Mike Skinner and the No. 5 Toyota Tundra team rolled into Memphis Motorsports Park wanting to improve on their third-place finish one year ago.  The 1995 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion knew Memphis was a crucial stop on the team’s quest for a championship.

The team unloaded its flamed Toyota Tundra and worked through a number of different front end combinations during practice, trying to dial the truck in for the 200-lap event.  Skinner explained to his crew that the truck had really good bite off the corner, but he needed some help on entry.  The team tried to correct the loose handling condition Skinner felt as he entered the corners.  By the end of practice, the No. 5 truck had climbed to the second spot on the speed chart, and the team was looking forward to the race on Saturday night.

Skinner started the 200-lap event in the 10th spot, but he was determined to get his Tundra to the front of the field.  He reported to his team on lap seven that once he got the truck turned, it had really good forward bite off the corners.  He needed to be a little looser into the corner in order to really hustle it into the middle of the turns.

Skinner brought his Tundra down the pit lane under yellow flag conditions on lap 54.  The team changed all four tires, filled the truck with racing fuel and made an air pressure adjustment to the truck.

Skinner sat 18th when the race restarted on lap 57.  The NASCAR veteran knew he had to be patient in order to get his Tundra to the front of the field.  The No. 5 Toyota Tundra moved past other trucks, and by lap 120, Skinner had made it up to the 14th spot.

When the caution flag waved on lap 121, the Toyota Tundra team prepared for its final stop of the night.  The four-tire stop placed Skinner 13th for the lap 126 restart.

It took fewer than 10 laps before Skinner put his Toyota Tundra in the top 10, where he remained until the end.  Skinner finished the event in the seventh position.  It was the team’s 10th top-10 finish of the season.  The team leads the rest of the Craftsman Truck Series competitors in top-10 finishes this season.

The No. 5 Toyota Tundra team gets a well-deserved week off before returning to competition at Kentucky Speedway July 12.  The race can be seen live on the Speed Channel.  Check local listings for start times.