With a handful of races left in the 2006 season, it looked like David Starr had the world in the palm of his hands. He was making a charge for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, was with a strong team, and sponsorship negotiations were seemingly proceeding well for the following year. The likeable Texan, whose brilliant smile is often matched only by the twinkle in his eye, closed out the season with several strong performances and ended the year with a career-best fourth-place standing in the final standings.

But weeks later at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Awards Banquet at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the eight-year series veteran found himself in the unemployment line. Sponsor negotiations broke off, and without adequate funding the team needed to make a move to bring in a driver that could make up that revenue. Starr went from winning a race and challenging for the championship to potentially watching the 2007 season start from the sidelines.

But just days before the first test of the season at Daytona unofficially opened the season, a confluence of events found Starr in what could be the best situation of his career.

International Truck and Engine and its Power Stroke Diesel brand made the move from ppc Racing to Circle Bar Racing to sponsor another long-time series veteran in Rick Crawford. The company had been on the fence in the closing months of the 2006 season, and some rumor mongers had them leaving the sport altogether. But not only were they staying, in addition to sponsoring Crawford's familiar No. 14 Ford the company upped its involvement to a second truck which would fly all new MaxxForce Diesel colors. Circle Bar absorbed the ppc team, including pit boss Dennis Connor, many other key crew members, and much of the team's equipment.

All that was missing was the driver.

After considering several drivers, owner Tom Mitchell - himself a Texan - and Crawford had to make a choice. All alone at the top of the chart was Starr, just like the team's owner a native of the Lone Star State.

And from there, the rush was on. With barely enough time to prepare, the team attended the Daytona test. A month later, it was back to Daytona to race. From there, off to California the next week, and a few weeks later off to Atlanta. While most new teams take every bit of six months before they ever turn their first competitive lap, the new Circle Bar team did it in about six weeks. The only aspect about the late start Starr says was a disadvantage was the ability to acclimate to the rules changes mandated by NASCAR for 2007.

"You might (be able to) trace it to the late start but to me it is more of a product of the rule changes for 2007," Starr said. "With the team that Tom Mitchell assembled, three-time championship crew chief Dennis Connor, a teammate in Rick Crawford and his crew chief Kevin Starland and premium sponsorship from International MaxxForce Diesel Engines, I felt like we hit the ground on equal footing with every team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. If there was a time factor it relates more to not having the time to get up to speed with the new rules for 2007."

While he understands that it takes time to get the proper pieces in place, he's not pleased with the on-track performance he's shown to start the season. Some factors, such as weather that has cut short practice at both California and Atlanta, have been out of the team's control. Thankfully he has been able to lean on his new teammate to help close the information gap.

"Atlanta and California were both tough races for us," Starr said. "As a new team we needed all the practice time we could get and in both places track time was cut short due to weather. Comparing notes with our teammate, who has been running up front every week, we were able to find some of our weaknesses and we are working on improving them."

In order to facilitate the expansion to two teams, Circle Bar Racing absorbed the team that took Terry Cook to victory lane at Kansas Speedway last July. With Cook at the wheel, the team was a constant top-10 contender and finished the year ninth in the championship standings. On paper, swapping one winning driver for another seems relatively smooth, but that has not been the case to this point. That has not resulted in any added pressure from his new owner and teammate.

"I think the biggest thing we learned from both races and the tests is that what we used last year is not working this year," Starr said. "I put more pressure on myself than anyone can put on me. Everyone at Circle Bar Racing has been very supportive and that adds more pressure because I really want to do well for people that care about me."

The second Circle Bar Racing ride should be considered one of the premier seats in the series, with factory backing from Ford, full sponsorship from International, and an owner that commits the resources to win races and challenge for championships. Tom Mitchell has been loyal to Rick Crawford since the mid-1990s, and expanded from the now defunct NASCAR All Pro Challenge Series/Southeast Series to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with the likeable Alabaman in 1997. And in order to help Crawford race for championships, they both have wanted to expand to a two-truck team for several seasons.

But there were those who also said driving the second truck would be difficult because, according to them, it would mean living in Crawford's shadow. There is no question the No. 10 team has been overshadowed by the No. 14 team in the season's first four races, but according to Starr there is no cause for concern once he starts racing with Crawford for position on the track. In fact, that's exactly what the idea behind the second team was to begin with.

"Rick has been awesome. I know when he and Mr. Mitchell started the second team it was with the idea that we would be able to help each other to win races and championships," Starr said. "So far it has been kind of one-sided, I've been taking all the information in without being able to give back. Dennis and the guys have been working hard to get us to the point where we will be able to help the 14 and both of us will be running up front."

One key factor that will soon see the teams working on equal footing is consolidation of equipment. The trucks that came from ppc Racing are not the same as the trucks in the Circle Bar fleet. For Martinsville, Starr was in the first Circle Bar truck specifically built for him, and it gave him a very familiar feeling.

"The 10 team took delivery of Circle Bar Racings newest chassis and our first brand new truck, CB-23, for Martinsville," Starr said. "We tested it before the race and it had that same feel my truck did last year that won at Martinsville. It was exciting to go back to Martinsville with something that felt familiar."

Now that the team is giving him the feel he likes, he can again be considered a threat to win races. Which means it won't be long before we see that trademark smile in victory lane.