South Point Racing Very Comfortable Upon FLA Return

Brendan Gaughan and the South Point Racing team hit the track for the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice of the season at Daytona International Speedway this afternoon.

Gaughan turned a quick lap of 49.046 seconds (183.501 mph). Gaughan was 23rd on the board.

The No. 77 South Point Chevrolet was a completely different race truck than what the team brought to testing in January. Following the test session, the South Point team cut off the body of the truck and went a completely different direction.

"I’m very happy with this truck," Gaughan said after the only practice of the day. "It responded to everything Bryan (Berry) did. We had a very tight test plan today and we followed it. We were good enough that we never had to stray from it."

Gaughan said his Chevrolet Silverado was quicker in the lead than in a pack of trucks.

"I think we looked a lot more stable than other Chevrolets I ran next too," Gaughan said. "We have a good motor and a good aero package. I led the draft faster than I pushed people in the draft, and that’s good. That means on race day being a veteran and being able to lead draft faster means I will have a lot of guys who will want to push me."

The South Point Racing team will practice again tomorrow from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Qualifying will follow at 7 p.m.