| | Associated Press
FORT WORTH, Texas -- David Starr has realized a dream by
racing in a NASCAR circuit. He'd now like to move up the ladder and
try to fulfill his ultimate fantasy: winning the Daytona 500.
Starr knows he needs to first win some races in the NASCAR truck
series, and maybe even a season title, before moving up to Busch
and Winston Cup racing.
"Through that process I want to win some races, and win some
championships in the truck series," Starr said. "I'm blessed to
be here. I've won races and championships to open people's eyes to
bring me here. Now I've got to do that same thing here in the
NASCAR ranks."
After challenging for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie
honors in 1999, Starr has driven for four different teams in 11
truck races this year.
He has also raced in the Busch and Winston West Series, winning
a race on the Winston West circuit while driving his uncle's car at
Las Vegas on April 22.
Starr will add a fifth team to his 2000 resume when he runs the
final two races for Texas-based TKO Motorsports, replacing Jamie
McMurry, whose mutual split with TKO came after two poles and four
top-10 finishes in six races.
"We've had an up-and-down year," Starr said. "The team I've
been with has been unsponsored. Hopefully, stepping over to this
new team will give me a better opportunity to win a race."
If things go well Friday night in the O'Reilly 400 at Texas
Motor Speedway and in the season finale in two weeks in California,
Starr and TKO likely will be together in 2001.
"They're a team that's very well capable of winning races, so
it's a big step for myself to get involved with them," said Starr,
who turned 33 on Wednesday.
While bouncing around with several different teams since 1998,
Starr's best finish in a NASCAR trucks race is 11th. That came in a
June 9 race at Texas Motor Speedway, where his family runs a
driving school.
Even though Starr has been with different teams and on different
circuits since he first started driving as a teenager in the early
1980s, he has been noticed by A.J. Foyt, the racing legend who was
his childhood hero while growing up in Houston.
Foyt, who owns Winston Cup and Indy Racing League teams, said
earlier this year that Starr is a driver that he'd like to hire in
the future to drive one of his stock cars.
That's a pretty good referral for Starr, one he'll keep in mind
as he works his way up the NASCAR ladder.
| |
|
