Gaughan, Kyle Busch find success over weekend

Monday, May 14, 2001 | 10:48 a.m.

It proved to be a very successful weekend for a pair of homegrown racers as Brendan Gaughan and Kyle Busch picked up victories Saturday night.

Gaughan, who qualified second, led 201 of the 254 laps en route to his second consecutive win in the NASCAR Winston West Series Food 4 Less 250 at Irwindale Speedway.

Busch, the younger brother of NASCAR Winston Cup Series rookie Kurt Busch, led 24 of the final 25 laps for the win in his NASCAR Late Model debut at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"I couldn't be more pleased," Gaughan said. "We have been hoping for a Winston West win at this track since we started running here. We have always done well, but up until tonight an actual victory has eluded us."

Gaughan had finishes of second, third and fifth in three starts at Irwindale last season. Gaughan is the defending Winston West champion. The win moved Gaughan to within 48 points of series leader Mark Reed.

"They know we're coming," Gaughan said. "The entire Orleans Racing crew is the best and they are the ones that make winning possible. I'm just the driver."

Busch, who turned 16 on May 5, started ninth in the Late Model feature and had worked his way up to second in only six laps. Busch passed race leader Jason Allen on lap 16 and began pulling away from the field.

A caution period on lap 30 bunched up the field and Allen passed Busch for the lead on the restart, but Busch overtook Allen on the next lap and was never challenged.

"I thought I lost it when Jason got by me, but he raced me clean," said Busch, who was driving a Chevy Monte Carlo prepared by fellow Late Model racer Jerry Spilsbury. "I have to thank Jerry for giving me a great car tonight."

Allen finished second, followed by Steve Anderson, Chuck Trickle and Rich Attisani.

Busch's win will only fuel continued comparisons to his older brother; Kurt Busch also won his very first Late Model race at LVMS.