Gaughan looks to wrap up Winston West championship

Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 | 11:28 a.m.

If recent history is any indication, Brendan Gaughan will be celebrating his second consecutive NASCAR Winston West championship on Saturday.

Gaughan takes a narrow 40-point lead over Mark Reed into the season finale at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway but the 26-year-old Las Vegas native has a huge advantage over Reed in terms of results on the Southern California half-mile oval.

In two starts this season at Irwindale, Gaughan has two wins. In his past five races there, he has finished no worse than fifth.

"Irwindale has always been one of my favorite tracks," Gaughan said. "It's extremely fast, fun to drive and is a good three-groove track which makes for some dynamite passing.

"We've won at Irwindale twice this year and I'm confident we can do it again. We are using the same NAPA Chevy that we ran here before -- 'Bad Andy' -- and he is definitely one mean machine. Now all we need is a little smile from Lady Luck and we will be set."

Although he predicted before the season started that his Las Vegas-based Orleans Racing team would repeat as Winston West champions, the season did not get off to a good start for Gaughan. He blew a tire and crashed in the season opener at Phoenix International Raceway and finished 25th. In the second race of the season, at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Gaughan got caught up in a wreck and limped home to an eighth-place finish.

A 12th-place showing in Tucson followed before Gaughan began to hit his stride. He got back in the points chase in March with a third-place finish at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif., and followed that with wins at California Speedway in April and Irwindale in May. His third win of the season came in June at Evergreen Speedway in Washington and he picked up his fourth victory at Irwindale in July.

The points race tightened in July when Gaughan was caught up in a wreck at Rocky Mountain Raceways in Colorado and finished in 16th place. He padded his lead over Reed when he won in his last outing, in October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Gaughan, who will be moving up to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next season, needs only to finish in seventh place or better to win the championship -- regardless of what Reed does. With five wins in 13 races this season, Gaughan said he doesn't plan to run a conservative race but will exercise caution if needed.

"The best scenario would be to qualify up front, go for the lead right away and stay there for the entire race," he said.