The failure of a relatively inexpensive engine part foiled the debut of veteran driver Tim Fedewa in the No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado Saturday night at the newly redesigned and repaved Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Running on the lead lap on lap 120 and getting stronger and more confident with each circuit, Fedewa felt something give in the engine of his race truck during the running of the Smith's Las Vegas 350, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

"All of a sudden, the engine started bogging down and began missing," said Fedewa, who last Wednesday night was hired by team owner Curtis W. Key, Sr. to drive the Key Motorsports entry in Las Vegas after the sudden departure that same afternoon of rookie driver Ryan Moore. "I switched ignition boxes to see if that was the problem but soon found out it was much more serious, " added Fedewa, who was in the 23rd position at the time and was in the process of running down several other trucks for position when the problem occurred.

Finally, on lap 130 of the 146-lap affair, Fedewa reported that the engine began to tighten up and he was ordered to park the truck for the night by crew chief Barry Dodson, opting to save the engine and race truck and to preserve Fedewa's confidence. "We didn't need to blow up the engine, take home a wrecked race truck and risk getting Timmy (Fedewa) hurt for a few positions," added Dodson, who later was informed by engine tuner Randy Parker that the broken part was a valve spring retainer on the back valve of the left side of the motor.

"The valve didn't even break, so we at least caught the thing early enough to preserve the engine. But to have a part that costs a couple bucks cost us and Timmy a decent finish certainly hurts. He (Fedewa) did a very encouraging job for having not been in a race in nearly a year," said Dodson.

The end result was a 29th place finish and a momentary derailment of the Key Motorsports drive towards the top thirty in team owner points that guarantees teams a starting berth in every race.

Fedewa, who last drove in a NASCAR race last November for the now defunct Glynn Motorsports team in the Craftsman Truck Series, admitted to being a little rusty in his Key Motorsports debut, especially on the new Las Vegas Motor Speedway layout.

"This is a totally different track from what I ran here last year," explained Fedewa, who finished tenth in this same event a year ago. "With the added banking and a new pavement, it now reminds you more of a Texas or Atlanta, and without a lot of rubber down yet, it can be a little intimidating….especially for someone who hasn't been behind the wheel for a while. But I really thank Curtis (team owner Key) for giving me the opportunity. I really wanted to get a good finish for them, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. It's a shame that a little part like that put us in the garage early," he added.

Fedewa took a conservative approach in driving the No. 40 Chevrolet. His initial practice time in the truck came on Thursday during an optional practice for all the Craftsman Truck Series teams in an effort to familiarize everyone with the new LVMS race surface, and that one was curtailed for a few hours when Fedewa lost control of the race machine exiting the first turn early in the afternoon session and crinkled its left rear quarter panel.

Fortunately, the team was able to make repairs quickly enough to run the entire, 3-hour evening session in which Fedewa gradually bettered his lap times. He was only able to post the 29th best qualifying time in Saturday afternoon's time trials, blaming a loose handling condition. During the race, however, Fedewa liked the way the truck performed but did find it difficult to pass whenever he ran underneath another truck.

"The guys did a great job for me and worked their tails off getting the race truck ready for me, especially after I hit the wall. They deserved more than what they got tonight," Fedewa stated.

Fedewa's deal with Key Motorsports was for the Vegas race only and an announcement will be made next week, and well before the next Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on October 7 for what will be the debut of the Series on NASCAR's biggest oval.

A decision will also be made shortly on who Key will tap to fill the driver's seat for the final five races of the 2006 season after Talladega to keep the team in contention in its drive for top thirty status. Several drivers are being considered including some Nextel Cup chauffeurs since all five races are combination events.