MOORE, DODSON BELIEVE LESSONS LEARNED IN TEXAS TRUCK RACE
WILL BENEFIT KEY MOTORSPORTS EFFORT IN MICHIGAN EVENT

The more seat time rookie driver Ryan Moore gets behind the wheel of the #40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competition, the more he will learn and the better he will get. If last weekend’s effort in the Sam’s Town 400 at Texas Motor Speedway is any evidence of this, then observers might be in for a treat this Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

“Ryan has done a remarkable job in a very short amount of time as our driver. He has an uncanny feel for the race truck and what it needs, and when the time comes that he has everything he needs, he’s going to be tough to beat”, veteran Key Motorsports crew chief Barry Dodson explained.

The 22-year-old Moore posted a solid, 14th place finish in Texas after starting from the rear of the field. Moore claimed that he just could not turn the race truck in the corners. That it was just too darn tight. Yet he still managed to complete all but one of the race’s 168 laps and took racing lines that few other competitors would dare go.

“I probably scraped the wall three times or so going through the corners, but I learned an awful lot about the air and the draft and how the air plays such a big role in the truck and as to how much different it is than in the cars”, Moore explained. “You learn where you need to be to pass when the truck is tight and when it is best to make a pass, and I’m really looking forward to another big, high speed track this weekend in Michigan to see if we can improve on last week’s effort”, Moore added.

The Con-Way Freight 200 will be Moore’s third career race in the Craftsman Truck Series and only his third-ever race in any NASCAR Series on a circle track longer than a mile in length. Dodson says that it has not put Moore at any kind of disadvantage.

“Ryan is pretty smart and likes to develop a ‘feel’ for the truck and track whenever he goes out for the first time. The interesting thing about him, though, is that it doesn’t take him long to determine what is wrong with the truck and what needs to be done to make it better”, said Dodson.

“It’s a pleasure to know so quickly what the truck is doing or not doing so we can make the necessary adjustments and test those changes quickly. He is certainly not intimidated by any of the other drivers and has this passion to beat them all. I like that”, Dodson exclaimed.

Dodson believes that Moore’s at-home training in working on his father, Kelly’s, racecars in what was the former NASCAR Busch North Grand National Series gave him the ability to understand set-up at an early age. Only now is Ryan capable of really putting that knowledge to use on a major platform by driving on bigger, faster tracks in a major NASCAR Touring Series.

“I want a racecar or racetruck to be perfect. Any driver wants that”, Moore stated. “The more my crew chief and team know what I like, and what kind of adjustments need to be made to correct something, the better the racecar or racetruck will be. I know that some of the changes that we talked about after last week’s race Barry has made to the truck for this week, and that should hopefully help prevent the problems from occurring again”, Moore added.

Aiding Moore’s growth was the introduction last week of the first Key Motorsports-owned and prepared engine in the #40 Chevrolet. Moore’s race machine at Michigan will again have a Key Motorsports power plant.

Therefore, if the Texas race was again any indication of that progress that Dodson sees, then those observing just what Michigan International Speedway holds for Ryan Moore and his fledgling Key Motorsports truck racing team might be worth everyone’s time and interest.