Driver Profile:

Although Mike Skinner has yet to make a big impact in the NASCAR's elite series, he is no stranger to racing. His career began nearly 20 years ago at tracks in Nevada and California. Soon, he decided to move east and pursue a racing career.

Skinner was picked up by Richard Childress Racing at the inception of the Craftsman Truck Series and scored the series' inaugural victory, along with seven others. He posted 17 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 20 races en route to winning the series' first championship.

He shone in the Busch Series in 2001, with nine top-10 finishes and one Bud Pole in 14 starts. His high-water mark in the Cup Series was a 10th-place finish in 1999.

He left RCR in order to have reconstructive knee and ankle surgery in 2001, and moved to Morgan-McClure Racing in 2002.

Skinner's career came full circle in 2004, when he was tabbed to return to the Craftsman Truck Series for a new team called Bang Racing, owned by young entrepreneur Alex Meshkin and led by former crew chief Larry McReynolds.

When he's not racing, Skinner enjoys golf and billiards.