CHAFFIN VICTIMIZED BY ROOKIE MISTAKE IN ATLANTA TRUCK RACE;
KEY MOTORSPORTS’ TOP TEN STREAK ENDS WITH ACCIDENT

HAMPTON, GEORGIA (October 27, 2007) – Chad Chaffin’s 2-race, top ten finishing streak for his surging Key Motorsports team came to an abrupt end early in Saturday afternoon’s Easy Care Vehicle Service Contract 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

Rookie driver Josh Wise tried to squeeze between the Chevrolets driven by Chaffin on the outside and Clay Rogers on the inside as the three trucks were about to enter the narrowing first turn from the front stretch on lap 44. The hole Wise was shooting for closed rapidly, however, his Toyota clipping Rogers’ machine in the right rear fender and sending it sharply right and hard into the side of Chaffin’s unsuspecting Curtis Key Plumbing mount. (Photo Right: The Key Motorsports crew goes to work making adjustments on Chad Chaffin’s Chevrolet Silverado during its one and only pit stop during the Atlanta race. (Photo courtesy of Ron German – The Healthy Beverage Company)

The end result was the elimination of all three of these trucks from the race and damage to at least two others and with Chaffin being credited with a 36th and last place finish for the second time in four races since returning to Key Motorsports back in September.

“It was really a hard hit,” the shaken Chaffin said to his crew over his in-car radio after his truck slid across the infield grass and came to rest at the exit of pit road below the first turn. So hard was the hit by Rogers’ truck into the left side of 

Chaffin’s #40 entry that it was whipped violently around striking the #00 of Wise and Rogers’ #75 truck destroying the front end and tearing up the left rear. Even the protective right side to Chaffin’s driving seat was bent out, indicating the suddenness and severity of the hit. 

Chaffin was fortunately unhurt, but he was frustrated about how his disappointing day came to such an abrupt end. (photo to left : The Atlanta Airport Hilton Hotel again partnered with Key Motorsports for the Atlanta race.)

“The truck for whatever reason was so loose in traffic early in the race that I couldn’t get back on the throttle until well into each turn, and that just killed us,” explained Chaffin who found himself a lap down to then race leader and eventual winner Kyle Busch just 20 laps into the 130-lap race.

“This is the same truck we ran (and finished 16th) at Las Vegas and I had similar problems at times there getting really loose when I was around traffic. It’s probably a body thing, but it’s really disappointing to have used up our truck in this race in a wreck that should never have happened. Some of these younger drivers just need to be a little more patient and know where they are on the track before they decide to make a move like that,” Chaffin said of the move that Wise made.

The race’s first caution flew on lap 30, and that was for a competition caution that was planned by NASCAR to allow teams to check their tire wear, especially the right sides that showed a propensity to wear excessively and quickly during Friday’s practice session – one in which Chaffin’s race truck was fairly strong and drove well.

That all changed in the race early, however, and the race’s second caution was called for the wreck in which Chaffin was so innocently swept into.

“There was still a lot of racing left and plenty of time for us to make adjustments and get our lap back,” Chad said after his crew, directed by Crew Chief Gary Showalter, made a track bar and shock adjustment and added some wedge in addition to putting on fresh tires during their first and only pit stop that came on lap 33.(photo right : Crew members crawl underneath the damaged #40 Chevrolet trying to assess the damage following the wreck.)

“The truck was still a little loose even after all those changes were made, but it was driving a lot better. We just never got the chance to see if it would have worked over the long haul and we could have run like we did during practice. We just have to move on and get the points we lost back next week in Texas,” added Chaffin, who had posted an eighth place finish in Talladega and a seventh last weekend in Martinsville, VA for the best finishes for Key Motorsports in 45 career starts over five seasons.

“We’ll just have to start a new streak,” Chaffin said with confidence, but the destruction of his Atlanta truck will require his team to make some quick changes to their truck entry plans for the three remaining races on the 2008 NCTS schedule that starts at the Texas Motor Speedway next Friday night.

The drive that the #40 team had been making up the owner’s points ladder in recent weeks with their hot streak also took a hit. The #40 is now showing 27th in that category, losing one spot in the standing and now trailing the 50 and 07 trucks of Roush-Fenway Racing and Green Light Racing, respectively, by 22 points. The 5 and 07 are tied with 2,137 points.

Despite the tough Atlanta outing, the #40 still has an outside chance to also catch the 47 of Morgan-Dollar Racing in 24th place, the 23rd place truck #13 of ThorSports Racing and the 22nd place #00 truck of Michael Waltrip Racing. These trucks hold advantages over the #40 of 79, 88 and 91 points, respectively.