Blown Motor Means Early Exit For Gaughan At Charlotte

Brendan Gaughan and his South Point Racing team couldn’t have been more prepared to take on Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Friday night.

After two test days at the 1.5-mile track and a trip to the wind tunnel, Gaughan and his team were confident in their No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado.

That confidence only grew following a solid effort which put Gaughan 12th on the starting grid for the Quaker Steak & Lube 200.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Gaughan said after qualifying. “We had a bad first practice because of a bent track bar, a great second practice and a phenomenal qualifying effort.

“This is everyone else’s home track, so we’re playing the visitor this week. We’d love to pull off and upset.”

And with the drop of the green flag on Friday night, it looked as if Gaughan and his South Point Chevrolet Silverado were in for a solid night.

When the first caution of the night came out at Lap 7, Gaughan told his crew chief Bryan Berry that he was just a little free on entry but he felt the truck was going to be good as the race progressed.

Unfortunately, Gaughan and his South Point Racing team wouldn’t get the chance to see just how good the truck could be.

While running near the top 10 at Lap 33, Gaughan’s engine let go

“We had a great Chevrolet tonight – a really mean piece to work with,” Gaughan said. “We were just a little loose. We were playing it safe out there at the start of the race, but we were catching the five guys in front of us.

“Then something just let go in the motor. It was terminal. I don’t know what it is just yet, but it is terminal.”

Gaughan finished 35th. The South Point Racing team will try to turn around their luck next Saturday at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. The 250-lap race can be seen on FOX on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT).