Mike Skinner entered the event at Atlanta Motor Speedway as the defending pole and race winner.  With an average starting position of second in seven NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts on the Georgia track, Skinner was looking to make the most of his Atlanta experience.

Rainy weather limited the Craftsman Truck Series to one practice session Friday morning.  Skinner and his No. 5 Tundra team worked hard to get their truck where it needed to be.  Finishing out the session with the eighth quickest truck, the No. 5 team was ready to qualify that afternoon.  Skinner’s lap of 31.961 seconds enabled him to start from the 12th position in that night’s race.

After the green flag waved to start the 130-lap race Friday night, Skinner charged forward.  Picking off positions one by one, Skinner made his way to the eighth position by lap 10.  The caution flag waved on lap 18, and Skinner joined the rest of the field on pit road.  Skinner’s pit crew did their job well during the four-tire stop and put the veteran driver back on track in the fifth position for the lap 26 restart.

Skinner maintained the fifth position despite battling a tight handling truck.  The field raced under green flag conditions for the next 50 laps, and teams were forced to make green flag pit stops.  Skinner grabbed the lead on lap 92 before heading to pit road one lap later.  After another great four-tire stop, Skinner and his No.5 Tundra reassumed the fifth position.

Skinner drove hard during the last half of the race and began to gain ground on the lead trucks before rain halted the race.  The lead trucks came to pit road under caution, and Skinner followed suit for another four-tire stop.  The race restarted on lap 115, and Skinner fought ardently for position.  The rain returned, and the race was stopped on lap 119 as track crews attempted to dry the racing surface.

After the race restarted, Skinner had a four lap shootout to get the job done.  He passed trucks left and right before finishing third.  It was his highest finish of the year, and it vaulted him into the seventh position in the Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings.

Skinner and the rest of the Craftsman Truck Series will race again in two weeks at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where Skinner is once again the defending race winner.  The race will be televised live Saturday, March 29 on the FOX Channel.