CUP: David Starr’s power steering gremlins cause him to complete LASTCAR Triple Crown
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Cameron Tracey, @conrail_1
David Starr picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at the Martinsville Speedway when his #66 ConnectUS / Amptricity Ford fell out with steering issues after 311 of 415 laps.
The finish came in Starr’s 17th series start. In the Cup Series last-place rankings, it was the 26th from steering trouble, the 66th for the #66, and the 741st for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 35th for steering problems, the 89th for the #66, and the 1,32nd for Ford.
In so doing, Starr became the 43rd driver to complete the “LASTCAR Triple Crown,” earning at least one last-place finish in the Cup Series, XFINITY Series, and Truck Series. His first in Trucks came on July 18, 1998 at Fontana, and in XFINITY came on February 25, 2017 at Daytona.
While Carl Long’s team Motorsports Business Management (MBM) has focused on its XFINITY Series program these last few years, this season saw them make a surprising return to Cup competition for the first time since 2022. Matt Jaskol was slated to run the #66 Ford last month in COTA, but sponsorship issues handed the ride to Timmy Hill. Carrying sponsorship from solid state battery company Amptricity, Hill finished under power in 36th.
Soon after, MBM announced David Starr would run the same car at Martinsville. ConnectUS Wireless Communications, a recent sponsor of Starr’s, took Amptricity’s spot on the hood while T-Top Manufacturing, a recent MBM backer, joined as an associate. This would mark Starr’s first-ever Cup attempt driving NASCAR’s NextGen car. His last start at Phoenix in 2021 was the last for the series’ previous generation, an event which saw him draw a late-race caution due to mechanical issues. His only previous Cup start at Martinsville was four years ago, when he ran 32nd for Rick Ware Racing, though he also earned his most recent Truck Series win at the track in 2006, driving to a dominant victory for Red Horse Racing.
Starr began the Martinsville weekend with the slowest overall lap in opening practice at 88.532mph (21.389 seconds), a full 0.874 second off the next-slowest car of Josh Williams in Kaulig Racing’s #16 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet. He picked up some speed in Qualifying Round 1B, but remained slowest overall with a lap of 89.706mph (21.109 seconds), this time 0.901 off the next-slowest car of Michael McDowell in the #34 Long John Silver’s Ford. This placed Starr 37th and last on the starting grid.
With no drivers sent to the rear for pre-race penalties, Starr remained by himself at the end of the inside line, following in the tire tracks of McDowell’s Ford. When the green flag dropped, McDowell and 36th-place qualifier Daniel Hemric in the #31 Cirkul Chevrolet both pulled away, the #66 last across the stripe 5.432 seconds back of the lead. By Lap 3, Starr had fallen 0.734 behind 36th-place McDowell, then 1.004 by Lap 10. Starr made big gains the next time by, cutting the deficit to 0.519 on Lap 11, but dropped 1.930 back just two circuits later and 3.091 behind the now 36th-place Hemric on Lap 15. Then-leader Kyle Larson quickly reeled in Starr, who was told by his team to open the inside line. He did so entering Turn 1 on Lap 19, when Larson and 2nd-place Bubba Wallace slipped by to put Starr the first car one lap down.
As Starr’s spotter worked hard to keep the #66 clear of faster traffic to his inside, Justin Haley slipped to 36th on Lap 36, his #51 Ohanafy Ford appearing to show smoke from heavy brake usage. At one point stuck in the middle of a three-wide gaggle of cars in Turn 3, Haley remained well ahead of Starr, who was two laps down on Lap 42, then a third down on Lap 58 as Larson cleared him again off Turn 4. Lap 69 saw Starr’s closest call of the afternoon when Denny Hamlin’s battle with Joey Logano and William Byron forced Starr to run even higher in Turns 1 and 2. Stuck in the middle, Hamlin bumped Starr’s car with his right-front, booting Starr out of the way. He remained three laps down as Stage 1 ended on Lap 81.
Under the caution, Starr said he had trouble getting the car to rotate, saying the “front end won’t cut.” Carl Long called for two rounds in the right-rear jack bolt and an air pressure change. At the same time, Long and his spotter were surprised Starr felt the car was tight as it seemed to break loose off the corners. Regardless, the adjustments were made, and on Lap 90, Starr let a group of lead lap cars past him for he restart, where he’d again line up in the low lane.
