Mike Skinner and the No. 5 Toyota Tundra team entered Saturday's race as the hottest team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage area. The team has posted three top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes in the past four races, including one victory and two runner-up finishes. The team brought one of its best trucks to the .526-mile oval in hopes of keeping its streak of top-10 finishes alive.

Skinner was not happy with the way his Toyota Tundra was handling during Friday's practice sessions. He told his team the truck's handling was so loose in the center of the corners, that he was almost wrecking on every lap. The No. 5 Toyota Tundra team changed everything it could think of trying to find a combination Skinner liked. The changes did not seem to help the truck handle any better, and the team was not very optimistic about Saturday's race.

Fortunately, the team's struggles did not continue into the qualifying session. Skinner knew it was important to start his Tundra up front at Martinsville due to the difficulty of passing on the track. Skinner, who leads the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in career pole positions, recorded a lap of 19.940 seconds, which was good enough for the outside of the front row.

When the green flag was displayed to the 36-truck field on a perfect fall afternoon, Skinner was on a mission to keep his Tundra at the front of the field. Skinner fell into the clutches of his competitors by lap 20 and was running in the sixth position. He told his crew the truck was lacking grip in the corners, and he was having a hard time getting off the corners.

The team received its first chance to adjust the truck's handling under caution on lap 33. When Skinner arrived in the team pit box, the team gave the truck four tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. Skinner restarted 15th on lap 37.

The 1995 Craftsman Truck Series Champion knew he must use patience to return to the front. On lap 44, he reported to his crew that the current set of tires was making the truck handle a bit tight, but he believed they would come in as the run went progressed.

Skinner re-emerged in the top 10 by the race's midway stages and stood ninth at lap 100. He told his Crew Chief Jeff Hensley that he was still battling a tight handling race truck, and it was hurting his corner speeds. Hensley consoled his driver by reporting that he was running competitive lap times and needed to keep working hard.

Skinner battled for the final 75 laps and brought his Tundra home in the seventh spot. It was the team fifth consecutive top-10 finish. Skinner now sits only 24 points out of the top 10 in the Craftsman Truck Series points standings.