NASCAR has downplayed reports of failing interest in the Craftsman Truck Series, saying it would continue next year with a full 25-race schedule.

The series will lose Craftsman as a sponsor at the end of the year, and last week Kobalt Tools said it no longer was interested in replacing Craftsman.

At the same time, one industry source said manufacturers aren't as supportive of the trucks because high gas prices have crippled sales of trucks and SUVs.

With General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all trying to cope with staggering losses, ending their support of the truck series could be a way to cut their losses, said industry analyst Peter M. DeLorenzo .

HELPING HAND: Mike Skinner helped turn Red Bull Racing and driver A.J. Allmendinger around earlier this year, and now he's been asked to help Michael McDowell and Michael Waltrip Racing.

Skinner took the place of Allmendinger for six races to help the team get the car -- and driver -- up to speed. Allmendinger failed to qualify for the first three races, so Skinner was brought in.

Since coming back, Allmendinger has seven top-20 finishes in 14 races, including the past four.

"No driver wants to get out of the car, but I understand that every part of our program needs to be evaluated, and that certainly includes me," McDowell told Scene Daily .

OLD DAYS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. said fans who believe racing was better 20 years ago may be swayed by the characters in the earlier generations.

"I think so. I think a lot of it might have been not so much the competition itself, but the personalities," he said.

"You know, the Dale Earnhardts , the Darrell Waltrip s, the Bobby Allison s and others. We have a lot of great personalities now, but the sport itself has become a whole lot more corporate and a lot less personal in that respect."