The No. 5 Toyota Tundra team battled back from a loose-handling truck and a pit road mishap for a strong finish at Milwaukee. The team's second consecutive top-15 finish also resulted in it gaining two positions in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings.

With one of the team's best trucks under him, the 1995 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion had high hopes for a solid finish in Milwaukee. The truck was fast from the start, but Skinner told his crew the truck handled a little tight into the corners and loose off. The team changed front and rear springs and made a significant shock change to help remedy the handling issues. At the end of the two-hour practice session, Skinner was 12th on the speed chart.

Skinner had an early draw in Friday afternoon's qualifying session. His time of 29.721 seconds was considerably faster than his practice time, and it placed him sixth on the starting grid. After the run, Skinner told his crew the truck handled extremely loose, and he was worried about the start of the race.

Skinner held his ground once the Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 started. He held the fifth position through the first 30 circuits, but reported that his truck handled "terrible loose" and was in need of adjustment.

Luckily, help became imminent when the caution flag waved on lap 36. A pit stop two laps later gave the crew an opportunity to make a major chassis adjustment to the truck, in addition to giving it four tires and fuel. Luck soon faded, as Skinner was blocked into his pit stall by two competitors, which caused him to lose a number of positions on the race track.

Skinner restarted 12th on lap 41. The team was undaunted by its misfortune and knew it could regain positions during another pit stop later in the race. Skinner reported on lap 54 that the truck was better going into the corners, but was really tight from the center of the corner out. Crew chief Jeff Hensley promised his driver another big adjustment during the next pit stop, which happened under caution about 60 laps later. The second pit stop of the night again resulted in major adjustments to the No. 5 Tundra.

Skinner had fallen to 20th with only 82 laps remaining in the 200-lap event. Skinner took all his Tundra would give him, charging to 14th with 50 laps to go. He told his crew on lap 167 that his Tundra was the best it had been all night, and he commended his crew for its hard work. Skinner continued to battle to the end and was rewarded with an 11th-place finish.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Kansas Speedway Saturday, July 1. The race can be seen live on the Speed Channel. Check local times for listings.