the race scene. As co-host of "NASCAR Angels," a syndicated television show that repairs cars for deserving people, Wiseman says she gets to give back.

"I love [the show], because it's a different side of NASCAR, and I'm more in the community involvement part of it," says Wiseman, who reigned as Miss Winston from 2002 to 2004. "[Racing] is about money and it is a sport, and [the show] is about taking what we've been given and giving back."

Similar to ABC's popular "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Wiseman and co-host Rusty Wallace choose individuals who can't afford to fix their cars and lend them a hand.

"It's a new set of tires; some people can't afford that," she says.

But Wiseman's involvement in racing didn't begin with a TV show. It started in 2001 with a trip to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, where she attended her first race with Ricky Hendrick Jr. and his dad, Hendrick Motorsports chairman Rick Hendrick.

She recalls that it wasn't the race, but seeing Miss Winston walk by that made her eyes widen.

"The first race I ever went to was with Ricky Hendrick Jr. and I saw Miss Winston walk by, and I said, 'I want to do that," she says.

A year later, she did.

Why Nascar Is Better

Jim McCoy/bumpdrafts.com

NASCAR is often regarded as the ugly, red-headed step-child of professional sports. You know what I’m talking about: “All you have is a bunch of cars running circles all day,” “NASCAR means ‘Non-Athletic Stock Cars circling Around Rednecks’,” “If NASCAR is a sport, then I’m an athlete for driving in traffic everyday.”

To the critics I say, “It’s your loss.” The beauty of America is that we have the First Amendment and if you want to go on some idiotic rant, you’re entitled.

For some 31 years, I’ve either played, coached, watched or reported on sports. Unlike many of  you, I was not born with a wrench in my hands, NASCAR is a taste acquired relatively late in life. I’d like to think it’s given me a chance to explore the other options before coming to the great sport of auto racing. You know the old advertising slogan “You’ve tried the rest, now check out the best.”

Why is NASCAR better?

It’s A Feast For The Senses….The speed, the smoke, the noise, the crowds.

It’s The Thrill of the Chase….One car out front, and 42 others fighting, scratching, bumping and swerving to catch it.

It’s All- American….They still pray before the race, sing the National Anthem intelligibly (most of the time), and the troops are always guests of honor. Oh, and don’t forget the fly overs.

No steroids. If these guys are on “The Juice” their suppliers should be fired- ‘cuz it ain’t workin’. 

It’s The Drivers….Somewhere in that field is a guy you can relate to. You want machismo? Smoke is your guy. Want a gentleman? Then you’ll like Mark Martin. Are you a Southerner? You might like Dale Jr. or Jeff Burton. A Northerner? How about Martin Truex Jr. or Joey Logano. A mid-Westerner? You’ve got Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman. From the Southwest? There’s Bobby Labonte. The West? We’ve got Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. The Pacific Northwest? Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne.

It’s The Cars…even if you hate the Car of Tomorrow, you still have to admire the precision, the engineering, the technology that enables a machine to approach 200 miles per hour.

No Thugs….regardless of what you think of the Busch Brothers, Tony Stewart or Kevin Harvick, none of these guys ever stabbed, shot, or ordered anyone else to do the same. NASCAR is a “Pac Man”- Free Zone.

Who would you rather have….Kyle Busch? or  Barry Bonds?

It’s The Races….think of it this way. If we have a really bad race, like the one at the Brickyard, we really blow our tops. Why? Because the races truly are events, they’re experiences. On any given day, there’s a crappy game in the NBA, NFL, NHL or Major League Baseball, and no one says “Boo” about it. We have a bad race, and there’s a riot about to break out.

It’s The Fans….NASCAR fans are Broncos, Cubs and Steelers fans all rolled into one. Go try and hassle an Earnhardt fan sometime. I’ll be there to call an ambulance. The loyalty in second to none.

It’s The Fearlessness….Sadly, we’ve lost some legends out there: Weatherly, Fireball, Irwin and Earnhardt just to name a few. Even in the safer car, it takes major league cajones to drive a car 200 miles and hour with 42 others doing the same.

It’s The Access….Say what you want about NASCAR’s leadership, but they’ve made sure the drivers have never forgotten where their purse money comes from. Have you ever heard anyone from the Boston Celtics thank the fans for their support like Carl Edwards has?

It’s the Short Off-Season- THANK YOU LORD!

It’s The Rivalries….Gordon vs. Stewart, Petty vs. Pearson, Yarborough vs. Waltrip, Earnhardt vs. Wallace, Busch vs. Edwards.

It’s The One Sport My Family Can Agree On….even my wife and daughter are hooked.

It’s The Tracks- Daytona, Bristol, Darlington and Indianapolis are practically a piece of history.

Golf? It’s too dang quiet in the gallery, and Heaven forbid you should sneeze while Tiger’s taking a tee shot. Tennis? The rules are too confusing. Baseball is too slow. The NBA has gotten too far from its roots. Just watch a college game and compare that to the NBA and I will tell you that professional basketball is not real basketball. The NFL? Too violent.

Don’t get me wrong, I like pretty close to all those sports and consider doing play-by-play for high school football and basketball to be among the most fun things I get to do. Yet- at the end of the day, I am proud to say, when it comes to NASCAR….

I’ve got it pretty bad. 

