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Wednesday, July 18
Skinner's future with RCR in doubt
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com
Poor Mike Skinner. The guy has to hold the NASCAR record for bad luck.
He's now in his sixth season with Richard Childress Racing, yet has never driven the team into Victory Lane, constantly being beset by one problem after another. If I didn't know better, I'd say Skinner is Winston Cup's version of Pigpen, the Peanuts cartoon character that seemed to have a dark cloud follow him everywhere.
|  | | Skinner's fiery crash in North Carolina in March is just one of many bad breaks he has had to deal with. |
That dark cloud grew blacker in Sunday's inaugural Tropicana 400 at the new Chicagoland Speedway. Skinner, who qualified a respectable seventh, was driving along, minding his own business, when the right front tire on his No. 31 Chevrolet blew out. Skinner careened helplessly at about 150 mph into the Turn 2 wall -- and likely out of a ride with RCR by season's end.
The crash on lap 37 of the 267-lap event sent more than a few chills up my spine. When the car made its initial impact, it shattered the oil line on the right side of the car. Oil flew everywhere, including upon the hot engine manifold, which ignited and turned Skinner's car into a inferno.
As the flames grew larger and licked closer to the driver's compartment, I kept waiting for Skinner to climb out, wave to the fans that he was alright and walk away from the wreck. But that didn't happen. Skinner remained strapped in the car while the flames drew closer. Immediately, thoughts of what happened to Dale Earnhardt at Daytona this past February began to flood my mind. My emotions were on overdrive. Were we going to see another fatality?
As I continued to wait for Skinner to exit his car, the uncertainty finally got to me. I couldn't watch anymore. I don't know if I subconsciously wrote Skinner off as being dead, but I do know I couldn't endure watching any more if indeed he was.
Fortunately, the safety crew -- the top-rated crew from Indianapolis Motor Speedway that was imported to Sunday's race to respond to on-track incidents -- did an excellent job. While half the crew worked to extinguish the flames that had taken over the entire right side and front end of Skinner's car, the other half of the team furiously worked to free Skinner from his seat and get him to safety.
Skinner emerged and walked under his own power -- with some assistance from safety crew members -- to the waiting ambulance. You could see he was knocked silly, traipsing from side to side, woozy as anything.
About an hour later, we learned the extent of Skinner's injuries: after being transported to a local hospital in Joliet, Ill., it was discovered that not only had Skinner suffered a concussion, but a fractured left ankle as well.
Now comes more bad luck and more bad news for the California native. The ankle fracture is severe enough that Skinner will miss at least the next two Winston Cup races -- this weekend at Loudon, N.H., and next weekend at Pocono, Pa.
That in itself is bad enough. But Skinner is fighting for his driving life, trying to convince team owner Richard Childress to retain him for next season. The duo is supposed to make a decision on their collective partnership, whether to retain it or end it, by the Brickyard 400 on the first weekend of August.
There have been numerous rumors that Lowe's officials want Skinner gone after this season so they can put a younger, more visible driver -- in other words, a pilot who will win -- in the No. 31 car next year.
Now, the worst news of all has happened. The driver who has been rumored as most likely to succeed Skinner -- veteran racer Robby Gordon -- will do just that for the next few races. Gordon has spent two of the last three races on the circuit in Jim Smith's No. 7 Ford. He finished second at Sonoma, Calif., but struggled to a 35th-place finish in Sunday's race.
Childress could be seen huddling and laughing with Gordon several times in the garage area last weekend. They already have forged a deal to put Gordon in a Busch car for select races this season as the likely prelude (although neither Childress nor Gordon will admit it) to putting Gordon in a Childress-owned Cup car next year.
Could that same car be Skinner's?
I'm sure that scenario will be on Skinner's mind the next few weeks while he recuperates in his Daytona Beach, Fla. home. Skinner will likely tune in to watch telecasts and see Gordon driving his car. That's bad enough, but what if Gordon goes out and actually wins? Given what Gordon did with Smith's car at Sonoma -- climbing into a totally brand new, unfamiliar car and wheeling it to a runner-up finish -- it's not out of the question that Gordon could perform the same magic with RCR's better financed, better prepared car.
I had the opportunity to have a lengthy conversation with Skinner two weeks ago. He was admittedly frustrated, not knowing where he stood in Childress' mind. He wanted to know one way or the other which direction he would be going. Skinner has heard the rumors about his shaky status, but has tried to put them out of his mind. He's tried to soldier on, doing the same thing he does every race -- his very best. That's why Sunday's crash and resulting injuries couldn't have come at a worse time for Skinner.
If Gordon indeed does well, it's likely Skinner's fate -- and future -- with RCR will be sealed. And like the symbolism of his fractured ankle, that will be the most unfortunate break of all in a tenure with a team that has been marked with nothing but bad breaks.
Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com.
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