Gaughan Survived Martinsville with Ninth-Place Finish
Mooresville, NC (04-03-2011) Brendan Gaughan steered the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Tundra to a ninth-place finish after starting deep in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series field in Saturday afternoon’s Kroger 250. Gaughan qualified 31st, led seven laps and earned his third top-ten finish at the low-banked but high-action Martinsville Speedway.
“The only time I ever have a good finish is if I start behind 30th-place. All my top-10s at Martinsville have come from 30th or worse in
qualifying and it really drives me nuts because Germain Racing is giving me great Toyotas and this Tundra was very good,” said Gaughan, who correctly stated his results – both of his previous top-ten’s at Martinsville came from starting spots in the back of the field.
Gaughan loves to hate the Virginia track because the style of racing is frustrating for a driver who cut his teeth off-road – not on short, tight ovals. He admits that Martinsville got the better of him after qualifying on Saturday morning.
“I was mad in qualifying because I kept saying that the South Point Hotel & Casino Tundra was a good race truck and I just feel or I get all flustered here at Martinsville . I don’t feel like I’m good at it, but when the race comes, I’m fine,” explained the Las Vegas native.
After the completion of the 250 lap event, Gaughan and his crew wondered if he passed more vehicles than any one else out there on route to his ninth-place finish. According to NASCAR’s Loop Data, Gaughan ranked seventh. He passed 63 trucks under green flag conditions. The racer that passed the most actually overtook 80 race trucks under the green flag.
“Germain Racing gave me good stuff. I think we definitely got the deal for passing the most vehicles today because I know I went back to 25th at least three times,” exclaimed Gaughan, who had no complaints about the tires that many others were questioning. “I like the Goodyear tires. This reminded me of the old school tire where the tires wear out and that’s where I won my race is when you had tires that were old and worn out and sliding.”
All in all, Gaughan enjoyed his 250-lap Martinsville adventure. The ninth-place effort boosted him eight places to 13thin the Truck Series standings.
“Had a great time, had a great Martinsville race and came out of here with a top-10. This is what we needed to get ourselves back on track and I can’t believe I did it at Martinsville ,” smiled Gaughan.
The next race for the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Tundra is Nashville on April 22nd.
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About South Point…The South Point (http://www.SouthPointCasino.com) is a 2,200-room resort in Las Vegas , Nevada providing affordable luxury while catering to visitors and locals alike. This casino destination features a world-class spa, bowling center, eight restaurants, showroom, equestrian arena, convention center, exhibit hall, bingo and all of the casino games that made Las Vegas famous. The South Point opened in December 2005.