Skinner in the #37 at Atlanta:

Mike Skinner was hired this week to drive the #37-BoSPOKER.net/Patrón Tequila Dodge for this Sunday’s Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Tony Raines, who drove the car at Michigan, has decided to concentrate on his job with Kevin Harvick’s Busch Series team the rest of the year. “This is a good chance for both of us,” said crew chief Terry Wooten. “We needsomebody like Mike to give everything he’s got; this is a chance for him to drive a car where the biggest goal is to run up front. We’re not racing for points. We’re racing to win.” Skinner won the first truck series championship in 1995. He’s ranked sixth in the current truck standings. He also will compete in Saturday afternoon’s truck series race at Atlanta. “This is a positive step for me and I hope a positive step for R&J Racing,” Skinner said. “I want to race. I don’t want to ride around in the back of the pack and they really seem committed to getting the car up to speed, running all 500 miles and posting a good finish. “If you’re going to run up front, win some money and get some good finishes, you’ve got to stay in there and keep your gloves on. They want to do that, so I’m going to slug away, too.”(RJ Racing PR)(10-26-2005)