11-09-2007 | TruckSeries.com Report

MIKE SKINNER, No. 5 Toyota Tundra, Bill Davis Racing
What do you remember about the 1995 championship battle and how much greater is the pressure this year?
"Ronnie (Hornaday) and I are just older and wiser. That's the good news and the bad news. We're just really trying to focus on getting the truck safe. We're seeing a lot of shoulder temperature on the right front right now so we are really trying to make sure that even if we don't run as fast as we'd like to run that we can get to the end of the race. 1995 was crazy -- the aerodynamics was way different in the Craftsman Truck Series. We were 10-feet tall, bullet-proof trying to prove ourselves to the world. We made a lot of dumb decisions and we got away with it a lot. We were able to beat the Cup guys when they came over. I think that helped Ron's career, my career, Jack's (Sprague) career. (Joe) Ruttman was just great. There were a lot of people that this series helped out back in '95 and '96. The differences is just time. Here we are again -- it's just much tighter now than it was then. It's harder to run good now then it was then."

Did you ever think you'd be racing when you were a grandfather?
"I'm very proud to be a grandpa. The only thing I can say is that Hornaday and I have made it to that level when all these kids they still have to get there. It's a good thing. Coming back over here and driving for Toyota and driving the Tundra branded truck for the Bill Davis Racing as the team that is putting me out here -- they've given me the opportunity to win races again. Being in a bid for the championship, that's just a bonus. Whether we win this thing or finish second -- either one -- it's a bonus. We've run awfully well this year -- we've won five races. If they would have told me I'd win five races this year and run eighth in the points, I would have said 'okay, I'll take that.' Anything after that is a bonus."

What are your thoughts of coming to PIR and being on top of the point's championship?
"This has been historically a pretty good race track for us. It's a heck of a lot better than coming here and being second. This thing is not going to end here at Phoenix. It's probably going to come down to the last lap at Homestead. It's been a good race. I've been asked a lot 'wouldn't it be exciting for the fans if it comes down -- isn't it best for it to be so tight?' And I say 'hell no!' We should have won this thing three races ago -- that's what we want. We don't want a tight battle. Sure the fans love it. I know the No. 5 team and the Toyota folks would love it if it was clinched. It's not fun doing this -- being this intense for this point's deal. It's fun to win races. I don't like the point's race, I'm not a very good point's racer and now I find myself in a position where I have to point's race. I'm going to do it for two more races and then I'm going to see what happens."