Lap 94 saw the restart to begin Stage 2 with Starr still three laps down. The MBM crew noticed the car seemed to come to a stop in the corner then get rolling again, signaling a continuing handling issue. On Lap 112, he had to dodge a slowing Christopher Bell, whose #20 Yahoo Toyota had a right-front wheel come loose and jam itself under the fender, ultimately drawing the next caution for debris. Repairs dropped Bell three laps down, dropping the #20 to last place on Lap 115. Bell moved ahead of Starr just before the Lap 120 restart, and the #66 was once again in last place. On Lap 124, Corey LaJoie also had a wheel issue that forced him to make an unscheduled stop, and the #7 Gainbridge Chevrolet dropped to 36th, bumping Bell up to 35th with Haley in 34th. LaJoie then dropped Bell back to 36th on Lap 143. Joey Logano was now the leader, and he caught and passed Starr coming off Turn 4 on Lap 146, putting the #66 a fifth lap down. He nearly fell a sixth lap behind when Stage 2 ended on Lap 181.
Under this yellow, Long told Starr to put another round of brake into the rear of the car, and remarked that his fall-off wasn’t as bad as it had been in the first stage. Starr’s spotter also said he was doing a good job staying out of the way of faster cars, saying none of the other spotters were complaining about him.
On Lap 194, the final stage went green with all 37 cars still running, but soon after the fourth caution fell for Christopher Bell’s wounded Toyota spinning at the exit of Turn 4. It was under this yellow that Starr’s crew began to discuss the possibility of a power steering issue, which would explain the car’s peculiar handling in the corners. By this point, Austin Dillon had also lost power steering on his #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, and was dropping down the rankings toward the Bottom Five. Starr took the Lap 210 restart still five laps down, and was between seven and eight laps down on Lap 297. He completed a green-flag stop on Lap 308, returning to the track ten laps down, but by now, the power steering issue was undeniable. The driver stated it cut out at corner entry through the center of the corner, then inexplicably re-activated at corner exit.
On Lap 322, Starr preparing to enter the garage at the opening to the left. (SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive)
On Lap 321, when he was 11 laps down, Starr pitted once more, and the crew looked under the hood. The next lap, the team had Starr exit pit road slowly, then make a hard left turn past the exit of the old backstretch pit road, entering the garage area. “I don’t want to take any more risk,” said Long. “We’re already dead last.” Starr stopped his car perpendicular to McDowell’s hauler in the infield, and the crew continued to look under the hood before calling it an afternoon. They relayed this message to the spotter on Lap 336, and NASCAR declared them the first car out on Lap 342.
Starr enters the garage area, done for the day. (SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive)
The only other retiree was John Hunter Nemechek, whose #42 Skip Barber Racing School Toyota had fallen at least three laps down before an apparent blown tire sent him into the Turn 3 wall directly in front of then-leader William Byron. This not only drew the final caution just one lap before the white flag, but also took 15 laps as Nemechek’s right-front suspension twice caught fire as it was towed behind the wall. Byron defended his victory in Hendrick Motorsports’ much-advertised 40th anniversary race while Bell took 35th, Dillon in 34th, and Harrison Burton completing the Bottom Five in his #21 Motorcraft Quick Lane Ford.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Starr is the first driver to finish last in a Cup Series points race due to steering issues since September 17, 2022, when Martin Truex, Jr.’s #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota fell out after 198 laps at Bristol. It hadn’t occurred at Martinsville since September 23, 1984, when Sam Ard’s #02 Zervakis Enterprises Chevrolet fell out after running only the opening lap.
*Starr is the ninth different driver to finish last in the #66 in a Cup Series race at Martinsville. The previous eight each did so only once: Roy Tyner (1958), Rick Mast (1989), Lake Speed (1991), Darrell Waltrip (2000), Todd Bodine (2001), Hideo Fukuyama (2002), Joe Nemechek (2014), and Timmy Hill (2020).
THE BOTTOM FIVE
37) #66-David Starr / 311 laps / steering
36) #42-John Hunter Nemechek / 396 laps / crash
35) #20-Christopher Bell / 411 laps / running
34) #3-Austin Dillon / 412 laps / running
33) #21-Harrison Burton / 412 laps / running
2024 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Spire Motorsports (3)
2nd) Kaulig Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Penske Racing, RFK Racing, Rick Ware Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Ford (4)
2024 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
