Gaughan Elated After First Day Of Testing At Homestead

Walking out of the Homestead Speedway on Wednesday night, Brendan Gaughan said he couldn’t be happier with the No. 77 South Point Racing team and how things were going with their new Chevrolet Silverados.

“We ended up sixth on the board, and I think that this truck is better than the one we finished second with here in November,” Gaughan said. “It’s turning better. It has better front grip. It’s just a better truck. We’ve just had such a good day.”

Gaughan turned a best lap of 32.355 seconds (166.898 mph). The leader’s best lap was 32.182 seconds (167.796 mph).

With the change to Chevrolet in the off-season, Gaughan’s Las Vegas-based team have spent long hours prepping race trucks for the test. Now the hard work is paying off.

“It’s really neat right now how things are clicking,” Gaughan said. “Bryan Berry (crew chief) is making some fantastic calls to try new things.

“We have a new shock guy – Mike Roos – who is really paying dividends. We have our shocks instantly. The GM people have been around all day listening to us on the radio and helping us. Today has been such a wonderful feeling – and they’re saying that this won’t even be my primary truck.”

While the road crew is testing the No. 77 at the track, the work continues at the race shop in Las Vegas.

“Our two Daytona trucks have already been cut and repositioned and are back in the paint shop in Las Vegas,” Gaughan said. “That’s a testament to how hard AJ Henry has worked for us to help get us Chevrolets, and how hard my truck drivers have worked driving back and forth across country.

“It just shows how prepared this team is for 2007.”

Gaughan and the No. 77 team will be back at Homestead-Miami Speedway for another session from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. ET. Following today’s test, the team will head north for another two-day test at Lakeland (FL) Speedway on Monday and Tuesday.

“We said it last week – that it was tough to be a team when you weren’t winning, but that it was easy when things are good,” Gaughan continued. “It’s been a long time since this team has had easy times, but right now, it’s easy to be a team.

“We’re smiling. We’re having fun. We just want this feeling to last.”