"Is this a paid ad?" - NASCAR fans react to Mike Skinner’s opinion of the Next Gen car

Former NASCAR driver Mike Skinner’s opinion on the Next Gen car did not resonate quite well with the fans. In a recent interview with Frontstretch, the 66-year-old showered praises on the Next Gen car, calling it the “most amazing car that [NASCAR] ever built.”

It has been just two years since NASCAR introduced the Next Gen prototype that officially debuted at the 2022 edition of the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum. However, the car has garnered an array of criticism from several NASCAR pundits, drivers as well as fans.

Some said that the car needed more horsepower while others said that it needed help with the brakes and steering. Some liked the parity that it brought along with it while others didn't.

Speaking of the car, Skinner said that it suited his style of driving. He was quoted as saying (via Frontstretch):

"This car was built for my style of driving. I think I would have done really, really a lot better in this car than the car we ran in the time. It's safe, it's fast, it's se*y, sounds good.”

Several fans online reacted to Skinner's comments. Some humorously wondered if his comments were part of a paid advertisement for the Next Gen car. One fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

“Is this a paid ad or sum????”

Another fan wrote:

“Wonder how much they paid him to say that”

The majority of the fans preferred to chime in with the opinions of the current drivers in NASCAR rather than Skinner, who, they said, has not driven a Cup car since 2012.

“Dude hasn't run a cup race since 2012, I'll trust the opinions of the drivers who've actually driven the car,” a NASCAR fan wrote.

“I love when retired drivers are paid to lie,” another fan responded sarcastically.

However, one fan chose to criticize the car rather than Skinner for his comments.

“I love Mike Skinner but I couldn’t disagree more. This car killed my interest in @NASCAR. I’ve been watching religiously since the late 70’s. I’ve loved the sport all that time but this car has made it unwatchable to me. Right now@BravoTV is on and it’s far more interesting,” the fan wrote.

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Mike Skinner is living his dream retirement

Mike Skinner, now 66, raced across the three national tiers of NASCAR between 1986 to 2012. Throughout his career as a driver, Skinner achieved the most success in the Truck Series. He won 28 races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, including the 1995 Truck Series championship title. He retired from the sport in 2012 and last raced in Michigan.

In a 2022 interview with Forbes, Mike Skinner spoke about his retirement:

"Actually, I don't want to say I had a big ego…what happened to me is, I was a baby. I got tired of riding in the back and the rides I was getting then were good paying jobs, but they were back markers."

NASCAR is indeed a dangerous sport, and Skinner knew that. The concussions that he suffered while driving for over 25 years proved to be serious. So much so that his doctor asked him to race only once in a while, if not quit driving altogether. Skinner chose to do the latter.

Today, Mike Skinner and his wife Angie run a show named 'Skinner Round-Up' which is quite popular among the fans and airs every week on SiriusXM Radio. Besides that, Mike Skinner is also a member of NASCAR's Appeals Committee and has played an active role in mentoring young drivers under the NASCAR NEXT program.