"It's gonna be tough", Chaffin said. "We will have a race truck that is going to be very competitive in the race, that we know! But there is no guarantee that we will be there to prove that. We're going to have to make sure that we are clicking on all cylinders come qualifying", he added.

The #40 Russell E. Garwood Electrical Contractors/Key Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado will again be amongst a group of trucks entered in the Atlanta race that are not the beneficiary of a top 30 standing in truck owner points from the 2005 season. The trucks with these credentials are guaranteed a starting berth in the race regardless of where they qualify, so those trucks without such an advantage will battle amongst themselves for the six available spots.

"This situation bit us in Daytona when there were 12 trucks fighting for those six spots and we out qualified only five of them and had to go home", Chaffin explained.  "To have a truck that qualifies better than 14 others and then have to go home early is a real bummer. We're hoping that it doesn't get us again in Atlanta".

The expectation is for about the same number of entries for Atlanta as in Daytona, so Chaffin and his Hutter engine-powered Chevrolet will need to be as prepared and ready to go as they were in California a couple of weeks ago when Chaffin clocked in 17th quickest, got into the field of 36, led the race and finished on the lead lap in 18th.

"Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks, and I have had success there in the past", said Chaffin, who has two career Craftsman Truck Series starts at the very fast, 1.54-mile D-shaped oval and has scored top ten finishes in each one.

"Atlanta is one of those tracks where the tire is the limiter in the speed you run and not the driver. It's one of the few places that during qualifying, the performance of the truck and tire is greater than the willingness of the driver to push it, while in the race it is completely the opposite," Chaffin said.

"The pace of the race really slows down compared to qualifying", Chaffin said. "The track is so wide that you can pretty much run anywhere you want - high or low - and actually work to find a place to run that is best for your truck. We just have to hope that we will have enough speed in qualifying to get into the race so I can try and make it three straight top ten finishes, and I believe that we will have a top ten truck if we can get there", Chaffin added.

In his two previous starts at AMS, Chaffin drove a Dodge for Bobby Hamilton Racing in 2004 and finished ninth after starting 14th. Last year, driving a Toyota for Germain Motor Cars, Chaffin qualified 13th and finished seventh, although Chaffin felt he had a truck that should have won that race.

"I would be running fifth or sixth, make a pit stop and come out running 15th or 16th, and that happened all day. I passed a bunch of trucks, but I just ran out of laps to improve more than the seventh position after losing track position in the pits", Chaffin stated. "We did have a truck capable of winning that race, so in my mind a seventh place finish doesn't seem like much".

But this is 2006, and Chaffin is in a Chevrolet prepared by Crew Chief Lance Hooper-led Key Motorsports. Chaffin still believes he has what it will take to get the job done.

"These guys busted their butts in California, first to repair the truck that I wrecked in practice and then to re-build it in enough time and with the characteristics needed to qualify for the race on time", Chad commented. "To then go out and complete every lap, run pretty much in the top 15 all night and lead the race is a pretty good indicator of the level of equipment and team that Key Motorsports has", he ended.

Chaffin and team hope that it will again be enough in Atlanta.