FUEL MISCALCULATION RELEGATES KEY MOTORSPORTS 
TO 27TH IN NASHVILLE

Mike Bliss, driving the #40 Chevrolet persevered for 27th place in Saturday’s Nashville 300. After losing one car in qualifying the Key Motorsports crew was forced to start at the rear of the field with a backup that had not even been shaken down on the one-and-a-third mile track. Miraculously, only one hiccup interrupted the program’s charge to return to the front.

Crew Chief Gary Showalter gave his evaluation, “Once again it seemed like the car never lost a position on the track, only when pit strategies differed and the instance of running out of fuel. We thought we could go to 105.” At least two other competitors also ran out of fuel entering the pits about Lap 100. This issue leaves an engine unable to supply accurate RPM information to the gauges, which provides the driver with no method to estimate pit road speed. Not only did the #40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet lose one lap to the leader in the pits, but another lap trying to restart the car and two more when assessed a “pass-through” penalty for speeding while entering pit road for that stop. One lap was regained moments later due to the team reapplying themselves and moving forward, leaving the effort 3 laps down for the remainder of the Nashville event. Only 21 cars did finish on the lead lap.

The #40 NASCAR Nationwide Series team was scored as high as 21st going into the NASCAR-mandated “competition caution” on lap 32. Bliss easily steered clear of accidents in laps 44 and 106, but had a tense moment when four drivers in front of him tried—and failed—to enter turn 3 at the same time just after the halfway point in the contest. “A red flag like that one is worst for a driver, the waiting and the heat builds up,” he related. After about 15 minutes of cleanup the competition resumed. Bliss piloted the unsponsored Chevrolet past two more accidents in the remaining 109 laps to claim another milestone in the growth of Key Motorsports.

Curtis Key, Sr remains 27th in the 2010 Owner’s Point Standings, guaranteed a starting spot in Phoenix, AZ next weekend. The unsponsored #40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet will be running the team colors again when the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 will be hosted by the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway on Friday night, April 09, 2010.