CHAFFIN'S 22ND PLACE QUALIFYING EFFORT BEST EVER 
FOR #40 TRUCK IN DAYTONA

If Thursday's performances are any indication of what lies ahead for driver Chad Chaffin and his Key Motorsports NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race team in Friday night's 2008 season opener, then the rest of the 36-truck starting field for the Chevy Silverado 250 at the Daytona International Speedway should have some concern.

For weeks now, the veteran Chaffin and other Key Motorsports officials have been touting its #40 Chevrolet Silverado race truck. It has been labeled as the best race truck that the fledgling team has ever brought to the World Center of Racing in four tries, and despite lap times that failed to push the #40 towards the top of the speed charts, it was all smiles when Thursday's racing action ended.

Chaffin enjoyed a solid final practice session in the morning, running several laps in drafts and showing the ability to run right with some of the field's top machines. Whether he was running in front of the pack or tucked in behind another, Chaffin had the #40 firing on all cylinders and doing so with comfort.

"The truck is really stable and sucks up in the draft pretty well, but all of Curtis' (team owner Key) speedway trucks have shown the ability to do that over the years at either here in Daytona or Talladega. As long as we can stay in a straight line, can get other drivers to work with us and stay out of trouble, we should be in store for another really good run," explained Chaffin, who put the icing on the proverbial cake in last night's qualifying by posting the 22nd fastest time to earn the best-ever starting position for a Key Motorsports race truck in Daytona.

The previous best qualifying run for the #40 came in 2006 when with Chaffin also behind the wheel it qualified 28th for that race but never competed in the event. That's when the #40 did not have the benefit of a top 30 standing in owner points from the year before and was actually sent home because eight race trucks it out qualified did. That was not the case this time around.

"Everyone on the team is working really hard to get us off to a good start to the 2008 season, and we know we are going into tonight's race prepared," said Key, who last season was treated to an 8th place finish by Chaffin in Talladega in the #40 in the last NCTS event on a super speedway for what was then the best-ever NCTS finish for the team in its four part seasons of competition.

Chaffin then bested the Talladega effort a week later on the tight half-mile at Martinsville by scoring a 7th place finish, and that in part has a lot to do with the confidence that Chaffin, Key and the rest of the team currently exudes to begin the 2008 campaign.

With crew chief Gary Showalter and Director of Competition Tommy Morgan calling the shots, the Key Motorsports contingent has assembled its best race truck fleet ever with which to compete in its third consecutive full season of truck series competition. An improved engine program, and the very first time that the team will go into a race season with the same personnel as it had when it ended the previous one, are also reasons for optimism.

"We all know that practice speeds and qualifying runs at Daytona don't mean a whole lot," Chaffin said. "You simply have to have a truck that has some speed, handles well through the corners and can stay in the lead pack of trucks. If we can do that tonight and not have any bad luck, we should be strong enough to get another good finish for Curtis. At least that is our game plan," added Chaffin who enters tonight's race with the 6th highest driver rating overall of the drivers who have competed in the last three races at Daytona when NASCAR's new loop scoring program was initially put into use.

The Ford of Erik Darnell will start tonight's Chevy Silverado 250 from the pole after turning in a lap of 50.983 seconds for a top speed of 176.529 miles per hour in qualifying. Toyotas driven by veterans Terry Cook and Mike Skinner will round out the top three starters.

Chaffin's best numbers of 52.067 seconds and 172.854 mph made the #40 the sixth quickest of the 13 Chevrolet's that will start the race to be broadcast live on television on the SPEED Channel and on Motor Racing Network syndicated radio starting at 8 p.m.