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Key Motorsports
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Key Motorsports, Inc. is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team owned by Curtis W. Key, Sr.. It currently fields the #40 Chevrolet Silverado driven by former Busch/Nationwide Series champion Jeff Grreen and development driver Paul Poulter. The team is operated out of Mooresville, North Carolina.
Motorsports was formed after it was purchased from Tommy Ellis in 1993 and debuted at the Miller 500 as the #05 Moen Faucets Chevrolet with Roger Sawyer driving.
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Encyclopedia
Key Motorsports, Inc. is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team owned by Curtis W. Key, Sr.. It currently fields the #40 Chevrolet Silverado driven by former Busch/Nationwide Series champion Jeff Grreen and development driver Paul Poulter. The team is operated out of Mooresville, North Carolina.
Busch/Nationwide Series
Key Motorsports was formed after it was purchased from Tommy Ellis in 1993 and debuted at the Miller 500 as the #05 Moen Faucets Chevrolet with Roger Sawyer driving. He qualified 14th and finished 22nd. Bobby Hamilton drove three races later at Dover International Speedway, where he finished 29th after suffering handling problems. He ran two additional races for Key later in the season, finishing 17th and 32nd, respectively. Ellis drove for Key in their final race of the year at Hickory Motor Speedway, and finished fifth. Randy MacDonald drove for two consecutive races for Key at the beginning of the following season, his best finish being 21st. Tommy Ellis returned to run a part-time schedule for Key. In nine starts, he had two top-ten finishes but failed to finish the other seven. Tom Peck finished out the season for Key, failing to finish both races due to engine failure.
Key Motorsports made its first race of 1995 at the Hardee's 250 with Steve Boley. They did not run until the fall Richmond race with Chuck Bown driving. After finishing 38th due to an engine failure, Bown finished 9th at the following race at Charlotte before suffering another engine failure at North Carolina Speedway. Bown returned to Key in 1996 at Richmond, where he finished in 31st place. Later in the season, Jeff Burton drove for Key at Charlotte, finishing 42nd with Exide Batteries sponsorship. In 1997, 19-year-old Jimmy Foster was hired to drive the #11 Outdoor Channel/Speedvision car, running ten races with a best finish of 16th at New Hampshire. He was released and replaced for a pair of races by Larry Pearson. After the season, a lack of funding coupled with a family tragedy forced Key to close his team. Key Motorsports returned in 2008 to the Nationwide Series. Jeff Green took the wheel of the #31 Chevy but finished 38th due to electrical issues.
Craftsman Truck Series
Key Motorsports returned to NASCAR competition in 2004 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starting at the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway. Joey Clanton drove for the first two races of the season in the #40 Optech Chevy, wrecking out of both of them. Tony Raines attempted the fall races at Richmond and Martinsville for Key, but did not qualify. Key did not race in 2005 until the summer Bristol race when Andy Houston drove the truck to a 33rd-place finish after a wreck. Their next attempt at Richmond resulted in a DNQ.
Chad Chaffin attempted the first six races of 2006, finishing eighteenth at California Speedway, and a 26th place finish at Gateway. Beginning at the City of Mansfield 250, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. development driver Ryan Moore was named the team's new driver. He had three top-twenty finishes before resigning his position after the New Hampshire race. Tim Fedewa drove at Las Vegas followed by Derrike Cope at Talladega Superspeedway, who ran in the top-ten before becoming involved in a late crash. Shane Huffman finished out three of the final four races of 2006 for Key.
In 2007, Mike Bliss drove the first four races in the 40, posting a tenth-place finish at California. Clay Rogers and Huffman shared the ride for the rest of the half of the season, with Stacy Compton driving at Memphis. Brandon Miller drove for the next five races with Westerman Companies sponsoring, before Chaffin returned to finish out the season in the 40. Key also debuted a second truck, the #44 in 2007. Larry Foyt drove first at Daytona, finishing last after an early wreck, followed by Morgan Shepherd the next two races, who finished 34th and 33rd, respectively. Frank Kreyer raced in two short track races in the truck, bringing Culver's sponsorship. His best finish was 28th. Chaffin began the 2008 season in the #40, but was replaced by Jeff Green and Pete Poulter later in the year.
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