For Brendan Gaughan (#77 Orleans Dodge) 2003 was a banner year – six wins and a fourth-place finish in championship standings (he finished 40 points behind champion Travis Kvapil) after leading the point standings for much of the second-half of the season – but it was also a trying year. Leading the points heading into the final race of the season, Gaughan was poised to win his first Truck Series title. A mid-race incident dashed those title hopes. Fast forward to this season where Gaughan has mostly struggled. After his Orleans Racing team decided to scale back to a one truck team this year, Gaughan has been the top finishing Dodge in several races, but that hasn’t always meant a top-10 finish. By Gaughan’s own admission, trying to regain his near-championship form has been tough. “The credit for Orleans Racing’s turnaround has been attributed to team chemistry. Gaughan and crew chief Tony “Rambo” Liberati made some changes after last season and the team has started to click. After back-to-back top-five finishes at Kansas and Kentucky, Gaughan is proving he’s not ready to back down. “I definitely think we have a shot at finishing in the top 10,” said Gaughan, currently 14th in points. “Ron Hornaday (#33 KHI Chevy) was behind us six weeks ago and now he’s sixth. It’s just going to take solid, consistent top-10 and top-five runs. “Once you run top in the five every week and you’re consistently there, you battle for wins. And we will win this year.”
News & Notes Part II:
Drivers taking advantage of off weeksTimothy Peters (#04 Dodge Motorsports Dodge) is spending this week returning to a track where he has won a championship. On July 29, Peters will run a Late Model in the Dodge Weekly Series at South Boston (Va.) Speedway, where he won the 2004 Dodge Weekly Series Late Model track championshipRaybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Boston Reid (#25 Woodard Racing Dodge) is spending his break moving into his first house. “It’s going to be nice to have a break. My girlfriend and I are going to spend the off weeks decorating and buying furniture.”Jack Sprague (#60 Con-Way Freight Toyota) supported owner Jeff Wyler’s other team, the Cincinnati Reds, this past Saturday night. Sprague threw out the first pitch when the Reds hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. Wyler is part of the ownership group of the RedsGaughan is going to participate in Ken Schrader’s annual “M&M’s Night Of Stars” on August 2nd at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. Along with Schrader, he will join drivers Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Steve and Kenny Wallace, David Reutimann (#17 Team Tundra Toyota), Rick Crawford (#14 Circle Bar Ford) and retired champion Rusty Wallace.
Etc:
HT Motorsports announced that Danny Rollins is the new crew chief for driver Chad Chaffin and the # 59 Harris Trucking FordJohnny Benson ( 23 Exide Toyota) won the Outlaw Super Late Model race at Kalamazoo Speedway last weekSeveral drivers were at Martinsville Speedway over the weekend either running in the NASCAR Busch Series race or helping out. The list includes Aric Almirola (# 75 FedEx Express Chevy), Dennis Setzer (# 85 Flex Fuel E85 Chevy), Ron Hornaday (# 22 Kevin Harvick, Inc. Chevy), Kevin Grubb (#15 Spondivits Bar & Grill) and team owner Darrell Waltrip.(NASCAR PR)(7-24-2006)
