Starr Hustles to 13th at New Hampshire

Loudon, N.H. (September 20, 2009) – David Starr fought hard all afternoon and his persistence paid off late in the race as he picked up a couple of positions on the track in the final handful of laps to score a 13th-place finish with the No. 24 Zachry/Harris Trucking Toyota in Saturday’s Heluva Good! 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Much like the rest of the drivers, Starr was fighting to find grip on the tight, flat one-mile oval. But compounding Starr’s handling issue was a nagging brake problem that continued to worsen throughout the race. By the first caution flag of the day at lap 30, Starr reported to crew chief Jason Miller that he was pumping the brake pedal down the straightaways to ensure he’d have braking power once he reached the corners. The problem continued throughout the race, hampering his chances of running into the top five.

Starr managed to stay on the lead lap for 175 laps despite the braking issues, but did fall a lap down to the leaders after a splash-and-go stop for a few gallons of fuel late in the race. But with 15 laps to go the final caution flag of the day waved, and Starr was positioned as the first truck one lap down in 16th position. Miller brought Starr back in to bolt on four fresher tires – the tires that they used at the start of the race – and sent him back out. Starr wrestled the truck past a couple of others to cross the finish line in 13th.

“That wasn’t a lot of fun today,” a tired Starr said after the race. “We had to pump the brakes all day long to get slowed down for the corners. It’s hard to get out and race for positions when you are losing braking power. The guys did a great job on pit road today and we came in for those tires late in the race. That was a good call because fresh tires helped us pick up a couple of spots on the track. It’s a tough day but we always look for the positives and we ended the day on a high note by picking up a couple of positions. We wish we didn’t have those brake problems because we had a pretty good truck here. I really thought we were going to get us a good solid top five finish here this weekend.”

Starr is now ninth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, but is just 81 points behind fifth-place Colin Braun.

Next up for Starr and the No. 24 Zachry/Harris Trucking Toyota Tundra is the Qwik Liner Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday September 26. The 20th race of the 2009 season will go green shortly after 9:30 P.M. and will be televised live on SPEED.