Kevin "Cowboy" Starland has challenged Gateway International Raceway literally
since the first time the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took to the 1.25-mile
track. He previously worked for Roush Fenway Racing and Greg Biffle and now
calls the shots for Circle Bar Racing and the No. 14 International Truck Engine
Ford driven by veteran Rick Crawford. Crawford will make his 12th consecutive
start at Gateway, hoping to improve upon a pair of fourth-place finishes. His
truck was a spectacular DNF in 2004, getting turned on its side exiting Turn 2
and scrubbing tire tracks onto the wall halfway down the backstretch.
What's more important, the driver or the crew chief? "Oh, it's
always the driver. Gateway's a unique place; the corners are really different.
It takes a guy who understands you have to give up a little bit to have one end
better than the other. It's hard to get both ends right to get the truck to
drive good. It's better to have a good driver than a good crew chief."
You can't shift gears at Gateway any longer. Does that make it harder or
easier to set up your truck? "It makes it more difficult because it
makes you tighter off of (Turn) two. We used to shift gears there so we could
downshift getting into (Turn) one and drive off of two better so you wouldn't
have to compromise so much. It's harder."
Does the crew chief consult his notes and give the driver a setup he'll have
to use for 160 laps? "The way things are now, you might as well not
even take notes. It changes too much from year to year. You just have to go off
of what you've done this year; what works with the new tires. Notes anymore are
no good."
What is your greatest memory of racing at Gateway? "Winning. That's
always the best memory. We won it here with (Greg) Biffle in 1999. Winning's the
best memory."
How about with Rick? "We've had good runs here. Circumstances
haven't played out right so maybe this year we'll have a good memory when we get
him the win there."
You could have won in 2004. "Yeah; you've got to keep the truck on
the black part, not driving on the wall."
