Not only will Mike Skinner compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event Friday night, he will also attempt to qualify for Sunday's Daytona 500 by racing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Gatorade Duel Thursday afternoon.

Mike Skinner on racing at Daytona International Speedway:
"Daytona is my home track, and I love it.  One of the reasons I love it so much is because we all start from zero, points-wise.  Each driver has the chance to be a contender for the championship at Daytona.

"Last year, we started the season with a fourth-place finish at Daytona, then mechanical problems throughout the next few races dug us into a 400-point hole.  It took us almost the whole season to fight ourselves out of it.  I can't wait for Daytona and to get a fresh new season under our belts.

"With this being my third year working with Jeff [Hensley, crew chief], and with the team staying intact during the off-season, I think this No. 5 team is stronger than ever this year.  I am looking forward to being in the championship hunt at the end of the year."

Crew chief Jeff Hensley on racing at Daytona International Speedway:
"After Daytona testing, we came back and took the truck to the wind tunnel.  We ended up taking a lot of drag out of it and made some balance shifts, then went to Homestead [Homestead-Miami Speedway].  It made a huge difference, and we were within the top five each day we were in Homestead.  We are hoping the changes we have made balance-wise that we should be up front and pretty sporty on raceday.

"Last year at Daytona, we led the most laps and ended up fourth due to a green-white-checkered finish.  This year, we hope to have a repeat, except to be in the winner's circle when the day is done.  TRD has given us more horsepower than last year, so hopefully we will be up front the whole race."

This week's race truck for Daytona International Speedway is Chassis No. 5-10. The No. 5 team is taking the truck it tested at Daytona International Speedway earlier this year. The truck performed well both in and out of the draft during testing.

Driver Mike Skinner will compete in the 34th NASCAR-LPGA Golf Tournament Feb.9.

Start your ovens with Angie Skinner's Race Day Grub cookbook. She shares race-day routines and recipes from many NASCAR drivers and families. You can purchase the book at www.amazon.com.

Team Skinner adopts Halifax Medical Center Foundation as its charity for Speedweeks. To make a donation visit www.halifax.org or call Halifax Medical Center Foundation at 386.254.4111.

For more than six years, Mike and Angie Skinner have called Daytona Beach home. The couple is active in the local community.

Skinner will participate in an autograph session Thursday, Feb. 9 at Daytona Toyota in Daytona Beach. The event is slated to start at 5 p.m.

Skinner will join his Bill Davis Racing teammates on the "PRN Fast Talk" radio show Monday, Feb. 12 at 6:15 p.m., in Volusia Mall, which is located directly across from Daytona International Speedway. Catch Skinner again with his teammates on 95.7 WHOG's morning radio show on February 12 at 9:30 a.m.