Veteran NASCAR crew chief and mechanic Barry Dodson has been named to lead the efforts of the Key Motorsports NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series organization. Dodson succeeds Lance Hooper as crew chief of the No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado race trucks currently driven by Chad Chaffin as Hooper has taken a similar position with the ThorSport organization in Sandusky, Ohio.

"Lance did a good job getting us to this point, and we wish him well in his new endeavor", Key Motorsports founder and President Curtis W. Key, Sr. said Monday. "But getting someone of the caliber of a Barry Dodson to guide this young team is a significant step for us. We believe that Barry's experience and past success in the Craftsman Truck Series will enable us to get to the next level", Key added.

Dodson is a 35-year veteran of NASCAR racing and is best known for guiding Rusty Wallace to his only NASCAR Nextel Cup Series crown in 1989. Dodson claims that this accomplishment was the crowning moment in his illustrious career, one that also has seen the Wake Forest, North Carolina native amass 19 Nextel Cup and six Craftsman Truck Series victories as a crew chief.

From 1995 to 1998, Dodson captained the Jim Smith-owned Craftsman Truck Series operation with driver Mike Bliss, winning six times, notching 13 poles and becoming the first crew chief IN Craftsman truck Series competition to win races in three consecutive seasons. Dodson won his very first and last race as a Craftsman Truck Series crew chief and will mow seek to add to that mark with the Key Motorsports contingent.

"I have been looking for the right opportunity to come along, and nothing really gave me the comfort level and good feeling from what I saw and felt at Key Motorsports. Few people realize in this sport what Curtis (Key) has put into his teams over the years, and it is time for that to finally show itself", Dodson said.

Key operated a NASCAR Busch Series operation from 1991 to 1999, running predominantly a limited schedule due to a lack of sponsorship but featuring some of the top drivers ever in Busch Series action. Former Series champions Tommy Ellis, Chuck Bown and Larry Pearson were amongst them. Key did run a half season in 1997 with sponsorship from SPEED Vision and the Outdoor Channel with then rookie driver Jimmie Foster.

After a 4-year hiatus from the sport to devote more time to his Plumbing Contracting business in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, Key returned to the industry in 2003 as the owner of a Craftsman Truck Series team, operating first out of a brand new race shop in Chesapeake, VA before moving back to Mooresville, NC last year. Key now operates out of an ever-expanding operation previously owned by Tom Logano, using one of the two race shops he owns on 5.5 acres of land in the new Performance Park off of Shinn Farm Road and Highway 152 East.

"Curtis has poured millions of dollars into his operation, first as a Busch Series owner and now as a Truck Series team, and all he wants to do is to see his investment pay off by fielding a competitive race team week in and week out. We will work hard together as a unit to make that happen and to satisfy Curtis' passion to succeed", Dodson added.

Due in part to NASCAR's top 30 points rule that awards guaranteed starting berths to the top 30 teams from the 2005 season, the No. 40 Key Motorsports entry has qualified for only one of the first three Craftsman Truck Series races so far this year. The team sees this week's race in Martinsville as a pivotal one for its fortunes the remainder of the year.

"There are some changes that can be made to make our trucks better and hopefully in a position to qualify for every race. That will start this coming week as we prepare for the Martinsville race", Dodson commented. "Chad has shown that he can drive a race truck, and his performance in the No. 40 truck in California proved that. Now we have to do that every week ", Dodson added.

Chaffin, a 2-time Craftsman Truck Series career winner with a knack for standing on top of the wheel, is also excited to be able to work with Dodson. "Barry certainly brings a wealth of experience with him to this race team and has the ability to get whatever information he needs to get his race equipment the way he wants it. It'll be exciting to see just how much better he can make our race trucks", he added.

Chaffin, Dodson and company will test on Wednesday this week at Caraway Speedway to shake down the Martinsville truck and to get used to working with one another.