Skinner replaces McDowell in No. 00 for three races

Craftsman Truck Series regular Mike Skinner will pilot Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00 car in the next three Sprint Cup events, while regular driver Michael McDowell sits out so the organization can reexamine its program.

McDowell, a Sprint Cup rookie, stands 36th in owner points, eight points behind A.J. Allmendinger for the final guaranteed starting spot this week at Michigan International Speedway. Skinner will also attempt the forthcoming events at Bristol and Fontana, while McDowell is slated to return to the car for the Sept. 6 race at Richmond.

“
We're struggling right now, and we're outside the top 35, and our program as a whole is struggling right now. It gives us a chance to put Skinner in, and evaluate where I'm at, where our whole team's at.
”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL"We're struggling right now, and we're outside the top 35, and our program as a whole is struggling right now," McDowell said Tuesday. "It gives us a chance to put Skinner in, and evaluate where I'm at, where our whole team's at, and hopefully get better, which ultimately is the goal of this whole process. I'm definitely getting back in, that's not a question. It's just a matter of getting our program better."

McDowell finished 25th in last Sunday's event at Watkins Glen International after being involved in a large crash near the end of the race. In 17 starts since replacing the retired Dale Jarrett, McDowell has made every race and has a top finish of 21st on the road course at Sonoma, Calif. He said the switch to Skinner had been discussed even before the crash at Watkins Glen, which began when McDowell collided with David Gilliland. Seven other cars were also impacted.

"The whole melee at Watkins Glen was obviously unfortunate, but it wasn't what made us come to the decision that we need to do something different," McDowell said. "It's something we've been working on, and it really had nothing to do with [the fact] that Watkins Glen was a bit of a disaster. It was an opportunity for us to evaluate the program."

Waltrip's approach is similar to one taken earlier this season by Team Red Bull, which put Skinner in its No. 84 car for five races in place of Allmendinger, a second-year NASCAR driver who had failed to qualify for the first three events of the year. Allmendinger showed marked improvement when he returned to the car, and has recorded top-20s in his last four starts. He is in the top 35 in owner points this week for the first time.

"I thought [Skinner] did a really nice job of working with Red Bull and A.J. Allmendinger earlier this year, and our No. 00 team could use the same experienced insight," Waltrip said in a statement released by the team. "We feel the same way about Michael McDowell as we did when we signed him. But this is the toughest, most competitive form of racing in the world, and I know Michael and MWR can benefit from Skinner's input."

But unlike Allmendinger, McDowell has made every race since he first stepped into the No. 00 car at Martinsville Speedway in March. He's spent most of the season inside the top 35, falling out for the first time two weeks ago after a 34th-place finish at Indianapolis. He made the next race at Pocono on speed, and was in the starting field at Watkins Glen after qualifying was canceled by rain.

"It's not ideal. It's not something I wanted to do," McDowell said. "But I'm going to do everything I can to get back in the racecar and to help the program."