Randy Moss Motorsports celebrates one year anniversary in Camping World Truck Series

“A year ago when Randy and I partnered up, we sat at Daytona and had a press conference and then came [to Kentucky] and had another one,” said David Dollar, co-owner of Randy Moss, at a press conference in the Kentucky Speedway Media Center.

“What we sat out was we hoped to have one veteran driver running for a championship and a young ‘up and coming’ rookie running for rookie of the year, and here we are one year later and setting in the exact same spot. I couldn’t be more tickled.”

To say Dollar was taking a risk in partnering with Moss wouldn’t be a stretch. After all, many former NFL players (Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw and even Dan Marino) have ventured into NASCAR, all with very little success.

But Randy Moss Motorsports has thrived this season behind wily veteran Mike Skinner and rookie Tayler Malsam. “I can’t say enough about these guys—they have done a heck of a lot with probably a fourth of a budget of some teams out here,” Skinner said.

“Now we keep raising the bar so I expect to win. I’m turning into a pain in the butt because I’m starting to nitpick things and I want to run really, really good.”

Nothing says running really, really good like pacing the first of two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practices on Friday afternoon at Kentucky.

“This set up under our truck right now is very similar to the set up that Jeff Hensley and I won this race with last year,” Skinner said after running 26 laps in the first session. “I was talking to Tayler and he’s pretty happy with the balance in his truck too.”

The track at Kentucky has drawn rave reviews from competitors, and even the young Malsam feels that the track hasn’t thrown him any curves. “We’re happy with how it handles through the bumps and it’s not too rough. No worse than Rockingham,” he said. Not too bad for a rookie.

But what good is balance if at the end of the race the newest rules in the truck series throw a wrench into crew chief’s plans? Skinner looked at me and said, “Don’t get me talking about that new rule because they’ll come and get a hook and drag me out of here. It’s the worst thing ever on this planet of racing.”

The new truck series rule, for those who are unaware, limits each team to taking either tires or fuel on pit stops. NASCAR implemented this rule with good intentions in order to cut costs for teams. “How much money has it saved you, David?” Skinner said, turning to his right to look at David Dollar.

“We’ve wrecked a lot of good trucks,” Skinner said. Harkening back to Talladega in April he added, “Sooner or later if they don’t change this thing someone is going to get hurt. It’s going to be because of that strategy.”

Even if he gets bit by pit strategy late in the race, Skinner will leave with the satisfaction that he had a quick truck with an upstart team And, he’d like to suggest something to new track owner Bruton Smith. “I’d race around here if it was dirt,” Skinner said. “I love this place. I love coming to Kentucky. I love the fans here.”