Mike Skinner headed to O’Reilly Raceway Park near Indianapolis wanting to duplicate the races there in 1995 and 1996, in which he sat on the pole, led every lap and won the race.

Skinner’s truck ran well during the first practice session Friday morning, but the No. 5 crew wanted it to run better. The crew made several changes to loosen the handling of the truck, and it improved somewhat. Skinner and crew ended the day with the 11th-fastest truck.

Rain cancelled the afternoon qualifying session, meaning Skinner would start in a familiar position – first. The starting grid was set based on NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owners’ points. The rain also delayed the start of the race by two hours.

Once the race got underway, Skinner led the field to the green flag and continued to lead for the next 23 laps. The handling of the truck remained tight, and Skinner told crew chief Jeff Hensley that it was “pushing like a dump truck.”

The crew was unable to make any changes until the first pit stop, which came under caution on lap 79. The No. 5 team made trackbar, wedge and air pressure adjustments during the four-tire stop. Skinner restarted 12th on lap 84 and reported that the truck was still tight. Despite the handling problems, Skinner drove hard and tried to gain as much ground as possible throughout the next 40 laps.

The caution flag waved again on lap 123, and Skinner returned to pit road in search of an answer for his tight-handling truck. The crew made more trackbar and air pressure adjustments and gave the truck four tires and fuel. Skinner restarted 25th on lap 128.

The tight condition plagued Skinner throughout the remainder of the race, and Skinner did all he could to finish the race with the fenders intact. He finished 20th after a green-white-checkered finish.

Skinner continues to lead the Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings by 77 points over Ron Hornaday Jr., as the series heads to Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway in two weeks. The race will be televised on SPEED Saturday, Aug. 11.