Driver Review

Regan Smith

Kim DeHaven · Frontstretch.com

2008 Ride: No. 01 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet
2008 Primary Sponsor: The Principal Financial Group
2008 Owner: Teresa Earnhardt
2008 Crew Chiefs: Doug Richert (Feb. – May)
Kevin Buskirk (Coca-Cola 600)
Dan Stillman (June – Nov.)

Stats: 34 Races, 0 Wins, 0 Top 5s, 0 Top 10s, 34th in points.
Best Finish: 14th – twice (Martinsville – March and Bristol – August).

High Point: Regan Smith won the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega in October after making a daring last-lap pass on Tony Stewart…

Low Point: …only to have NASCAR penalize him for going “out of bounds” below the yellow line, placing him back in 18th, the last car on the lead lap.

Summary: After a slow start to the season, Regan Smith finished 14th at Martinsville in the Spring to kickstart his rookie campaign. He followed that with six Top 25 finishes over the next 15 events, and capped it off with another 14th place finish in the summer race at Bristol, tying his best finish of ’08. Smith had five more Top 25s in the last third of the season, including the controversial 18th place run at Talladega, as he gained valuable experience in his transition into the Sprint Cup Series. Although he had no Top 5 or Top 10s, Smith was running at the end of every race, becoming the first rookie in history running a full schedule to accomplish the feat. His performance was good enough to earn the honor of being awarded the 2008 Rookie of The Year.

Off-Track News: Smith won the 2008 CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour IWK 250 at Riverside International Speedway back in July.

Team Ranking: Smith’s car was the lowest ranked among the four full-time DEI teams.

2009 Outlook: Smith will join Furniture Row Racing in 2009, driving the No. 78 Chevrolet for a limited schedule of about 10-12 events. Considering the team’s lack of sponsorship, don’t look for him to set the world on fire. But given the economy’s effect on racing and his late release from DEI, driving for Furniture Row is better than not racing at all.

Quote Of The Year: On the last lap pass at Talladega – “I had a nose inside [Tony Stewart] and my only alternative was to wreck ‘em, so next time that’s what I’ll do [laughs]. And that’s not a knock against Tony. I like Tony a lot. He’s a great guy, but I wanted to win pretty damn bad there.”

2008 Frontstretch.com Grade: B-.

Driver Review

Mike Skinner

Beth Lunkenheimer · Frontstretch.com

2008 Rides: No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota (1 race)
No. 84 Team Red Bull Toyota (7 races)
No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota (3 races)

2008 Primary Sponsors: Bad Boy Mowers (No. 27)
Red Bull (No. 84)
Champion Mortgage / Affliction Clothing (No. 00)

2008 Owners: Bill Davis (No. 27)
Dietrich Mateschitz (No. 84)
Michael Waltrip (No. 00)

2008 Crew Chiefs: Richard “Slugger” Labbe (No. 27)
Ricky Viers / Jimmy Elledge (No. 84)
Peter Sospenzo (No. 00)

Stats: 11 Races, 0 Wins, 0 Top 5s, 0 Top 10s, 0 Poles, 48th in Points.
Best Finish: 27th (Atlanta – March).

High Point: After missing the field at California in the second race of the season, Mike Skinner returned to the track the following week in the No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota and landed a fifth place starting position — his best Cup qualifying effort in nearly five years. It would be the only time the organization’s second car would make a Cup race during 2008, as the extra team suspended operations just two weeks later due to a lack of sponsorship.

Low Point: In all eleven starts Skinner made during the 2008 season, he failed to finish on the lead lap in every race, and never finished inside the Top 25.

Summary: Skinner served as a fill-in driver for three different teams this season. After making two attempts to qualify and only one start in the No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota — replacing Jacques Villeneuve — the Ontario, California native stepped into the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota to give young driver A.J. Allmendinger some pointers from early March to mid-April. While becoming a mentor in advancing the open-wheel convert’s transition to stock cars, Skinner’s strong qualifying runs kept the team in position to eventually come back and make a run at the Top 35 in owner points.

After A.J. returned to the seat at Talladega, Skinner returned his focus to his full-time ride in the Truck Series … but over the summer, the phone rang once more. In mid-August, Skinner piloted the No. 00 (now No. 47) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in August for three races, scoring a best finish of 28th while attempting to mentor another young driver — Michael McDowell. Finally, in late September, an announcement was made declaring Mike Skinner and Scott Speed as the drivers to finish out the 2008 season in place of Allmendinger, who had been released from his contract early. Unfortunately, while Skinner helped these young drivers off the track, he tended to struggle on it each Sunday; an average finish of 32nd was hardly indicative of the talent this 51-year-old still showed behind the wheel in the Truck Series.

Off-Track News: In mid-December, Mike Skinner and wife Angie visited the Betty Jane France Center for Pediatrics (Speediatrics) unit at the Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida with gifts for the children there.

Team Ranking: N/A.

2009 Outlook: Mike Skinner is currently not scheduled to run in the Sprint Cup Series for the 2009 season, and has recently been released from Bill Davis Racing’s Camping World Truck Series team. Skinner says he has been talking to Camping World Truck Series and Sprint Cup Series organizations, however, and is “85 percent sure” he’ll have a ride by February.

2008 Grade: D.

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