Garage 66 Brings Back 57-Year-Old Ex-NASCAR Driver for Unexpected Cup Series Start at EchoPark Speedway

NASCAR fans are in for a surprise this June. Garage 66 has announced they’re bringing back 57-year-old David Starr for the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway on June 28. The veteran Texan driver will be behind the wheel of the No. 66 Ford, decked out with sponsorship from WNB Factory Wings N Burgers, Roofing Georgia/NGE Decks, and several other partners.

David Starr Making 2025 Cup Debut at EchoPark Speedway

Starr isn’t exactly a newcomer to NASCAR’s big leagues. He’s been racing since the late 1990s and has four Truck Series race wins under his belt, a top-five Xfinity Series race finish, and 18 career Cup Series races.

In April 2024, he was at Martinsville with the same Garage 66 team, showing his strong connection with team owner Carl Long.

Most drivers his age have hung up their helmets, but not Starr. He’s still out there grinding in the Xfinity Series with Joey Gase Motorsports. Over the last two seasons, he’s made eight starts. His 26th-place finish at Darlington proves he’s still got what it takes to compete with drivers half his age, and he had an eighth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway at the 2024 United Rentals 250 last season.

If you follow NASCAR, you know Garage 66 isn’t exactly rolling in cash like the big teams. Carl Long runs the scrappy operation under MBM Motorsports, and they’re the definition of doing more with less. They run the No. 66 part-time, bouncing between different drivers and piecing together sponsorship deals to keep the lights on.

What makes them special is that they give guys like Starr a shot when nobody else will. The team recently rebranded to Garage 66 and keeps finding ways to stay relevant, whether it’s through veteran drivers or unique sponsor partnerships that bigger teams might overlook.

EchoPark Speedway is going to be the perfect stage for this David vs. Goliath story. The track’s got that high-speed, high-banked action that makes for great racing, and the Quaker State 400 draws serious attention. In 2021’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, Starr started at 38th and finished 23rd. Let’s hope this year brings in better opportunities for him.

Starr clearly can’t contain his excitement about getting back in a Cup car. “EchoPark Speedway is one of the most exciting tracks on the schedule, and I’m thrilled to compete here with such an incredible group of partners,” he said. “The No. 66 looks amazing, and we’re ready to go full throttle on race day.”

The folks at WNB Factory are pretty pumped, too. Company President and COO Robert Bales said, “We’re proud to join forces with Garage 66 to showcase our brand on one of racing’s biggest stages. This is a great opportunity to connect with race fans and represent Georgia with pride.”

At 57, most people are thinking about retirement, not strapping into a 200 mph stock car. But Starr’s story shows what NASCAR is really about: never giving up, finding opportunities where others see dead ends, and proving that sometimes experience beats youth. Whether he finishes first or last, just seeing him out there competing is pretty inspiring.