LV’s Gaughan rebounding quickly from shoulder injury

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001 | 10:26 a.m.

Brendan Gaughan wasn't about to let a little thing like a broken shoulder blade keep him from attempting to qualify for Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Gaughan, the 2000 NASCAR Winston West champion, broke his shoulder in a crash during the Winston West season opener earlier this month at Phoenix International Raceway.

Although his doctor told him it would take six weeks for the injury to heal, Gaughan has been working diligently with a physical therapist and a trainer. Gaughan said Monday he would be ready to race in Wednesday night's Winston West race at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and would attempt to qualify for his first Winston Cup points race on Friday.

"I'm feeling good, I'm all patched back together and everything feels healthy so I got lucky that we had the layoff," Gaughan said of the three-week break in his racing schedule.

"My trainer and my physical therapist have been putting Humpty Dumpty back together again and Humpty Dumpty is as strong as he was before he crashed," Gaughan said. "The doctor wanted six weeks (for me to recover) but we're 21 days into it right now and I'm ready to go."

Gaughan, 25, has every reason to be eager to attempt to qualify for Sunday's Winston Cup race. During a two-day open test at LVMS last month, Gaughan was among the top 10 fastest drivers and was the third-fastest Chevy driver.

Gaughan's Las Vegas-based Orleans Racing team leased a Chevy Monte Carlo and three engines from Richard Childress Racing in preparation for Friday's Orleans Pole Day at LVMS.

"I'm kind of excited; I'm ready to go," Gaughan said. "We've got great cars ready and waiting. Looking at how the RCR cars and how (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) cars have been doing lately, we know what kind of car we'll have.

"We think we've got a good chance of not just making the show but we expect to do better than I think most people expect. We showed a couple of weeks ago when we were out with the Winston Cup guys testing that we could communicate at the Cup level and get it going."

Before Gaughan attempts to qualify for Sunday's Winston Cup race, he will compete in Wednesday's NAPA Auto Parts 300 Winston West race at the 3/8-mile Bullring.

As if defending his Winston West championship weren't enough incentive, Winston Cup regulars Michael Waltrip -- the Daytona 500 winner -- and Ron Hornaday are scheduled to compete in the Winston West race.

Gaughan qualified sixth for the Winston West season-opener in Phoenix and was challenging eventual race winner Ken Schrader for the lead late in the race when Gaughan's right-front tire blew out going into Turn 3 and he hit the wall.

"We're ready to get back on a good streak here after what happened in Phoenix," Gaughan said, referring to his 25th-place finish in the Winston West season opener. "I'm ready to go see if I can't beat Michael Waltrip and Ron Hornaday in the West race.

"I'm thinking we're going to go out there and give the fans a great show and see if I can't beat Michael and Ron and the rest of the Winston West guys and show them that Vegas is our hometown."