Key Motorsports founder and team owner Curtis W. Key, Sr. has simply stated that 2006 was a "throwaway year" for his fledgling, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race organization. The experience the team gained from entering all 25 races last season, and seeing action in 20 of them, "will only make us stronger and more competitive in 2007", Key predicted.
 
"I basically entered 2006 knowing that I had to build this race team from the inside out," Key said. "There's only one employee here now who was with us at this time in 2005, and everything within the shop had to be fine-tuned and upgraded. I knew that we would just use this past season as a kind of experimental year, basically working out the kinks to see just what we have so we could better understand just what changes needed to be made to improve."
 
With a fleet of nine Chevrolet Silverado race trucks on the floor including some with 2007 bodies already on them, more experienced help, seven brand new motors in inventory, a 4,000-square foot expansion to the race shop currently underway, and an entire winter ahead under the leadership of crew chief Barry Dodson, Key and his race team are light years ahead of where they were a year ago at this time. The team's soon-to-be-announced driver selection for the No. 40 machines in '07 also has the organization excited.
 
"We had a crew chief at this time last year who did things much differently than Barry. We also had far less experienced people in the shop preparing our race trucks, a deficient engine program and not much to fall back on. We have all of this now and some clear-cut direction, and it is going to make us a lot better off next season," Key explained.
 
In 2006, the No. 40 qualified for only two of the first six races and three of the initial seven. It put the team squarely behind the 8-ball and in a position of trying to climb out of a very deep hole. Fortunately, the changes that Key instituted and spent a lot of his own money in securing helped change the atmosphere and rallied the troops.
 
Over the final 75% of the 2006 campaign, the Key Motorsports entry with several different drivers contributing earned starting berths in 18 of the final 19 races and raced in the final 17 in succession. It moved the team and observers away from thinking about whether the race truck would qualify for a race or not to rather where on the starting grid it would qualify. The confidence began to build.
 
"When I took over here (as crew chief), we had only a few trucks that we could legitimately take to the track and compete," Dodson said. "The engines we had that Curtis owned were severely lacking in horsepower, and there was limited experience in the shop. Curtis then dug deep to give us the things we needed to get better, and our performances picked up one baby step at a time. We made progress though," Dodson added.
 
In the final owner point's tabulation in 2006, Key Motorsports annexed 1,920 points, all accumulated in just 20 races with the help of five different drivers and producing an average point total per event of 96. All but one of the teams in front of the #40 in owner points accumulated its points by competing in all 25 races.
 
Adding five more races with 96 points apiece to its 1,920 total would have given Key's operation 2,400 points and would have put it in the 23rd position overall and thus well within the top 30 in points that would have guaranteed the No. 40 Chevrolet a starting berth for the first four races next year. Unfortunately, Key Motorsports stands 31st on the eligible team list in points and at this juncture will have to again head to Daytona hoping to qualify for one of the six open positions in the season opener next February.
 
"Our race truck turned in the 28th fastest qualifying time out of 42 trucks in Daytona last year with Chad Chaffin driving and they still sent us home," Key said. "Being outside the top 30 again, there isn't much that we can do at this time to change that this coming season except to work harder to be better prepared. A little outside help wouldn't hurt either, but w will do whatever it takes to make sure that we make that race," promised Key.
 
The team still has some exciting things to announce about its 2007 season, and Key and Dodson both believe that some of these announcements are going to benefit Key Motorsports for the long term.
 
"I'm in this business to accomplish one thing and one thing only, and that is to field a competitive race truck every single week," Key exclaimed. In his nine seasons of ownership of either a Craftsman Truck or Busch Series team, Key has never been closer to fulfilling that dream, and all one needs to do is see where this organization has come in less than a year to fully understand that.
 
"This race team has come a very long way since I first got here in late April, and everyone connected with the No. 40 needs to be thanked for making that happen. If we can make the races in 2007 that we didn't this past year, and add to that all of the upgrades we have made within the organization, we will be better prepared to help Curtis achieve his goal and see the fruits of his labor and money," Dodson added.

High Sierra Photo