Brendan Gaughan

Brendan Gaughan hasn’t slowed down since scoring a win in the very first race that he ever entered at the age of 15. Whether going off-road in the desert or turning left on the asphalt, Gaughan craves the competition, lives for speed and wants nothing less than a victory when he is behind the wheel of a race vehicle.

Being fastest. Celebrating the win. That’s what Gaughan desires.

In 2007, Gaughan has his eyes set on the top prize – a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) championship for his newly-named South Point Racing team.

“There have been a lot of changes in the racing team,” said Gaughan, who will pilot the No. 77 South Point Racing Chevrolet. “When we started looking around last year to see what our options were, an old friend came around. We had a couple of off-road championships and two Winston West championships with them in the past, and now in our South Point Racing shop, there is a big red Chevrolet Bowtie hanging on the wall. When I mean big, it is big and we are proud of it.”

This year, Gaughan returns to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for his fifth full season of competition. In addition to having three poles and eight wins to his credit in the trucks, Gaughan counts more than 15 years of racing experience on his resume.

A second-generation racer, Gaughan first established his racing prowess in the Nevada desert.

Son of Michael Gaughan, a successful hotel and casino businessman in Las Vegas, the younger Gaughan spent much of his childhood in and around the casino. When not at his father’s business, Gaughan was watching his dad race trucks in the desert. In fact, Michael Gaughan secured two off-road championships in 1978 and 1979 and continued to race until his retirement in 1991 when Brendan Gaughan climbed behind the wheel of a race car for the first time.

In 1991, the 15-year-old Gaughan entered the local Twilight 200 Off-Road event in Las Vegas. That first race became Gaughan’s first win.

With a win under his belt, Gaughan opted for more off-road racing in the Southern Nevada Off- Road Enthusiasts (SNORE) tour. Gaughan and teammate J.C. Dean quickly turned heads as the duo racked up more wins and scored three consecutive Class 10 championships from 1991 to 1994.

From SNORE, Gaughan moved to the Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (SODA). Again, Gaughan experienced success as he captured two more championships – the Class 13 championship in 1995.

Next up for Gaughan was Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) where he won three consecutive Pro-2 World Championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

While winning championships and establishing himself in the racing world, Gaughan was also focusing his attention on another important facet of his life – his education. From 1993-1997, Gaughan attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he received a business degree.

But Gaughan did more than attend classes while at Georgetown – he participated in two collegiate sports. Gaughan earned All-Conference honors in NCAA Division IAA football.

He also earned a spot on the Hoyas basketball team, playing for legendary coach and mentor John Thompson. The team Gaughan played on recorded two Big East regular season championships and competed in two Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight in post-season NCAA tournament play.

Today, Gaughan continues to support his school with regular visits and monetary donations. In fact, just last season Gaughan ran a special Georgetown University paint scheme on his No. 77 truck. The truck was unveiled at a Georgetown football game in which Coach Thompson attended. Gaughan raced the truck at New Hampshire International Speedway, donating all his winnings from that race back to the University where he learned many life lessons.

Following graduation from Georgetown in 1997, Gaughan returned to the desert and his life of speed. Having celebrated championships in various off-road series, Gaughan turned his attention to stock car racing and the NASCAR Grand National, West Division.

With guidance from famed racer Walker Evans, Gaughan embarked on a part-time pavement schedule in 1998 in the West Division scoring one pole and two top-five finishes. The following season, Gaughan improved on his record. In 14 starts, Gaughan netted three top fives and six top 10s.

In 2000, the Gaughan family partnered with Bill McAnally and formed their own race team – Orleans Racing (now South Point Racing) – to help further Gaughan’s stock car dreams. The organization experienced immediate success as Gaughan piloted a NAPA-sponsored Chevrolet to back-to-back championships in the West Series in 2000 and 2001.

While winning races and championships in the West Series, Gaughan was also trying his hand in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – making five starts in 2000 and seven starts in 2001. As a part time effort, Gaughan shocked the field at Texas Motor Speedway when he nearly stole a victory in June 2001. The effort fell just short as Gaughan finished in the runner-up spot, but that race heightened Gaughan’s desire to compete and win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Gaughan’s first full year in the truck series came in 2002. Although a rookie, Gaughan made his mark on the Series scoring two wins at Texas Motor Speedway in a NAPA-sponsored truck en route to an 11th-place finish in the championship points standings and the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title.

In his second full season, Gaughan proved nay-sayers wrong – a team based on the West coast could compete and win in NASCAR. From the drop of the green flag at Daytona, Gaughan showed competitors that his team would be a force to be reckoned with.

With three poles, six wins (two more at Texas), 14 top-fives and 18 top-10 finishes, Gaughan was a championship contender all season. He carried a points lead into the final race of the season, but a mid-race accident relegated Gaughan to a fourth-place finish in the final championship points standings.

Despite the disappointment over not winning the title, Gaughan’s talent and tenacity on the race track didn’t go unnoticed. In 2004, Gaughan moved up racing’s ladder to compete in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series for Penske Racing’s three-car effort.

Gaughan racked up four top-10s, including a Cup career best fourth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. He was the highest finishing rookie in seven races, and finished second in the overall Rookie of the Year standings.

After a season in the Cup ranks, Gaughan returned to his family-owned race team in Las Vegas with plans of securing the championship that escaped him two years prior. The team fielded two trucks in 2005. Gaughan weathered a difficult year, but he still managed two top-fives and seven top-10 finishes. He finished 19th in the season-ending standings.

In 2006, Orleans Racing again returned to a one truck operation. The effort produced four top-fives and five top-10 finishes. Despite a 15th-place points finish, a season-ending second-place run at Homestead-Miami Speedway has given Gaughan and his team motivation leading into the 2007 season.

With a new name (South Point Racing); a new manufacturer (Chevrolet); and a new look (navy blue and gold paint scheme); Gaughan and his race team are ready for some new results – a return to victory lane and a championship run in 2007.

“The team is totally different. I still have familiar faces that I love having around there,” Gaughan said. “The main thing is I think this team has more intelligence than it has ever had. We are smarter and have smarter people than we have ever had.

“I have a great crew of over the wall guys now, better than the team that won the pit stop challenge in 2003. My guys right now back at the shop are probably the best over the wall crew. I have as great a group of fabricators as I have ever had. I have my own paint and body shop now which we didn't have before. We are more of a complete team. All the work we have done to make this a bigger and better race team is going to payoff this year."