Frontstretch.com: The best seat at the track... the best view on the net! Saturday, July 4th 2009

David Starr Driver Diary: Strong Finishes And A First Father’s Day

David Starr · Friday June 19, 2009

The last several weeks have been real exciting for myself and the whole HT Motorsports team. On a personal note, I got a very, very special gift from a big group of my fans when we raced back home at the Texas Motor Speedway. They honored me by purchasing a brick for the new NASCAR Hall of Fame and presented me with a replica. It was very special moment for me and it’s hard to put it into words. It is truly a dream for me to do what I do, and to have fans that pull for me as hard as mine do, and who will do that kind of stuff for you is really cool. It was just a really neat thing that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

David Starr Driver Diary: Rain Delays and New Opportunities

David Starr · Friday May 22, 2009

I’ve been very busy since the last time I updated you. Not only have I been busy working with my HT Motorsports team and David Starr Racing, but I’ve also been spending a lot of quality time being a dad. Being with my son, David Starr, Jr., and my wife, Kim, has just been awesome. He is so much fun and I just enjoy being a dad.

Unfortunately, thanks to a rain delay in Kansas a few weeks ago, I’ve spent a little more time away from my family then I would like. After battling with the rain on Saturday, NASCAR postponed the race, and it had to be pushed to Monday because of an IRL race at the Kansas Speedway on Sunday. When they made the call on Saturday, I went back to the hotel room and hung out. On Sunday I hung out with the team, watched the incredible Sprint Cup race at Talladega and the IRL race on TV at the hotel, and just enjoyed some time “off”.

David Starr Driver Diary: More Motivation To Win!

David Starr · Friday April 24, 2009

It’s been awhile since my last diary and I apologize for keeping you waiting, but as many of you know, I’ve been a little busy. On March 12th, my wife Kim and I welcomed our son, David, Jr. into our lives and it’s been a little crazy since. Even though we don’t sleep much, it’s all worth it. Being a dad is unbelievable and an awesome experience, and I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner. It’s been tough, but the joy definitely outweighs all of the sleepless nights.

One of the toughest parts of my job will be that Kim and David, Jr. will not be traveling with me to the races this season. Kim will be at Texas, and maybe a few other races, but we are going to wait until next year before the whole family travels with me every weekend. It’s going to be tough for her, as well, because she loves going to the races as much as I do. While I’ll be missing them like crazy, I’m going to go do my job and win races.

David Starr Driver Diary: New Opportunities, Same Excitement

Nikki Krone · Thursday February 19, 2009

Another racing season is underway, and once again, I am excited about the year ahead. The off season was a bit difficult, leaving Red Horse Racing after another year together, but in this business, change is inevitable. The way the economy is right now, it’s hard on everyone. We raced nearly two years together without a sponsor, and were very fortunate and grateful to have Zachry come on board at the end of last season. This season, they wanted to continue getting their feet wet as a sponsor in NASCAR, but only wanted to do primary sponsorship for about half of the 2009 season. Unfortunately, my owners and friends Tom DeLoach and Jeff Hammond couldn’t make it work again this year without a full year commitment.. So we talked about it and decided I had no choice but to try to find something full-time, so they let me out of my contract. Tom and Jeff, and everyone at Red Horse Racing are great friends and always have been. But a lot of times the business side of racing is just ugly. It’s just something we have to deal with.

David Starr Diary: Another Season in the Books

David Starr · Friday November 21, 2008

So, here we are, at the end of another season in the Craftsman Truck Series!

It’s only been two races since my last entry. The race at Phoenix was just okay for us and we struggled a lot with front grip. Our Zachry Toyota Tundra wasn’t too bad, but right there at the end, Kyle Busch and about four or five other drivers pitted for tires, and then we had a caution that hurt us a little, too. We probably would have finished ninth or 10th, but we lost some spots at the end to the guys with newer tires. At Homestead, we decided to try something new set-up wise, and it wasn’t very good. We really struggled. We were moving forward and making some progress, but it wasn’t enough to get us the finish we wanted. When you try new things for a race, you learn a lot of stuff – sometimes good, sometimes bad. But in the end, that’s what will help us next year.

