David Starr will drive the No. 10 Ford F-150 for Circle Bar Racing in 2007. Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images

Starr looks to maintain success with Circle Bar

Despite career year, truck driver finds himself starting over

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- David Starr didn't mention it much, but he raced the 2006 season with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

As the season progressed, it grew worse. When the year ended, Starr knew there was a strong possibility he would need to find somewhere else to drive for 2007.

Inside the Numbers Starr's 2006 results Race Start Finish Status Daytona 6 14 running Fontana 19 12 running Atlanta 13 15 running Martinsville 15 1 running Gateway 5 8 running Charlotte 31 26 running Mansfield 7 3 running Dover 14 11 running Fort Worth 17 18 running Michigan 28 13 running Milwaukee 21 8 running Kansas 28 8 running Kentucky 19 8 running Memphis 28 11 running ORP 4 4 running Nashville 6 20 running Bristol 23 5 running Loudon 26 5 running Las Vegas 24 20 running Talladega 9 24 running Martinsville 11 2 running Atlanta 20 11 running Fort Worth 27 16 running Phoenix 24 6 running Homestead 28 7 running • Complete stats click here

Starr, a smooth-driving, easy-talking Texan, had just completed a career year in the Craftsman Truck Series, finishing fourth in points for Red Horse Racing. He completed all but five laps of competition, saving his team owners thousands of dollars in potential equipment costs.

But as the 2006 season dragged on, Red Horse Racing and its owners, Tom Deloach and Jeff Hammond, realized they couldn't continue to essentially run the team out of their own pockets. The team had Toyota backing -- but little else -- and millions of dollars had been sacrificed to keep the team on the track for two full seasons.

Starr had a clause in his contract where Red Horse Racing had to let him know right after the season whether it planned to employ him in 2007. When that deadline expired, Starr gave the team more time to find a sponsor. It didn't, and Starr was free to go in early December.

"They called a couple of weeks after the year was over [and said] 'If we don't get a sponsor, we want you to take advantage of an opportunity if one comes along because we are working on sponsorship,'" Starr said. "[They said] 'We don't want you out of a ride.'"

The irony is the team managed to win races in each of its two seasons. Starr replaced Brandon Whitt in the No. 11 ride for 2006 and promptly won at Martinsville, but it wasn't enough to attract a sponsor.

A chance conversation with longtime Craftsman Truck Series driver Rick Crawford allowed Starr to keep his sanity. Late in the season, Crawford mentioned to Starr his team, Circle Bar Racing, might start a second team by purchasing the assets of ppc Racing.

Starr kept Crawford's comment in the back of his mind, but he remained hopeful Red Horse Racing would be able to find a sponsor and keep the program going. In actuality, Red Horse was aiming to expand -- young Illinois driver Aaron Fike joined the team and brought a sponsor with him, and Red Horse hoped to employ Starr in a second truck.

"It is shocking to me that we couldn't get a sponsor," Starr said. "I thought we were going to have a two-truck team. Even though I am not there, at least it kept everyone together. I didn't want to see that deal break up whether I was there or not."

Red Horse never found a second sponsor, and Starr sat at home for a month before the deal with Crawford finally came to fruition.

The ride with Crawford's team is a good one -- the team purchased ppc's equipment and points, and it was a solid top-10 truck all of last season -- but it burned Starr to leave. He absolutely hated to switch firesuits, mainly because he had invested hundreds of hours with the small number of men who worked for Red Horse.

"I got that phone call from Tom and Jeff [and I] immediately called Rick," Starr said. "It took a little bit longer [than expected]. It finally got done last week, and here I am.

David Starr finsihed 2006 with 12 top-10's including a victory at Martinsville. Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

"I started getting worried a week ago, I was like, 'I am going to go to Daytona and be watching for the first time in a long time.'"

Starr admits the new team's Daytona package is lacking due to the late start. He began testing on Friday at Daytona in one of Crawford's backup Fords, and he was only 27th-quickest in the morning session.

"We are behind right now," Starr said. "When we go to Miami in a couple of days we will have the truck that we will run at California, so we are excited about that."

Starr said the main asset that came out of the purchase of the ppc Racing outfit was crew chief Dennis Connor, who won three Craftsman Truck Series titles with Jack Sprague.

"The dynamics have changed," Starr said. "I have a three-time champion crew chief in Dennis Connor, and I look for this deal to be competitive right off the bat."

Even though he has severed his ties with Red Horse Racing, Starr said he still worries about its owners, who struggle to pay salaries, tire bills and other costs with the small purses of the Craftsman Truck Series.

"I think the Truck Series is a great series and growing and growing, but we have got to keep all these owners around or we won't have a series," Starr said. "[Red Horse] is just a good example of a good team, and there is not enough money in this series.

"In this business, these owners have to make money and they have to look after their business. Any business if you don't make money, you're not going to last long, and that is the same way here."