Skinner Free to Look and Out UPDATE: during an interview on FSN’s Totally NASCAR, Mike Skinner said he has been given permission to look around for other driving oppurtunities. Skinner currently drives the #31 Lowes Chevy AND from SpeedVision: Mike Skinner and Richard Childress definitely will go separate ways next year, Skinner said Friday. The decision apparently was made in the past week “According to Richard, he’s tried everything in his power to keep me in the car,” Skinner said. “It may be a situation where the sponsor [Cingular] is wanting somebody else in the car. I have another year on my contract, and obviously I will be released of that, and I’ll release Richard of his part of that contract if we find another job thats a comparable job.” Cingular announced Wednesday that it would take over sponsorship of the #31 car, replacing Lowe’s. Lowe’s sources confirmed Friday that that company will migrate to Hendrick Motorsports, likely with rookie Jimmie Johnson. Skinner has been mentioned as a possibility for one of Childress’s Busch cars, but that will not happen, Skinner said.(8-17-2001) UPDATE: Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and Mike Skinner have come to a mutual agreement to forego the final year of their contract together and part ways at the end of the 2001 NASCAR season. “This was a very tough decision because Mike and I are friends and he’s been a part of the RCR family for the past seven years,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing Enterprises, Inc. “Mike is one of the most talented drivers out there but, for some reason, we haven’t been able to win. We’ve had some great runs but this sport is about winning. Mike and I talked back in January and decided that if the program wasn’t going well by mid-season, we would go our separate ways at the end of the year. I don’t want to hold his career back or this race team’s so I think it’s best that we make this move now to give Mike as much time as possible to put a deal together with another team.”(RCR PR)(8-20-2001)
