Gaughan Wants To Return To Old Form At Texas Motor Speedway

If there was ever a place that Brendan Gaughan wanted to get back to his winning ways it would be here at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Las Vegas-native had four consecutive wins to his credit at Texas during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. It was a track that Gaughan dominated and a track that made him a fan favorite in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS).

Since that time though, Gaughan’s record at the 1.5-mile quad-oval has been less than desirable, posting a best finish of 17th-place last fall. Gaughan and his South Point Racing team want to change that this Friday night in the Silverado 350K.

“I’m tired of talking about my history at Texas ,” Gaughan said. “We had a great run there, but we haven’t had a run worth a darn there in years. I am ready to get back on the right side of the deal and get a top-10 or a top-five or even a win. This team is ready to get back on the right side of the board – and now is the time for us to do it.

“We had a good run going last spring in Texas , and a flat tire took us out of it,” Gaughan continued. “We were able to move from the back of the pack to the front, but unfortunately back luck bit us. We know that we have been good again at Texas this year, so this team is really optimistic about our chances there.”

And after an eighth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Saturday, Gaughan is confident his team has what it takes for a solid run at Texas .

“ Atlanta and Texas are my style of tracks,” Gaughan said. “They are big, fast and I can run up next to the wall, which is what I like. After finishing eighth in Atlanta, this team is really enthused because we know the truck we had there was no where near as good as the one we are taking to Texas this weekend.”

With Gaughan’s favorite Texas truck, ‘Lone Star,’ no longer in circulation, he will pilot T-20, which competed at Kentucky Speedway earlier this year. Gaughan never fell out of the top-10 at Kentucky until he cut down a left front tire while running third with just 35 laps remaining in the race. Gaughan finished 22nd in that race, and he says this is a truck with unfinished business.

“That truck was a third-place truck at worst at Kentucky ,” Gaughan said. “We just got bit by bad luck that weekend.

“Lone Star, the truck that we won Texas with those four times, has been retired after its wreck at Texas in the spring - so we are going there with a different truck. And it's the truck that is the best one in our stable, and I believe we can win with it in Texas . Our luck has been a little better these past couple of weeks, hopefully, it will stay that way and we can get back on top at Texas .”

With just three races remaining in the NCTS season, Gaughan says he and his South Point Racing team have a lot of unfinished business.

“We need to put a ‘W’ on the board,” Gaughan said. “We still have two goals – to get a win this season and to finish top-10 in points, and I absolutely believe that we can do both of those things.”