(Photo by Jones Sports Media)
Inside Line Promotions – WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (June 16, 2020) – Marshall Skinner kicked off his 30th year of racing with a solid top-five finish last Thursday during USCS Series action at North Alabama Speedway.
“I started fourth in the feature and tried a Hail Mary through the middle on the second lap and fell back to about eighth,” said Skinner, who won his heat race. “I was able to work my way back to fifth by the finish.”
Skinner was generally pleased with his evening at the oval in Tuscumbia, Ala., following an approximate eight-month hiatus from racing.
“It’s like riding a bicycle; you don’t forget how,” he said. “But I was rusty after being away for so long. I guess I was happiest with the way I felt racing all weekend. I recently lost about 25 pounds and it seemed to make me feel a lot better behind the wheel.”
Skinner also competed on Friday in two divisions at Crowley’s Ridge Raceway in Paragould, Ark., and at Riverside International Speedway on Saturday, but misfortune kept him from finishing each of the three main events.
“I raced for the first time without a wing in about 11 years at Crowley’s Ridge,” he said. “I started 11th and was up to about seventh or eighth when there was a parts failure in the engine when a retainer broke. Non-wing racing is the most fun racing there is. I had a great time.”
Skinner also competed in a winged 305 sprint car for car owner John McCord that evening as well as the following night at Riverside International Speedway.
“At Crowley’s Ridge in the 305, I started seventh and was trying to pass for third with about five laps to go when the guy pinched me off,” he said. “I got on the brakes real hard, but I barely brushed the tractor tire and broke the radius rod.
“The next night at Riverside, I had a great race with my buddy Dewayne White. It was a slide-job fest, a real barn burner. But eventually I lost my brakes. With two laps to go, I got into the back of him a bit and spun myself out to keep from hitting him hard since I had no brakes. I decided not to restart from the back with two laps to go and no brakes.”
Skinner was credited with a 14th-place result.
Although now without an engine, Skinner is making an extra effort to race in this Saturday’s Greg Hodnett Memorial at Riverside International Speedway.
“I feel like the Greg Hodnett Memorial is one race I can’t miss, if at all possible, so I borrowed an engine from my uncle for this weekend,” he said. “I’m a little concerned about when I’ll get my engine fixed since it’s difficult to get parts due to the factories shutting down.”
QUICK RESULTS –
June 11 – North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala. – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 5 (4).
June 12 – Crowley’s Ridge Raceway in Paragould, Ark. (Non-wing sprint car) – Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 17 (11).
June 12 – Crowley’s Ridge Raceway in Paragould, Ark. (305 sprint car) – Feature: 17 (7).
June 13 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 14 (12).
SEASON STATS –
4 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 1 top 10, 2 top 15s, 4 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., for the 2nd annual Greg Hodnett Memorial
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sprint26
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marshall-Skinner-Motorsports-207879425896412/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Custom Heat and Air
Custom Heat and Air of Tyronza, Ark., is the home of low-cost repairs and replacement for complete heating, air conditioning, refrigeration and ventilation service, repair and replacement. For more information, call (870) 343-8618 or visit https://www.facebook.com/Custom-Heat-and-Air-246587945489832/.
“I’ve known Mike Everhart, the owner of Custom Heat and Air, since I was a kid,” Skinner said. “He’s been in racing himself and he’s built himself a good heating and air conditioning business by providing excellent service with fair prices.”
Skinner would also like to thank J&J Auto Racing, Stinson’s Industrial, Final Touch Auto Collision Center, Gant Concrete Pumping, Big Earl Farms, B&D Towing and Recovery, DHR Suspensions, Robert Thorne Landscaping, American Outdoor Inc., CnB Chubby, West Tennessee Expediting, Xtreme Race Graphics, Water & Wastewater Services, Cooper Racing Enterprises, BB&T Racing, FSR Radiators, Hinchman Racewear, FK Rod Ends, Killer Coatings, Bell Helmets, Engler Machine & Tool, Inc., Schoenfeld Headers, DMI, Huggins Cams, PAC Racing Springs, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, KDN Promotions, Stealth Recovery, I-55 Towing, Oval Paints, Huntington’s Disease Awareness, OMP America, Deatherage Opticians and Hedger Brothers Concrete for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.