| Mike Skinner hopes to return to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 2002 as a physically rejuvenated driver with his new team, Morgan-McClure Motorsports. Skinner, a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, has competed in 167 Winston Cup races without a victory. He left Richard Childress Racing in order to have reconstructive knee and ankle surgery, and he hopes his physical condition is an auger of on-track success. After finishing a career-best 10th in points in 1999, Skinner has suffered in the two subsequent seasons. He fell to 12th in 2000; and then, after winning a Gatorade 125-Mile Qualifying Race for the Daytona 500 at Speedweeks 2001, inexplicably fell into a serious funk. In 23 starts, he had only one top-10 finish. He crashed in the inaugural race at Chicagoland Speedway, suffering an ankle injury and aggravating an old knee injury. After struggling through five more races, with a best finish of 18th, he stepped out of the No. 31 RCR Chevrolet to have surgery. Skinner drove for Childress for six years in Winston Cup after winning the inaugural Truck Series championship. He shone in the Busch Series in 2001, with nine top-10 finishes and one Bud Pole in 14 starts. Although Skinner has yet to make a big impact in the Winston Cup 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 Childress at the inception of the Craftsman Truck Series and scored the series' inaugural victory, along with seven others. He posted 17 top-5 and 18 top-10 finishes in 20 races en route to winning the series' first championship. |
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