Is anybody sitting down?” smiled Inaugural Craftsman Truck Series Champion Mike Skinner after a breath-taking, all-out battle to the finish with Bobby Hamilton at the first running of the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200.

Not hardly. And he had every reason to smile after holding onto second place and sliding across the finish line a mere .330 seconds behind Hamilton as the two veterans bumped in Turn 4. The final lap dash to the finish at the fastest track in NASCAR yet again served notice that the Craftsman Truck Series provides unbeatable racing action.

“That’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Skinner said. “It’s going to be hard to top what you saw today. If I was them (fans), I’d probably ask for some of my money back, because I know the tickets tomorrow cost a lot more than the tickets today…and I don’t think they’re going to see this kind of show.”

But the series wasn’t alone in its first-rate racing display. Toyota also validated their Daytona debut with Bang Racing wasn’t just a flash in the pan – they’re a future force to be reckoned with.

“They knew we were here didn’t they?” Skinner quipped. “This is our second race. We’ve been first looser both times, and that’s a pretty darn good place to be. When you’ve got a new manufacturer coming into the sport trying to get caught up…well, they’re doing a heck of a job. The Toyota brand is going to be awesome. I can’t wait…I wish Martinsville was tomorrow.”

Skinner arrived in Atlanta with an impressive history at the ultra-fast track including five top-10’s in 12 starts and one outside pole and another little known fact in his Atlanta arsenal. As a veteran of debut races, he won six races in the series in his inaugural year, and his first laps of the weekend didn’t disappoint.

Strong runs in practice and happy hour put the No. 42 Toyota Tundra in the top five on the leader board. Following a fourth place qualifying run, he was ready to take to the track and fulfill his pre-race predictions of spectacular drafting and two- and three-wide racing action.

By Lap 10, Skinner had settled into second place and would remain in the front running until taking over the lead on Lap 42. After a severe incident on the backstretch involving Tina Gordon, Rick Crawford and Hank Parker Jr. three laps later, he made his first of two pit stops for four tires, air pressure and wedge adjustments to tighten up his loose-handling Tundra.

During the next 51 laps, he displayed his driving prowess on the 1.54-mile oval despite struggling with extremely loose conditions and relinquished the lead for a mere two laps to teammate Travis Kvapil and David Reutimann. Following the third caution on Lap 88, Skinner brought his Tundra to pit road for a final stop for fresh tires and additional air pressure adjustments. A quick pit stop by the Bang Racing crew again vaulted him atop the leader board and set the scene for an electrifying finish as the two veterans traded the advantage four times over the last 10 laps and battled door-to-door during the green-white-checkered sprint to the end.

“Bobby Hamilton’s a heck of a racer,” Skinner said. “We’ve had a lot of good races. We just got beat by a truck that was stronger than ours. His was good on short runs, and we were a little bit stronger on long runs. Unfortunately there was a caution that made it a short run…I’ll tell you though, it’s good to be back in the Craftsman Truck Series and contending for a win. I know that I can run up front. I’ve run up front here before in good equipment, and this is definitely good equipment.”

Despite a second place finish, he led 68 laps five times and claimed two additional awards: the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award and the Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award climbing into eighth place in the point standings. And although tire concerns again hovered over the NASCAR garage, Skinner was Goodyear’s best ally.

“When you can run a full fuel stop on these Goodyear radials and don’t have trouble, that’s a good tire,” Skinner said. “The tires kept balance all day. We never had any problems with blistering or anything like that. I can’t say that every race. I’ve had a lot of issues with tires in my career. But today my hat is off to them. They did one phenomenal job.”

Asked whether he would’ve done anything different at the end of the race, Skinner slyly relished the moment.

“We don’t make that much money in the Craftsman Truck Series as they do on the Cup side, so anything I would’ve had to do about it would’ve cost me more than I make,” he said.

“I finished one race on my roof and won, and I thought, well, I might be on my roof again. We’re going to have to race hard here on the last lap. That’s what the truck series is all about…we race every lap.”

And that’s just the second race of the Craftsman Truck Series season. Forget the “Young Guns.” This veteran is proof positive that he’s still got what it takes to be a champion.