David Starr Driver Diary: New Sponsors and a Bright Future

David Starr · Thursday November 6, 2008

Since the last diary, there have been a lot of changes for our Red Horse Racing team. At the end of September, Zachry Holdings, Inc. joined our team as our primary sponsor for the rest of the 2008 season. I am so excited to have them on board. Zachry Holdings, Inc. is an engineering construction company that is dedicated to the planning, building and renewing of our world’s most critical industrial facilities. They have over 25,000 employees nationwide and are just a really great, family company. Everyone at Red Horse Racing is excited to have them as a part of our family, and to have their name on our No. 11 Toyota Tundra. What’s really cool for us is that their No. 1 goal is their commitment to safety, and that really fits what we do in the Craftsman Truck Series. Obviously we are always trying to beat our competitors and get that extra edge, but one of the top priorities is safety.

David Starr Driver Diary: Thoughts and Prayers With Those on the Texas Coast

David Starr · Friday September 12, 2008

It has been a frustrating few weeks for myself and my Red Horse Racing team. My No. 11 Toyota Tundra has been awesome and we’ve been running Top 10, but at both Bristol and Gateway, we were involved in wrecks that ruined our potential Top 10 finishes. It seems we’ve had this monkey on our backs recently and it’s tough.

At Bristol, it was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We were running 7th and making our way to the front when an accident ahead of us took us out, too. At Gateway, it was another strong run for my Toyota Tundra and I feel I definitely had a Top 5 truck. Basically, it was just hard racing between myself and Rick Crawford.

David Starr Driver Diary: Exciting Changes

David Starr · Wednesday August 20, 2008

There has been some big news in my life since my last diary a month ago. As many of you may have heard during the last SPEED broadcast, my wife Kim and I are expecting our first child in the early Spring. We are both really excited, and it’s a really cool thing for us. We love kids and have been looking forward to having our own — so right now, life is good. Luckily, Kim is feeling great right now. Our lives are definitely going to change, but we couldn’t be more excited.

One of the other exciting things that has been happening recently, as far as our Red Horse Racing team, is that we may finally be getting close to a possible second Craftsman Truck Series team. While there hasn’t been an announcement yet, it’s been no secret that we have been trying to expand our organization. Rick Gay has been hired by Red Horse Racing, and while he’s already a huge help for our No. 11 team, he has also been getting people hired for the possible second team. I’m sure there will be an announcement pretty soon, but right now they are just trying to get everything in place and situated. It’s a cool thing for me because I’m excited to have a teammate, and I think it’s going to be awesome for everyone at RHR.

David Starr Driver Diary: Looking for Improvement on the Mile and a Half's

David Starr · Friday July 18, 2008

After being off for a couple of weeks, we are finally back to racing again. As always, I’ve kept busy. David Starr Racing, my show car simulator company, has taken up a lot of my time, and we went testing for two days at Darlington a couple of weeks ago, so that was pretty cool. I was also able to enjoy the 4th of July with my family at the lake, and that was a lot of fun. While I have enjoyed my time off, I am definitely looking forward to getting back to what I love to do, which is racing.

We are definitely excited about being in Kentucky. Our recent fifth place run at Memphis was a great momentum builder for our team. It was good to be back into the Top 5 where we belong. Our Toyota Tundra was awesome and my crew chief Jamie Jones gave me a good truck. The guys had great pit stops and made good adjustments during the race, so we actually had a better truck than our fifth place finished showed. Our main problem was that we were having a little issue getting into the corner, where we couldn’t really get the truck to slow down, so we dealt with that all night. But all-in-all, it was not a bad finish.

David Starr Driver Diary : Milestones and Making Memories

David Starr · Friday June 20, 2008

While we didn’t have a very successful day on the track at MIS, it was still a very special day for me. I didn’t even know about it until after the race, but it was my 200th race in the Craftsman Truck Series. For me, it is quite an honor to have been in the Craftsman Truck Series for so long. Ever since I was a little boy, running around the racetrack with my dad who was a racer, this is just everything I’ve ever wanted to do. When I look back on the last several years, to be able to live my dream and be a part of the NASCAR family for 200 starts, I’m very thankful and blessed to be able to do this. I’ve been fortunate to get the opportunities I’ve had with the team owners who have given me this chance, and I’m very proud of that accomplishment and can’t wait for 200 more starts.

As I’ve said many, many times, I just love to race and I love everything about it. I love the competition, the noise, the smell, everything. There is no feeling like getting into the race truck and racing.

Want to comment on this article? Visit our Message Board!

The Frontstretch: dstarr by -- Saturday July 4, 2009

Don't miss this week's edition!

Frontstretch Podcast - The Mayfield Mess

The Frontstretch Foto Funnies! Loudon, June 2009