Former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) champion Mike Skinner will return to the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the fifth time in his career. Looking to improve the record he set in 2014, Skinner will return with a Toyota Tundra truck that has previously competed in the NCWTS. Skinner and business partner Andrew Franzone will return to the Goodwood Festival of Speed with two trucks, both carrying the #5 that represented so much success throughout Skinner’s NCWTS career. The partners will have one truck with the historic #5 Toyota Tundra paint scheme that Skinner raced in the NCWTS from 2005-2008. After Skinner used the truck in 2014 to break the record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the team will return with the same truck this year. This time, Franzone will use the historic #5 in an exhibition run. A second truck donning the #5 number will showcase partnerships with Textron Aviation, Cessna, Beechcraft, Remington, Venus Over Manhattan, Sentinel, Maui Jim, Justin Boots, Charlie 1 Horse Hat Company, C&R Racing and Racecar Solutions. Additionally, a special decal for Hope For The Warriors will showcase the charitable organization that both Skinner and Franzone support. Prepared by Skinner and his two sons, Jamie and Dustin, the truck was purchased from Bill Davis and was originally driven by Johnny Benson during his 2008 NCWTS championship run. In 2014, Skinner broke the record for a NASCAR-style stock car to win the Early Rally Cars division at the iconic Goodwood Festival of Speed. Driving the 10th Toyota Tundra racecar ever built, Skinner paced the eight-car race against the clock to shatter the record formerly held by Rusty Wallace, and to complete the 1.16-mile hill climb in just 50.75-seconds. Hosted by Lord March at the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, England, the 23rd annual event will feature every kind of car imaginable from the 1800s through today and will attract some of the most accomplished drivers in motorsports. From the NASCAR garage, this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will also feature competition-used NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars from Richard Childress Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing, as well as show cars from Sprint Cup Series team Joe Gibbs Racing and NASCAR XFINITY Series team JR Motorsports. Additionally, Richard Petty, “The King”, will showcase the famous Plymouth Superbird. This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will take place June 25-28, 2015.(A2B Strategies)(6-8-2015)
UPDATE: Former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Mike Skinner was back to his winning ways on Sunday as he broke his own record time for the NASCAR class of competition at the iconic Goodwood Festival of Speed. After damaging his primary truck on Saturday afternoon, Skinner entered the final round of competition driving the 10th Toyota Tundra racecar ever built. He paced the race against the clock for the NASCAR division to beat the record time he set in 2014 by more than half-a-second and was identified as the “Driver Of The Day” at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed, making for a storybook ending for the American NASCAR driver on his birthday.Participating in his fifth Goodwood Festival of Speed event, Skinner had to overcome adversity throughout the weekend en route to his record setting run. Skinner was originally slated to compete in the #5 Cessna / Remington Toyota Tundra, but that truck sustained competition-ending damage when it made contact with the chicane during Skinner’s Saturday morning practice run. As a result, Skinner’s teammate and business partner, Andrew Franzone handed over the wheel of his historic Toyota Tundra entry to enable Skinner to make a timed-run in the final round of competition on Sunday afternoon. Climbing back in the truck he nicknamed “Old Faithful,” Skinner recorded a 50.22-second lap to improve his 2014 record time by more than half-a-second. In a tight competition, Skinner’s small team, composed of Chris Paulsen of C&R Racing, and Jamie and Dustin Skinner of Racecar Solutions, brought home a 0.05-second win against some of the most successful teams in NASCAR. The effort earned Skinner the “Driver Of The Day” title for the first time in his Goodwood career.(A2B Strategies)(6-29-2015)
