Mike Skinner led 135 of 150
laps at Kentucky to score
his fourth win of the season
in the No. 5 Tundra and 23rd
of his NCTS career. He also
won at California, Atlanta
and Martsinsville earlier
this season. Tundra drivers
Ted Musgrave (third), Ryan
Mathews (fourth) and David
Green (fifth) all scored
top-five finishes Saturday
night. Other Tundras in the
field included: Todd Bodine
(11th), Jack Sprague (13th),
Johnny Benson (14th), Josh
Wise (21st) and Terry Cook
(31st). Tundras have won
seven of 13 races this
season. In addition to
Skinner’s four wins, Sprague
(Daytona), Bodine (Texas)
and Benson (Milwaukee) each
have one win apiece. Mathews
started on the pole in the
No. 22 Bill Davis Racing
Tundra. It was the first
pole of his career – in just
his seventh start – and the
11th of the season for
Toyota in 13 races. The win
marks the 32nd for Toyota in
NCTS competition and
Mathews’ pole was the 43rd
for a Tundra since 2004.
Skinner has now led at least
one lap in each of the first
13 races this season,
setting a NCTS record for
consecutive races led to
start a season. Green made
his first-career start in a
Tundra Saturday night, and
his first NCTS start since
1997.
MIKE SKINNER, No. 5
Toyota Tundra, Bill Davis
Racing Finished: 1st Can you
talk about your win tonight?
“The truck was awesome
tonight. I need to thank
Bill Davis Racing and Toyota
for this great truck and
letting me drive it. We’ve
been getting beat lately,
but we’ve been steady. We’ve
been finishing in the
top-five or top- 10 every
week. That’s what our
strategy is for the rest of
the year. Actually, that
strategy started at the
beginning of the year in
Daytona, which I think has
helped us. It was a great
night. These Toyotas are
awesome.” How easy was the
victory from your view? “It
wasn’t that easy. I had a
dominant truck, but I was
just waiting for something
to happen. I was waiting for
a flat tire or a caution,
but luckily, it all worked
well. We were able to get
the lead and pull away a
little bit and sit on it.
Jeff Hensley (crew chief)
was giving me the lap times
of the guys trying to chase
me, so I knew what I had to
run to stay out there. We
just kept getting better and
better throughout the race.
I knew we had a pretty good
truck after practice
yesterday, but I didn’t know
it was going to be this good
tonight.”
TED MUSGRAVE, No. 9 Team
ASE Tundra, Germain Racing
Finished: 3rd Can you talk
about your run tonight? “The
truck was good. We got tight
there at the end of the race
when we were battling for
second, but I’m happy with a
third-place finish. We just
have to work on our
tightness a little bit off
the corner. We’re getting
close. We’re not out of the
ballpark, but we just need a
little bit more. My hat is
off to the guys on the
Germain Racing team for
rallying around me this
week. It was a good truck
and a good effort – we just
came up a little short.” Is
it frustrating to know how
good the No. 5 truck was all
night? “It was a little
frustrating, only because we
knew we were doing all we
could to catch him, but
couldn’t. We did the best we
could tonight, and we were
trying to find the weak
point in our truck to make
it faster. We made
adjustments, but it wasn’t
enough. We never gave up,
though. Anything could’ve
happened to the No. 5 truck
– a flat tire or getting
caught up with a lapped
truck. It’s tough when
you’re doing everything you
can do and he’s driving away
from you.”
RYAN MATHEWS, No. 22 Bill
Davis Racing Tundra, Bill
Davis Racing Finished: 4th
How was the race weekend for
you? “We weren’t that good
yesterday in practice –
nothing to brag about. All
of a sudden, we come out
this afternoon and get the
pole and had a great truck
in the race on the long
runs. If this race was only
two cautions, we might’ve
had something for the No. 5
truck. We were just bad off
restarts – that’s where we
lost positions.” What does
this do for your confidence?
“This helps my confidence a
lot. We finished sixth in
Memphis for our first top-10
and now we came here and got
a pole and a top-five, so
it’s big for me. When you’re
going on a hot streak, it
helps everybody’s
confidence. Hopefully, we
can build on this momentum
and continue to have solid
runs. I just can’t thank
Bill and Gail Davis enough
for giving me this
opportunity. This is a great
truck and a great team, and
I’m just happy to be a part
of it.”
DAVID GREEN, No. 1 Red
Horse Racing Tundra, Red
Horse Racing Finished: 5th
How much fun did you have
tonight? “Tonight was a lot
of fun. The races I won in
the Busch Series and races
that were very mentally
stressful don’t even hold a
candle to what it takes to
run these things. We ran 16
laps tonight before the
first caution and the crew
told me it was 16 laps down,
and I felt like I ran 200
laps. I’ve never been in a
race with that fast of a
pace and I’m sure the
racetrack added to that. I
take responsibility a little
bit for getting us in the
wrong direction because
yesterday I had no idea what
this thing is supposed to
feel like. What a great
effort. It’s good to be back
in the top-five and run
competitively. All in all,
it was a good night.”
TODD BODINE, No. 30
Lumber Liquidators Tundra,
Germain Racing Finished:
11th
JACK SPRAGUE, No. 60
Con-way Freight Tundra,
Wyler Racing Finished: 13th
JOHNNY BENSON, No. 23
TCUV Tundra, Bill Davis
Racing Finished: 14th
JOSH WISE, No. 00 Aaron’s
Lucky Dog Tundra, Darrell
Waltrip Motorsports
Finished: 21st
TERRY COOK, No. 59 Harris
Trucking Tundra, HT
Motorsports Finished: 31st