St. Louis: David Starr race notes

David Starr Triumphant at Gateway

Madison, Ill...It was a triumphant night for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor David Starr as he expertly piloted his No. 75 Spears Chevy Silverado to victory at the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Speedway, July 17.

"Wow, what a night," said an obviously elated Starr. "This feels so good. Dave McCarty and the entire crew put their heart and soul in giving me good trucks. My guys are great and I sure wouldn't be here today, if it weren't for them. We weren't the best or the fastest truck this weekend, but McCarty and the crew never gave up. They kept making me better and better as the race went on. I really didn't expect to win tonight. I figured we would come out with a top five, so this is really awesome,"

Starr, who qualified in the 14th spot, is only the second driver in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history to win by leading only the final lap. "You only need to lead that last lap to win," smiles Starr, who took the Checkered by a margin of 0.444 seconds. "That's the only one that truly matters."

When the Green Flag fell, Starr charged off the Grid in fine fashion and immediately began moving up. "Then all of a sudden, we developed a really bad vibration," explains Starr. "I figured we were going to have to pit under green and just then a caution came out which really helped us. Turned out a wheel was loose. The guys fixed it in short order and I was back out and ready to start my climb to the front again. Obviously, luck was on our side and it definitely looks like the 'monkey' is gone, but I'm still going to reserve judgement for a couple more races. I certainly don't want to jinx things."

His second career win in the series, Starr actually survived four Green/White/Checkered restarts to take the win. "Looks like, I will be the last guy to ever do that," says Starr. "From now on NASCAR will allow only one. It's kind of neat to be part of history and this is definitely an evening that I will remember forever.

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