Skinner hopes to squash recent skid at Milwaukee

For points leader Mike Skinner, this season has gone about as perfect as you can get. But a serious milestone for Skinner is approaching, and if recent history is any indication, things could get much tougher for the former champion.

Friday's Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 (8:30 p.m. ET, SPEED) marks the last race in Skinner's career before he reaches the half-century mark. On June 28, Skinner turns 50 and only one driver has been able to win after reaching 50 years of age -- Joe Ruttman, at the age of 56 when he took the checkered flag at Pikes Peak in 2001.

By the Numbers

If Mike Skinner wants to increase his points lead, he's going to have to hold off Ron Hornaday who is dominant at Milwaukee with six top-fives in seven races.

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Of course, all this is in jest because Skinner is showing no signs of slowing down.

This season, Skinner is rewriting the record books with his performances. He has finished all 10 races inside the top 10. All but two of those races -- Lowe's and Dover -- have been top-five finishes. Skinner tied a Truck Series record when he won three consecutive races at California, Atlanta and Martinsville and he won six consecutive poles, challenging his own mark set in 1995 of 10.

On top of all that, he's the only driver in 2007 to lead a lap in each race, a streak he hopes to continue at The Milwaukee Mile on Friday.

"I won at Milwaukee in '95, and would love to win there again," Skinner said. "Our goal though is still top-10 finishes, nothing has changed there."

A top-10 is exactly what Skinner delivered last week at Michigan when he finished fourth and extended his points lead to 113 over Ron Hornaday. Even though he didn't win, Skinner was pleased with the overall result.

"I guess it was an exciting day," he said. "Not really my style of racing but that's OK because we had a good [points] day."

Getting the victory at Milwaukee may prove more difficult than it seems. Milwaukee is one of four tracks (Martinsville, O'Reilly and Phoenix) to host a Truck Series race in all 13 years of the series' existence, yet only one driver, Ted Musgrave, has made more than one trip to Victory Lane.

Plus, there's the question of Skinner's recent performances at Milwaukee. After winning the inaugural race for Richard Childress in 1995 and posting a seventh the following year, Skinner didn't come back to The Mile until 2004 and he has yet to crack the top 10. (Continued)