LOUDON, N.H. – For 23-year-old Scarborough native Ryan Moore, a trip to New Hampshire International Speedway is always a welcomed journey.

His experiences here in NASCAR Busch East Series competition have taught him a great deal about the sometimes tricky 1.058-mile layout. He has enjoyed some strong runs here, but today, he faces a new and formidable challenge.

Moore will compete in today’s Sylvania 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, driving the No. 40 entry for Key Motorsports. The team is owned by Virginia-based businessman Curtis Key, and veteran NASCAR crew chief Barry Dodson calls the shots. Dodson, regarded as one of most knowledgeable men in the garage area, was crew chief for Rusty Wallace in his championship year of 1989. Moore joined the Key organization in late May.

Moore talked about his latest opportunity Friday at the Magic Mile, taking a few minutes away from the hectic garage area and practice sessions to reflect on his situation and how he feels his career is progressing.

“The trucks are awesome, you can really drive them aggressively and muscle them around,” says Moore. “You can go out on the big tracks and do a lot of drafting, which I enjoy. We just need to start running better. Once we improve our performance, I’ll feel better about it.”

In 10 starts with the team, Moore has a highest finish of 14th at the Texas Motor Speedway. Always one to put pressure on himself to perform, Moore knows that success at this level requires experience, not only from a driver’s standpoint, but from team personnel as well.

“Curtis (Key) gives us everything we need to do our jobs. We have great equipment, and Barry (Dodson) has the knowledge to make sure we’re working in the right direction. We just need to get more experience as a team, and achieve the chemistry it takes to be successful in this sport. I think we’re improving; we just need some strong runs here as the season draws to a close.”

Moore says one of the biggest advantages the team has with Dodson is his experience with pit strategy. His years in Nextel Cup gave him invaluable lessons in what to do as a race unfolds, and that expertise is of great value to Key Motorsports as it strives to become a major force in the truck series.

“One of the things I’ve learned in the last four months is the value of patience,” says Moore. “There are a lot of highs and lows in this sport, whether it’s the Busch East Series, Craftsman Truck Series or Nextel Cup. Since this is essentially a freshman team, and I’m so new at driving these tracks, I need to be patient as we work our way through the learning curve. I get upset when we have a bad run, but those things are going to happen. It’s just frustrating when you’re used to success, but I know there are better days ahead.”

For Dodson, working with a young gun like Moore is rewarding. He speaks highly of the second generation driver, and calls him one of his best friends.

“Ryan has what it takes to become a successful superspeedway driver,” said Dodson. “He is fearless, and that’s important. He is very knowledgeable about the trucks, he’s worked on his own cars and on his father’s cars here in New England.

“This program is still in its infancy, so I feel we haven’t given Ryan the trucks he needs to run up front. His driving skills are beyond our level right now, but we’re improving all the time, and I’ve asked him to be patient with us.”

Dodson has worked with drivers from all levels of experience, including Mike Bliss, who he says is similar to Moore.

“Mike could run a few laps in practice and tell me exactly what the truck was doing and what he thought we needed to do to make it better,” said Dodson. “Ryan is the same way, he has a tremendous natural feel for a race car and provides me with the input I need to adjust the chassis for optimum performance. There are a lot of drivers who can’t do that, so his future in this sport looks pretty bright to me. I think the sky is the limit for him.”

It has been a long road for the kid from Scarborough. One that has taken him from the Late Model division at Oxford, to the ACT Late Model tour and on to the high-profile NASCAR Busch East Series. Now, racing in one of NASCAR’s big three national series, he’s having the time of his life.

“I’m still under contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc.(DEI),” he said. “But it takes so much money these days to campaign a full-time Busch Series effort. They just didn’t have a full-time ride for me. I jumped on this opportunity here at Key, and have no regrets for doing so. Once we hit our stride, and Barry gets the team to where it needs to be, I think I’ll be very happy here. It’s exciting to be a part of this series.”