All but one race might not be a full NASCAR Xfinity Series season from a technical standpoint, but David Starr is going full-time Xfinity racing in 2021. On Thursday, Starr announced he has joined MBM Motorsports and will drive their #13 Toyota Supra on a full-time basis beginning with the second race of the year on the Daytona road course. Longtime sponsor Whataburger will join him for most of the schedule.
In a Facebook post, Starr wrote, “I will be piloting the No. 13 Toyota Supra for MBM Motorsports! We will kick off the season at the Daytona Road Course race on February 20th and for the remaining races of 2021! As always, we have been so blessed by all of our sponsors and their brands who have supported us over the years! Being from Texas, I am so proud to announce that Whataburger will be back on board as our primary sponsor for 19 of the 32 races this season. In addition to Whataburger, we will have many other sponsors from many different industries all over the great USA! So please give your support and follow everyone on their social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and so on!”
A longtime veteran and four-time race winner of the Camping World Truck Series, Starr raced full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2015 and 2017 to 2019 for teams like TriStar Motorsports, SS-Green Light Racing, and Jimmy Means Racing. His last full slate in 2019 saw him finish twenty-second in points with a best finish of fourteenth at Talladega. Starr’s best season was 2015 with TriStar with a top ten on the Daytona oval in the opener (sixth place) and a sixteenth-place points finish.
Although he moved to JD Motorsports for the full 2020 Xfinity season, Starr only ran the first four races before being released during the hiatus created by COVID-19; the pandemic limited his smaller sponsors’ support, and his brief stint with JDM concluded with his best race finish being eighteenth at Daytona. Out of a full-time ride, Starr joined Rick Ware Racing for the June Cup Series race at Martinsville, his first in the top level since 2018, and returned to SSGLR the following month for eight races. The SSGLR stint came in the #07, which formed a partnership with RWR to field the latter’s drivers after the car’s regular driver Ray Black Jr. had to step away shortly after the season resumption; similar to Starr’s predicament, Black’s own family business ran into troubles created by the pandemic that forced him to depart.
While it will be his first time racing for MBM as an Xfinity driver, Starr is no stranger to the team. In late 2017, he ran three races for MBM’s newly-established Cup programme with a best finish of twenty-eighth at Phoenix.
“I could not be more grateful to Carl Long and the MBM team for welcoming me with open arms and giving me this awesome opportunity!” Starr continued. “Carl and I have been long-time friends as well as competitors on the track. He and I share a special passion for this amazing sport and we are very excited about working together! I look forward to being part of the growth of the MBM team!
“All of this would not be complete without thanking my fans and the supporters of our sponsors! I am humbled and grateful for your passion and dedication to our sport. Our fans are everything and we love racing for you!”
Starr’s MBM début will mark his first time racing on Daytona’s road course. He has sixteen career Xfinity road races under his belt, with his best finish being seventeenth twice (Mid-Ohio in 2017 and Road America in 2019).
Chad Finchum will drive the #13 in Saturday’s Xfinity opener on the Daytona oval. Timmy Hill, who is piloting MBM’s other car #66, and Garrett Smithley are representing the team at the Cup level in the Daytona 500.
