Brendan Gaughan Races his way to Second Victory of the Season at Kentucky Speedway
Gaughan and the No. 62 Richard Childress Racing team brought home their second Sunoco checkered flag of the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway. After qualifying third for the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300, Gaughan showed the horsepower of his RCR-prepared Chevrolet and jumped to the lead on lap 10. When a caution fell on lap 23, the Las Vegas-native reported the handling of his Camaro was loose in the center of the turns. The Shane Wilson-led team elected to take four Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel only, pushing them back to 12th on the restart. Gaughan fought to make up track position and by lap 100, had returned to the top five. During the final pit stop for the Protect the Harvest Chevrolet on lap 115, Shane Wilson made the call for four fresh Goodyear tires. This pit road decision ultimately gave the No. 62 team the upper hand in the final laps of the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300. On the final restart, with only seven laps remaining, the 39-year-old RCR driver slipped by teammate Sunoco Rookie Contenders Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott. That maneuver put Gaughan in the lead, where he remained for the final laps giving him his second-career Nationwide Series win. Gaughan is eighth in the driver point standings as the series heads to Dover International Speedway.
Start – 3rd Finish – 1st Laps Led – 22 Points – 8th
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
“I cannot say enough about the equipment that RCR and ECR provide me and I can’t explain how it feels to win for the second time this season, doing so tonight with our Protect the Harvest Chevrolet. We had an unbelievably fast race car all weekend and my crew chief Shane Wilson made the right call for four tires on that last stop that really gave me the advantage, especially on the restarts. So proud of all of my guys, we did it.”