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Monday, August 20
RCR drops Skinner from team
Associated Press
| |  | | | Skinner |
WELCOME, N.C. -- Mike Skinner and car owner Richard Childress officially parted
ways Monday, ending months of speculation about one of the most
coveted rides on the Winston Cup circuit.
Skinner, who has one year left on his contract with Childress,
will finish out the season in the No. 31 Chevrolet but was given
permission to actively search for a new job.
Childress has not selected a new driver, but the logical choice
would be Robby Gordon, who recently drove the car in four races
while Skinner recovered from injuries sustained in a July crash.
Skinner, who has never won a Winston Cup points race, returned
to the car Sunday and finished 18th in the Pepsi 400.
His future has been hotly debated all season and Childress, who
last week secured new sponsorship for the car, had refused to end
the speculation.
He said the decision Monday to release Skinner was based on
Skinner's failure to win a race in five years.
"Mike is one of the most talented drivers out there but, for
some reason, we haven't been able to win," Childress said. "We've
had some great runs, but this sport is about winning.
"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."
Skinner began his career at RCR in 1995, winning the inaugural
NASCAR Truck Series that year and 16 races in two seasons before
moving to Winston Cup in 1997 and winning Rookie of the Year.
He has 10 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes in 153 Winston Cup
starts with RCR and won NASCAR exhibition races in Japan in 1997
and 1998.
"It's just been a lot of things that have kept us from getting
the moon and the stars lined up," Skinner said. "But if it's not
meant to be, it's not meant to be.
"We'll move on down the road and turn this into a positive.
We're still going to win races. I'm still planning on running up
front and I'm going to make somebody a good race car driver."
Skinner's release gives RCR an entirely different look for next
season.
Rookie Kevin Harvick joined the team this year when he replaced
Dale Earnhardt following his fatal accident in February. Childress
then tabbed Busch Series regular Jeff Green to drive the car
Harvick was slated to drive next season.
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