NASCAR-CTS: David Starr prepares for West Coast Swing
10 October 1998
Arlington, Texas - So far this season David Starr and the Reher-Morrison team have had plenty of time to prepare for a race. Since this is their first season running in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, they have chosen a limited schedule while adjusting to the different tracks and truck setups. The breaks between races have allowed ample time for preparing their Chevrolet truck.The luxury of time will soon come to an end as Starr prepares to race in the final three events of the NCTS season, a tough West Coast swing that will see three vastly different tracks in four weeks.
First on the schedule is the tight confines of the half-mile bullring of Mesa Marin Speedway. The Dodge California Truck Stop 300 is slated to run on October 18 and has historically proven to be a tough track.
"On the small half-mile tracks you have to be aggressive to move to the front," explains Starr. "It is important to qualify well so you start at the top of the field. On tight tracks like Mesa Marin passing is very difficult and the leaders come up on the back of the field quickly putting trucks a lap down and out of contention."
The Bakersfield, Calif., race will be televised live by TNN and it will be the first time Starr has raced since the September 13 event at Memphis, Tenn.
The next week finds the series headed to Phoenix International Raceway for the GM Goodwrench Service Plus/AC Delco 300K on October 24. Run in conjunction with the Winston Cup series event, it will be the second visit to the 1-mile desert track this season for the trucks. The race will be televised by TBS.
"We have only six days between races so preparing the truck will be tough, especially if we have any sheet metal damage from Bakersfield," said Starr. "But we are excited about returning to Phoenix. I ran really well there back in April starting 36th and moving up to 25th during the race. We should do even better this time since we have already gained experience on this track," he added.
Between the races Starr will stay in California and work out of shop space provided by Embee Technologies, his primary sponsor for the last three events of the season. The short time frame prohibits a return to Texas so Starr is grateful for the facilities.
"Embee has helped to sponsor our truck for a few races this season and we appreciate their help," Starr said. "They are located in Santa Ana, California, just a couple hours south of Bakersfield. They stepped above and beyond a normal sponsorship deal by providing shop space between races, and frankly, I don't know where we would have worked on the truck if it wasn't for Embee. Probably in some motel parking lot," Starr explained with a laugh.
The last stop for the NCTS is the CarQuest Auto Parts 420K at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The big 1.5-mile tri-oval showcases the speed of the trucks as Jack Sprague sat on the pole last year with a speed of 161.310 mph. Televised by CBS, the season-champion will be crowned in front of the Nevada crowd.
"It will be interesting making the change from a small track to a big track over the three races," said Starr, obviously eager for the challenge. "So far, our best race of the year was at Texas, another 1.5 mile facility, so Las Vegas should be a great way to close our first year in the Truck Series."
With a week break between Phoenix and Las Vegas, the Reher-Morrison team plans to head back to the shop in Arlington, Texas.
"Our team is ready to race," Starr claims. "We are looking to gain valuable seat time, experience running the tracks and setting up our Chevrolet truck, and improving our qualifying and finishing positions.
"Since we are racing a limited schedule and with limited sponsorship, everything that we do helps prepare us for the 1999 season. Then the "rookie- stripe" comes off the truck and we will have no more excuses," Starr joked. "We are trying to establish ourselves as a top-flight team for next season."
