CHAFFIN EXCITED AND POSITIVE ABOUT HIS DAYTONA CHANCES
IN #40 GARWOOD ELECTRICAL/KEY MOTORSPORTS SILVERADO

Chad Chaffin is scheduled to be a very busy man in Daytona Beach, Florida during Speed Week 2006 as he is one of just a few drivers who will attempt to qualify and drive in all three of NASCAR’s major touring series events at Daytona International Speedway.

With a shot to qualify and compete in the Nextel Cup Series’ Daytona 500, the Busch Series’ Hershey’s Kissables 300 and the Craftsman Truck Series’ GM Flex Fuel 250, the 37-year-old Chaffin is most excited about the latter for Mooresville, North Carolina-based Key Motorsports.

“I really didn’t know what Curtis’ (car owner Key) program was all about when I first agreed to accept his offer to drive the first four races for him in 2006”, Chaffin remarked. “But once I saw the equipment his team has put together for me, and the team that (crew chief) Lance Hooper has assembled, I am really excited about our chances”, he added.

The #40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado, that will carry sponsorship from Russell E. Garwood Electrical Contractors, will be powered by Hutter engines, and the information the team was able to secure from last month’s Daytona test session proved to be invaluable.

“We went to Daytona (with test driver Brandon Whitt) specifically to work on our handling package because we had a motor that was two years old and not set up for a track like Daytona”, Hooper, a former Craftsman Truck Series driver himself from the mid 1990’s and into the early 2000’s. “When we got back home, Ron (Hutter) went over our motor and found that we were 35 horsepower off, yet we still had the 18th quickest time despite never running in the draft, and the truck handled very well. We know we have a good piece for a driver who can sit up on the wheel, and Chad is certainly that kind of driver”, Hooper explained.

The one major obstacle facing Chaffin and the Key Motorsports team isn’t running good in the race. It’s simply making the field. Chaffin must qualify on time to claim one of just six positions in the field that will be available after the top 30 trucks in final truck owner points from the 2005 campaign have taken their starting spots. Chaffin, who has won twice on the Craftsman Truck Series circuit and finished tenth in driver points in 2003 and 2004, remains optimistic on his chances.

“It’s always tough for teams coming down to Daytona, or for any race for that matter, who have to get in on time because they do not have points”, Chaffin explained.

“However, I have been in that spot several times before, and seeing what the #40 truck did in testing with what they had, and knowing that we will get that 35 horsepower back from Hutter, I think we have as good a chance as anyone to grab one of those six spots. We will certainly bust our tails to do so”, Chaffin optimistically added.

The goal of every team in the Craftsman Truck Series is to qualify for each of the first four races on the schedule and finish well to build up their points. After that fourth event, the team owner points revert to 2006 statistics, and Key Motorsports wants to be in the top 30 at that point to solidify a starting berth for the races after that point…..provided they remain in the top 30.

“We will run the first nine races this year with or without sponsorship, but if we can qualify for the first four races, be competitive and can finish well up in the standings, and thus be in that guaranteed start position, we believe we can get enough funding to make it through the whole season. At least that is our goal”, Curtis Key said.