Driver And Team Continue With Impressive Performances

David Starr and the No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota ran as high as third with just a handful of laps remaining in the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon.

However, a flat right front tire with 10 laps remaining in the race relegated Starr and the team to a 20th-place finish, which dropped Starr to eighth in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings.

"Today was a disappointing day for the Red Horse Racing team," Starr said after the race. "We definitely had a top-five truck, and we might even have had a chance to steal a win with the way the race ended - which would have been awesome for our associate sponsor TOYOTAFORKLIFT.NET in only their second race with us.

"We'll just go out there at the next race, which is another short track, and get the top-five we missed out on today."

Starr started the Toyota Tundra 200 in the sixth position. In just five laps, Starr was able to gain three spots. Racing in third-place, Starr told crew chief Jamie Jones that the No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota was a little tight in turns one and two.

After moving into the third spot, Starr began to fade backward through the Top 10. At Lap 22, Starr had fallen back to seventh-place. He told the crew that the truck was now tight in the center of the turns and loose off the turns.

Under the caution at Lap 36, Starr brought the No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota to the attention of his pit crew. The crew changed four tires, added fuel and made an air pressure adjustment. Starr returned to the track in 21st-place for the restart at Lap 40, as not all the trucks elected to pit under the caution.

By Lap 50, Starr had moved into 14th position on the race track and was steadily picking up positions.  The No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota moved into the Top 10 at Lap 64.

Once in the Top 10, Starr continued to move up through the field. When the caution flag waved at Lap 76, Starr was running in seventh-place. Starr told his pit crew that the truck was still tight off.

Starr came down pit road at Lap 78 for four new tires, fuel and a track bar and air pressure adjustment. The No. 11 Toyota returned to the track in seventh place after a quick pit stop.

The Red Horse Racing Toyota continued to move through the field, and Starr broke into the top five at Lap 93. He complained that the truck seemed to be bottoming out, but Starr was turning some of the quickest laps on the race track.

At Lap 123, Starr took over the third spot and was just over a second behind frontrunners Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine. The No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota looked to be a lock for a top three finish when bad luck struck at Lap 140.

Starr radioed the crew that his right front tire was flat. He brought the No. 11 Toyota down pit road for a green flag pit stop, and the crew changed right side tires. Starr fell from third to 21st as a result of the flat tire.

The No. 11 pitted a second time under the caution at Lap 146 to look over the truck. The pit crew worked to pull out the fender, which was rubbing on the right front. Starr pitted a third time to check over the truck one last time before the final laps of the race.

Starr restarted in 21st place for the race's final three laps. He picked up one spot on the track and finished in the 20th position.

"This is a tough pill to swallow," Starr said. "We had one of the best trucks on the race track, and something happened with our right front tire. I guess it's just part of racing, but that doesn't make it any easier."

With the 20th-place finish, Starr fell from seventh to eighth in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings. Starr is 314 points behind leader Todd Bodine and just 59 points out of fifth place.