Rookie NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Ryan Moore suddenly left his position with Key Motorsports this afternoon, leaving crew chief Barry Dodson and team owner Curtis W. Key, Sr. scurrying to find a replacement.

The No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado that Moore was supposed to pilot this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was already en route to the venue. Key then announced that he has hired veteran Tim Fedewa to drive the No. 40 at Las Vegas.

"Ryan just basically disagreed with our philosophy and quit. He left us high and dry at the worst possible moment, so now we're scurrying to find another driver capable of putting the No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado up front at Las Vegas," Key stated.

"We certainly wish Ryan the best of luck, and thank him and his family for all of their support this year, but it's just a shame that he ended up leaving as abruptly as he did when we're so close to the next race. We're hoping that our race team can recover from this sudden turn of events and still perform well this weekend," he added.

Key did not elaborate on the reasons for Moore's departure other than to say that it hinged on a basis difference of opinion and the direction that the fledgling race team was headed.

Fedewa saw action in the Craftsman Series last season, starting four races for Glynn Motorsports in the No. 65 Dodge. He finished tenth in his very first outing ironically at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and followed that performance up with a 23rd place finish in Martinsville, a 20th in Atlanta and a 13th in Phoenix. He also ran much of the 2005 Busch Series schedule for FitzBradshaw Racing.

"I am thrilled with the opportunity to get back to racing and to be able to work with Barry (Dodson) and Curtis. I plan on doing a good job for them and to get them the kind of finish they were expecting in Vegas. It was a nice surprise to receive their telephone call this afternoon," Fedewa said.

Moore was seeing his very first competition in the Craftsman Truck Series with Key Motorsports this year. He replaced veteran Chad Chaffin after the sixth race at Charlotte and promptly gained starting berths in 11 of the next 12 events - the last 10 in succession.

In his 11 outings, Moore scored a career-best finish of 14th at the Texas Motor Speedway in June and was 15th last weekend when he returned to his "home" track at Loudon, NH.