FONTANA, CA -- Not normally known as a top qualifier, David Starr stunned the field when he placed his No. 35 Big Daddy's BBQ Sauces Chevrolet eighth on the grid for the California 200, a career-best starting position. Previously, his best start was 29th in the Winston West Series.

"We had an awesome qualifying run," Starr explained of his 178.722-mph pass on the 2.0-mile California Speedway. "But as I was pulling into the garage area I heard a strange noise. Everyone was coming up and congratulating me and I kind of forgot about it until later when we were cleaning the car up."

It turns out that Starr had dropped a valve and the motor needed to be replaced. Unfortunately the engine problems followed Starr into the main event.

When the green flag dropped Starr quickly moved from eight to sixth position. But on lap 10 he came into the first turn and disaster struck in the form of a giant white cloud of smoke billowing out from under the car.

A caution was flown for oil on the track and Starr pulled into the garage, dejected about an early exit.

"It was a big disappointment when the motor came apart. We had a great car today and I was really looking forward to getting another top-10 or even a top-5 finish today," Starr said. "This was the first time we had run this car and man was it ever fast. I feel bad for the guys who worked so hard to swap out the engine."

The second engine failure was caused by a burned-out piston which came apart. This caused a rod to break and in a chain-reaction tore the engine apart.

Listed out of the race with an engine failure, Starr was credited with a 35th place finish. He won $1,855 for the short day of racing. Winston Cup regular Ricky Craven won the event.

"At least we learned that we can qualify well," Starr emphasized, "And I've got some more time on this track. Now I've got a better idea of the line and that will help when the Truck Series comes here in October and probably when we visit Michigan later this year."

A resident of Ft. Worth, Texas, Starr also races the No. 73 Sonntag Redi-Mix Concrete Chevrolet in the Craftsman Truck Series. For more information visit his web site at www.davidstarr.com.

Source: Clark Racing
Posted: 5/5/99