CHAFFIN HAPPY WITH DAYTONA TRUCK AFTER
FIRST PRACTICE SESSION

The very first, official practice session for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams was completed on Wednesday, and despite a rain delay, veteran driver Chad Chaffin is pretty happy with his #40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado.

"After we solved the early problems we had with the truck bottoming out some and not turning all the RPM's we needed early in the practice session, the truck really responded later on and I'm pretty happy with it," Chaffin said after the session that did not end until 6:35 p.m. A brief rain shower hit the track just moments before the race trucks were scheduled to take to the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway tri-oval for the first time in preparation for Friday night's Chevy Silverado 250.

Chaffin's fastest recorded time was 49.072 seconds for a speed of 183.404 miles per hour, .729 seconds and almost three miles an hour slower than the top effort turned in by Ford driver Jon Wood late in the session. Chaffin is not at all concerned by the differences in speeds.

"Speeds here in Daytona are always deceiving because a truck that you know is not that strong ends up with a fast time because a driver was able to tuck into a pack of trucks and take advantage of the draft to build his times," Chaffin explained.

"A couple of times I was able to easily run down a couple of trucks outside of the draft, yet those trucks are showing well up in the top ten on the speed chart. All I know is that we were able to find more speed and turn more RPM's later in the practice than we were earlier, and that means we are making progress. I'm ready to race to be honest with you," added Chaffin who was often able to suck up to some of the field's best trucks while in a draft pack and consistently run with them.

The Key Motorsports team, under the direction of crew chief Gary Showalter and Director of Competition Tommy Morgan, did discover in post practice inspection of the race truck that the right front tire was beginning to separate, a problem that several other teams found as well in their machines.

"We may have had a little too much camber in the right front, so we'll make some adjustments for the final practice to make sure that Chad has everything he needs to be competitive and stay with the lead pack of trucks," Showalter explained. "We certainly don't need to go to a back-up."

The race truck that Chaffin is driving is the same one he drove to an eighth place finish at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama last October - the last true super speedway race for the Craftsman Trucks.

A total of 37 race trucks are in the garage area eyeing the 36 starting spots. Twenty-eight of those trucks, including the #40 Key Motorsports Chevy, are guaranteed starters as a result of their standing in owner points at the end of the 2007 season. The remaining eight starting berths for Friday night's 2008 NCTS opener will be determined during time trials scheduled for 7:10 p.m. tonight.

The Chevy Silverado 250 is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Friday night and can be seen live nationally on the SPEED Channel and heard over live syndicated radio on the Motor Racing Network.