Scarborough’s Moore staying in truck series

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Scarborough’s Ryan Moore will keep driving for the Key Motorsports team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and he won’t run the Busch East [formerly Busch North] series.

Moore had been a regular on the Busch East series for the past three years and won his first two races in the series a year ago. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2003.

But Moore, who still has a driver development contract in the Busch series for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, received the opportunity to drive for Key Motorsports when Chad Chaffin had a conflict with his Nextel Cup responsibilities.

Chaffin was eventually released by Key Motorsports.

Moore turned in the team’s best finish of the year last weekend when he finished 14th after starting 36th in the Sam’s Town 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Chaffin had finished 18th, 21st and 26th in his three truck races and Moore, in his previous two, had finished 36th and failed to qualify in the other one.

Moore had climbed from 36th to seventh during the race at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway (Ohio) but persistent electrical problems forced him to the garage and resulted in a 36th-place finish.

“This is a really good opportunity for me,” said the 22-year-old Moore, son of veteran stock car driver Kelly Moore. “I’ll get to see racetracks I’ve never been to. And this type of racing suits my driving style a little bit. It’s like driving late models. You can drive them really hard and you can get away with a lot more aerodynamically. They’re a little bit more forgiving.”

He also said it reminds him of “Saturday night racing [at local tracks] yet it has the prestige level of the higher divisions of NASCAR. It’s a lot of fun. The atmosphere and the people are fun.

“I may not have a chance to win every week in the truck series like I would in Busch East but I’ll learn a lot more and, come the end of the day, I’ll feel a lot better about everything,” said Moore.

One of the reasons it may take a little time for Moore to challenge for a win in the truck series is Key Motorsports doesn’t have a primary sponsor. Team owner Curtis Key is the primary financier.

The one-truck team doesn’t have the benefit of sharing resources with another truck team and they aren’t linked to any Nextel Cup or Busch teams.

Moore enjoys being with Key Motorsports and said having veteran Nextel Cup crew chief Barry Dodson as his crew chief is a joy. Dodson was the crew chief for Rusty Wallace when they captured the Nextel Cup points championship in 1989. He has also been the crew chief for Darrell Waltrip, Derrike Cope, Kyle Petty and the late Tim Richmond.

Dodson has made 19 trips to Victory Lane in the Nextel Cup series.

“We are so much on the same page,” said Moore. “He’s thinking what I’m thinking and I’m thinking what he’s thinking. He has so much experience and he’s so smart.”

The feeling is mutual.

“Ryan is one of racing’s best-kept secrets,” said Dodson, who has been in racing more than 30 years. “He’s very knowledgeable and he’s a tremendous talent. He can go out and run two or three laps and if there is something wrong with the truck, he can feel it. He’s way ahead of his age as far as experience and knowledge are concerned.”

Dodson said it is a “reflection” of Moore’s upbringing in a racing family.

“He had to work on his own cars. Having to drive and make your own changes is a big plus. You’d be surprised how many veteran drivers can’t pinpoint what their race vehicle is doing. And those people always struggle,” said Dodson.

“He’s a big plus for our program. He’s going to help us leapfrog a lot of growing pains. He’s a commodity our team needs,” added Dodson.

Dodson and Moore are looking forward to the challenge of building their team into a contender.

Moore qualified his Chevy Silverado 31st but he said he had to start at the back because he was late for the drivers meeting.

Dodson said Moore “isn’t just a driver, he’s a friend and someone who cares about the program and the people involved in the program.

“He can take us to the next level,” said Dodson who noted that the more successful they are, the better chance they’ll have of landing a primary sponsor.

The team will race again Saturday at the Con-way Freight 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

The race begins at 3.

Outlaw series returns to Unity

The Pro All-Stars Series’ Outlaws Late Models Northern Division tour returns to Unity Raceway Sunday at 2:00.

Albion’s Matt Lee leads the points chase after just two races by two points over Jay Sands of Seabrook, N.H.

Solon’s Ben Erskine is third, seven points behind the leader.

The top 10 drivers are separated by just 35 points.

There will also be a full card of Unity’s weekly series features.

Lee won the first Outlaws race at Unity, his former home track, and Paul White of Corinna won the second event at Hermon’s Speedway 95 two weeks ago.