A Win's a Win
The self-proclaimed “king of the non-points races,” Mike Skinner knows exactly what a win on All-Star night can do for a driver’s confidence. He won a heat race before the 1999 Winston Open.
“It’s still a Sprint Cup race. It doesn’t matter if it pays points or not. You still had to race some really good guys,” Skinner said, referring to AJ Allmendinger’s victory in the Sprint Showdown.
For five races in March and April, the veteran Skinner occupied AJ’s No. 84 Red Bull Toyota as the team righted the ship. AJ returned at Talladega and three weeks later earned his first trip to victory lane Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
“The thing that impressed me the most about that win was his maturity, where Ricky (Viers) put it on him if they wanted to pit or stay out,” Skinner noted. “The kid made the choice to stay out, knowing his car wasn’t perfect but clean air was very important. That showed a lot of maturity.”
Back to Skinner’s “king” claim. Maybe he’s right. Along with the 1999 non-points win at LMS, Skinner owns hardware from the 1999 Bud Shootout qualifier, 2001 qualifying race at Daytona and the 1997 and ’98 exhibition events in Japan.
posted by Bull Rider at 7:26 AM
19 Comments:
Good luck this weekend in Ohio, Mike! Thanks for coming over to Red Bull Racing for 5 races and helping the 84 team out. Don't know what we'd do without ya!
Good Luck this weekend boys, I'll be in town to watch and also be at the shop on Friday.
Way to go A.J.!!!! Now take that momentum into this weekend. No one can intimidate you but you so go for it.................
Whoever wrote this piece sure didn’t think about what it says about BV. Wasn't it BV’s decision to come in or not? I guess he isn’t as mature as AJ is? I say this because the 83 had the car and should have had the victory. Not having the guidance from his crew chief didn’t help the situation.
Better luck this weekend 83!!!
i think the top two of each segment in the open should go to the All-Star race
The 83 came in because he felt a loose wheel.
Anon. get your facts right. BV pitted because he thought they had a tire going down. The CC said he prefered to stay out and only BV could know what the car was feeling like. It was just bad luck.
Anon. - i was listening to BV on trackpass for the showdown and it took him a long time to decide whether or not to pit. Both driver and CC were torn as to what to do. In the end, the desicion to pit was based on the tire issue.
It's called gambling, pit strategy, or whatever you want to call it. Sometimes it pays off, other times it doesn't. That's just the way it goes.
KCMO
Hey KCMO,
What part of KC are u from. Just wondering
Not sure how many of you heard on Sirius radio yesterday the interview with Elliott Sadler, he said he hadn't had a chance to talk to AJ yet about the crash. He said he's sure he'll "run into" him in Charlotte. He is really a big baby!!! He forgot he ran into Tony the week before. He said that was a different kind of wreck.
AJ, do it again!!!!
Good luck this weekend to both teams
lovinbv83 - I'm from north of the river, around the airport.
KCMO
I'd hate to beat a dead horse, but come on TRB, this is becoming ever more frustrating week by week.
Even Kyle Petty, Dave Blaney, and J.J. Yeley have updated their merchandise for the 2008 season...and they're all 35th or worse in points (not that it matters where they are in points). All I'm asking for is some Brian Vickers merchandise for the 2008 season.
Also, this blog is alive with KC readers. I live north of the river as well up in Liberty.
OK I'm from Gladstone
Vickers will be signing autographs at the trailor this sunday! Just thought you all want to know.
I know nomar I want some BV merch from this year because I can't find the shirt from last season so I need a new BV shirt before KC race or I have to wear the Club V shirt.I would make the trip to NC this weekend if I could but thats not happening.
Wow - I guess there are a lot of Kansas City people that like TRB. Cool. I'm glad I'm not the only one.
KCMO
I'm from Dallas, TX. Anyone care?
I'm with the rest: The trailer has some good merchandise, but it would be nice if we could get it online as well.
About AJ and Skinner: Listening to AJ's scanner during the All-Star race proved he is really LOW on knowledge about the car and how to make it right. He's in a lucky streak now, but it certainly could change before he gets into the top 35. Keep Skinner close by...
There's no sense to be pessimistic Dallas. It might be hypocritical of me to say that as I didn't think AJ would do this well when he returned to the car after his abscence.
Even though this is a TRB blog, I think a lot of people here understand that it could have been ANYONE out front, but obviously AJ had the track position. Also, Hornish with two more laps could have won that race. That being said, a win is a win and even Vickers doesn't have that to his credit yet.
The way the top 35 is right now, even if AJ makes races, he can't run around where the other drives 32 - 37 in points run. He needs to take it to another level and run top 20 on a consistent basis.
If this is considered a cup race but no points are awarded, why can't the pit crew participate in the pit crew challenge? Isn't a cup win a cup win?
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