DECISION TO PUT VETERAN CHAD CHAFFIN BEHIND THE WHEEL 
PAYING OFF FOR KEY MOTORSPORTS HEADING INTO SEASON FINALE

MOORESSVILE, NORTH CAROLINA (November 14, 2007) – The decision that Key Motorsports owner Curtis W. Key, Sr. made two months ago to hire veteran Chad Chaffin to jump back behind the wheel of his team’s #40 Chevrolet Silverado race trucks is paying off.

Through the first seven of the eight races in which Chaffin was retained to drive for Key at the tail end of the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the Murfreesboro, Tennessee native has done what Key intended for him to do – “to show what kind of equipment I’ve got” according to the successful Chesapeake, Virginia plumbing contractor.

“We weren’t making progress in the way I looked at it”, Key said, elaborating on the move he made just after the race at the Gateway International Raceway outside of St. Louis to bring Chaffin back for a second go-round with the team and replace rookie driver Brandon Miller.

Despite two races, including his very first one in New Hampshire, in which Chaffin was forced to settle for 36th and last place finishes following accidents, the 39-year-old chauffeur posted the two highest finishes in his team’s brief NCTS history with an 8th place effort in Talladega and a 7th a week later in Martinsville.

In all, Chaffin, who also placed 16th in Las Vegas, has averaged 21.2 for his finishes in these seven outings and 24.4 in average starts. Both numbers are better than the team’s averages for these categories over the first 24 races of 22.3 in finishes and 25.1 for starts.

“Chad has showed that our equipment is sound and can compete,” Key said. “He usually takes care of his equipment and has provided excellent feedback to Gary (Crew Chief Showalter) and Tommy (Director of Competition Morgan) that has enabled them to make the changes that has allowed Chad to drive hard and be competitive. I’m glad that I made the decision to change drivers when I did,” Key added.

Chaffin had previously driven for Key early in 2006 when the team entered its first full season of NCTS competition. Though that tenure was short-lived (the year’s first six races), Chaffin and the rest of the NASCAR racing world watched the #40 team go through several major changes, the last one coming this past May when the basic infrastructure to the team’s shop crew completely changed. It has made a huge difference in the way the team now races and how the race trucks perform.

“This team communicates really well and everyone respects each other. We finally have the leadership that we were lacking,” said Vice President of Operations Rich Rubenstein. “You can really see how differently other competitors, NASCAR officials, other owners and the manufacturers look at this race team. No one considers us pushovers any longer, and that respect has rubbed off on everyone we bring to the race track and those who continue to work on our trucks at the shop. We have made tremendous progress,” Rubenstein added.

Now assured of a top 30 position in owner’s points with only the season finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway remaining, the #40 will be guaranteed a starting berth in at least the first four races of the 2008 season. That is a luxury that this fledgling race team has never had heading into the winter months.

“We were sent home (from Daytona) when we qualified 28th for the 2006 season opener because we did not have a guaranteed starting position and we had outrun eight teams who had those guaranteed spots. There’s not a lot of room in a 36-truck starting field,” Key explained.

“I had to hire a past champion (Mike Bliss) to drive for us in the first four races this year to make sure that we weren’t sent home again, but we never had to use the provisional spot. We’ve used six different drivers in our 40 truck this season and Chad has finally been able to run the way I had hoped all along. He has done a good job to this point, and all we want to do is finish on a high note.”

Chaffin sees the Homestead-Miami track as a challenge: first because of its unique 11/2-mile layout that he said differs it from other mile-and-a-half tracks, and second because of the traditionally harder tire that Good Year brings to this facility.

“The track is really set up a lot like Kentucky but it races more like the old Atlanta Motor Speedway configuration,” Chaffin explained. “But the tire we use at Homestead doesn’t offer a lot of grip, so in theory you should have better racing there. I really like the place and think that it’s a pretty good place to end the season,” Chaffin added.

Chad is hoping that it ends up being a good place for him and his Key Motorsports crew as well, and that will simply solidify what owner Key has been saying all along: “We have better equipment than what we have shown!”