KEY MOTORSPORTS TO ONLY ENTER ITS 40 TRUCK AT LMS THIS WEEKEND;
BUSCH SERIES ACE SHANE HUFFMAN TO RETURN BEHIND THE WHEEL

Key Motorsports team owner Curtis W. Key, Sr. has made his decision and will only enter and run his primary #40 Chevrolet Silverado in this Friday night’s Quaker Steak & Lube 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Key Motorsports tested both its 40 and 44 trucks during the Speedway’s open test session last week with Steve Park piloting the 40 and Clay Rogers the 44. Although the truck entry for this Friday night’s race is expected to be somewhat light, Key felt it was the best for his young race team to focus all of its attention and efforts on one truck.

“We very easily could have put two trucks in the Charlotte field, but it just did not make sense at this stage of the season to jeopardize our position in points for our primary truck (the 40),” Key explained. “Since both of our trucks are un-sponsored, and the purse for this race is not that large, we’ll keep the 44 home instead of stretching our resources and manpower. This way, we can focus on having a good run with the 40 to move us back up the (owner) points standing and in better shape for this 7-race run we’re about to go on,” he added.

Shane Huffman, the NASCAR Busch Series driver for the Dale Earnhardt, Jr-owned JR Motorsports organization, will be back behind the wheel of the Key Motorsports Chevy for the first time in 2007 – one of several races that the 32-year-old Hickory, North Carolina driver has committed to this season.

“I’m looking forward to getting back with Barry (crew chief Dodson) and the guys and to have the chance to get some added seat time around that tough track at Lowe’s,” Huffman said. “We raced good at most of the truck races that I ran for Curtis in 2006, although our finishes didn’t reflect it. My goal is to run every lap, keep the truck in one piece and come away with a good finish to help Key Motorsports in the point’s race,” Huffman added.

In four races for Key Motorsports last year, Huffman posted a best finish of 20th at Homestead, although he had a top 10 finish staring him in the face at both Martinsville and Phoenix only to have late-race problems derail the effort.

“We had some really good runs with Shane in our truck, and with some breaks, he would have had a top 10-top 15 run at Martinsville and could have had a top 5 at Phoenix,” Dodson said. “He was running eighth (at Phoenix) with seven laps to go and was knocking off a truck a lap when a left rear tire went flat, so there is little doubt that Shane can drive our truck well and we have the equipment to be competitive. We just need better luck,” Dodson added.