Driver Remains Sixth In Overall Points

Known as a team that has dominated the short tracks this season, David Starr and the Red Horse Racing team were looking for similar results at the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Easy Care Service Vehicle Contracts 200.

Starr started his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota in 20th-place and immediately began trying to work his way through the field. After initially picking up one spot, Starr slid backwards to the 24th position by Lap 12 - when the race's second caution of the day came out.

Under the caution period, Starr told crew chief Jamie Jones that the truck didn't have any grip off the corners. Starr brought the truck to his crew's attention for a track bar adjustment and air pressure adjustment and fuel.

Starr returned to the track in the same spot in which he had come in, restarting 24th at Lap 18. The adjustments seemed to help Starr and his No. 11 truck as he began to make up some ground on the race track.

Over the course of a lengthy green flag run, Starr picked up six spots and moved into the 18th spot by Lap 40. Under the Lap 40 caution, Starr brought the No. 11 down pit road for four tries, fuel and another air pressure adjustment.

The No. 11 Red Horse crew was quick in the pits, however, Starr was pinned in by another truck pitting in front of him. Starr had to back up to get out of his pit stall, which cost him valuable time. The incident on pit road cost Starr 10 spots on the race track, and he restarted in 28th place for the restart at Lap 47.

With a line of trucks in front of him on the track, Starr had his work cut out for him if he wanted to salvage a good finish for the Red Horse Racing team.

Starr went to the work on the trucks in front of him and in just one lap, he was able to gain five spots. The adjustments in the pits had helped the No. 11 Toyota, and Starr was able to put his truck where he wanted to on the race track.

During a 30-lap green flag run, Starr was able to move up into 15th place on the race track. When the caution flag waved at lap 77, Starr elected to stop for the last pit stop of the day. The Red Horse Racing team made and air pressure adjustment and a track bar adjustment and changed four tires and added fuel.

A quick pit stop helped Starr gain two spots on the race track, and he restarted in 13th place at Lap 83. Just 10 laps later, Starr moved his No. 11 Toyota into the top 10. But Starr couldn't gain any more spots as he began developing a handling problem.

At Lap 116, Starr reported to his crew that he was losing grip off the corner and that his truck was a little loose getting into the corner. Because of the new handling issues, Starr told his crew that he was being careful with the truck.

Starr ended up finishing the race in 11th place. With the finish, Starr held onto sixth-place in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point's standings - just 341 points behind Todd Bodine. He is 62 points out of the top five.

"We had a few issues today with getting pinned in our pit stall and then getting loose at the end of the race, but no one ever gave up," Starr said. "The guys did a great job in the pits today, and I'm proud of them. We just ran out of time to get into the top 10 at the end of the race, which I hate. I really wanted to get a top 10 at Atlanta today. We're going to head to Texas now and focus on coming out of there with a solid finish."