David Starr and the SS Green Light Racing team suffered another heartbreaking finish in Friday nights NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Winstar Casino 350 at the Texas Motor Speedway when a mechanical issue dropped the BYF/Zachry/Boot Campaign Toyota from his top-fifteen spot to the garage with just ten laps to go.
For Starr the bad luck streak of 2011 has continued with the third DNF for the No. 81 in the last four NCWTS events; this time an engine problem ended David’s night just seven laps from the end of the 147-lap race.
David qualified the Build Your Future/Zachry/Boot Campaign Toyota sixteenth on Thursday night with a lap of 30.18 on the mile and one half speedway several miles from his Texas home.
At the drop of the green David fell back several spots in the running order and when the first caution of the day when Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday had fireworks on lap fifteen resulting in both in the garage for the rest of the evening. Quick work by the SS Green Light team got David out in eleventh place following the caution.
Another quick caution for fluid followed on lap 22. Once back to green, David lost several positions to trucks that took fresh tires by the time Johanna Long spun off turn four on lap 34 and restarted 20th on lap 37. David had moved up to 18th when he narrowly avoided disaster when Parker Kligerman and Blake Feese made heavy contact with the wall and collected Jack Smith, but David was able to sneak past the spinning trucks.
Starr brought the BYF/Zachry/Boot Campaign Toyota to the attention of the Jason Miller led crew for Sunoco race gas, Goodyear tires and several chassis adjustments that dropped Starr back to 24th when the race went back to green again on lap 63. A lengthy green flag run followed and through the 30-lap run David moved up into the top-twenty before a spin by Jake Crum caused the races fifth caution on lap 100.
Once again great pit-work by the SS Green Light team got David out in fourteenth place and his Toyota was good to go to the checkers with 44 green laps to go.
David keep the pedal to the metal and raced in the top-fifteen all the way up to lap 140 when plumes of blue-white smoke erupted from the BYF/Zachry/Boot Campaign Toyota causing the races final caution and put Starr behind the wall for the third time in the last four races. SS Green Light Racing co-owner and general manager Bobby Dotter said it appeared that a piston had broken in the powerplant of Starr’s Toyota.
Starr was credited with 23rd in the final rundown behind winner Kevin Harvick.
“We struggled with handling all day, but we started to get it right there at the end,” Starr said after the race. “I thought I was going to get a top-ten, but we just had an engine problem. It’s disappointing.”
Starr remains thirteenth in the NCWTS driver’s standings behind leader Austin Dillon.
The NCWTS teams have a week off to prepare for the season finale at the Homestead Miami Speedway on November 18th for the Ford 200.
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