Mike Skinner headed to his favorite track, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, with hopes of dominating like he has done so many times this year.

The No. 5 Toyota Tundra team didn’t start practice Wednesday afternoon as well as it would have liked. The truck had no grip and was bottoming out during the first practice session, meaning Skinner and his No. 5 crew had much work to do before the final practice session. The team made many changes to the truck and eventually loosened its handling. When set up in qualifying trim, Skinner’s truck was where it needed to be -- at the top of the speed charts, just in time for the qualifying session.

Skinner captured the pole position for the 1995 and 1996 events at the .5-mile track. He wanted to collect his third Bristol pole Wednesday afternoon, this time on a newly-resurfaced track. His time of 15.874 seconds instead earned him the fifth position on the starting grid.

Skinner remained within the top five after the green flag waved for Wednesday night’s race. He soon needed a pit stop, as the handling of his No. 5 Tundra became loose in and tight off the turns. A caution on lap 35 enabled Skinner to stop for four tires and fuel. He restarted 11th on lap 46 and quickly tried to make up the lost positions.

By the halfway point of the 200-lap race, Skinner stood just where he started, but it was not without a struggle. The truck’s handling worsened with each lap and intermittently went fast and slowed down. Skinner realized he needed a much better truck to get to the front of the field. Unfortunately, his handling woes continued, and Skinner was glad to see the checkered flag wave. Despite the troubles, Skinner finished fourth and extended his lead in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings to 92 points over Ron Hornaday Jr.

The Craftsman Truck Series heads to Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis next week. The race will be televised live on SPEED Saturday, Sept. 1.