by Mike Snow - Orleans racing

Driver: Brendan Gaughan

Owner: Michael Gaughan

Event: Milwaukee 200
Milwaukee Mile, Milwaukee, WI
Race: Friday, June 24th - 9:00 p.m.
Qualifying: Friday, June 24th – 6:30 p.m.
1.0-mile oval, 200 miles/ 200 laps
The Truck --- T6

Notes of Interest:

After a year hiatus in the Nextel Cup division Gaughan returns to the Milwaukee Mile with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Gaughan’s result the last time he ran here, in 2003? Winner.

Did you know that The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest operating race track in the world? The facility opened in 1903 and has been hosting events ever since --- Brendan Gaughan is one of the few select drivers who won at this venue during its centennial celebration in 2003.

Gaughan along with current Nextel Cup champion, Kurt Busch and FOX TV personality, Jeff Hammond will conduct a “NASCAR 101” session at 6:30 pm on June 27th at the Tucson Mall (Tucson Az). “NASCAR 101” is a fan driven event where the panel of participants answer fan submitted questions in an informal setting.

Gaughan on The Milwaukee Mile:

“The trick to Milwaukee is it’s a horsepower track. Aero doesn’t come into it. You’ve got to take the right truck and it’s exactly what the Orleans Racing team has going good right now. We have good chassis and we have good horsepower. It should be a good race for us. We’re going to get there and make the thing turn. We’ll get it planted where the nose gets down and cuts through the center. You can keep it on the bottom when you need to. You can let it cut underneath people coming out of corners and then stomp on the gas, drive it out, don’t let it get too loose, drive down those long, fast straightaways and then stomp on the brakes. So a lot of chassis, a lot of braking and a lot of horses.”

“Now that we’ve got Rambo Liberati at the helm, once again it’s one of those situations where he comes in and says, ‘Oh good, Brendan won four out of the next five races.’ It’s a no win situation for Rambo. He’s been working his tail off. The guys are working hard. The speeds are looking pretty good but unfortunately we keep running into things. We’re working on fixing that.

You love Wisconsin – Why? “Wisconsin has always been good to me and my racing career. Ever since the off road days running CORE stuff with Jimmie Johnson and all those guys. The last time I was in Milwaukee I took about 45 or 50 guests and we had the place packed. I’ve always loved the state of Wisconsin. For some reason the people are nicer than anywhere in the world. When we went there last time I don’t remember if we got the pole or not but I know we were near the front, took the lead early and just drove by people. It was a great day there.

We’ve heard you talk about them – but what the heck is a Cheese Curd? “A cheese curd is something that will bind you up for two weeks. Cheese curds are Wisconsin favorites. Cheese curds are the staple food for the state. I’m sure if you went to Ted Musgrave or Matt Kenseth they’d be able to give you a better answer but it’s basically a fried cheese. Not a mozzarella stick but fried cheese and the cheese is pasteurized in a different way. They can put a hurtin’ on you. They’re good but if you eat too many of them you won’t be feeling good for the next week.

Meet the Crew:

Name
Hometown
Shop Duties
Race Day Duties

Brendan Gaughan
Las Vegas, NV
General Manager
Driver

Tony Liberati
Bellaire, OH
Crew Chief
Crew Chief

Lance Wilson
Bakersfield, CA
Truck Chief
Rear Tire Changer

Roy Pryor
Las Vegas, NV
Mechanic
Front Tire Changer

Chris Boller
Prescott, AZ
Truck Driver
Front Tire Carrier

Calvin Gravely
Martinsville, VA
Tire Specialist
Jackman

Scott Witz
Tucson, AZ
Fabricator
Gas Man

Mike Robinson
Toole, UT
Mechanic
Catch Can

Ray Poyner
 
Engineer
Engineer

Listen in on the #77: The team’s primary radio frequency is 451.3375