Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Gaughan has ‘hell of a drafting truck’ for Friday

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2002 | 9:57 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Brendan Gaughan knew he had a great truck for Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, but he wasn't sure how it would do in qualifying.

As it turned out, he had a pretty decent qualifying truck, as well.

Gaughan, a 26-year-old Las Vegas native, qualified 18th for Friday's Florida Dodge Dealers 250 with a speed of 183.165 mph in his NAPA Dodge. Ted Musgrave captured the pole with a lap of 187.215 mph, also in a Dodge.

"We knew it wasn't the super-fast qualifier, but I do believe this Dodge chassis is one hell of a drafting truck," Gaughan said.

Gaughan admitted he was worried whether he would qualify for the race after a disappointing test session at Daytona in January. Since that test, however, his Orleans Racing crew managed to pick up a full second in qualifying trim.

"We found a ton of speed since we tested and all the credit goes to the (crew), who fixed the truck and made it faster," Gaughan said. "When it comes to race trim, we think we've got a really, really good setup.

"As far as the race, our main goal is to miss the big wreck, finish the race and see if we're not contending for the win at the end of the day."

Ron Hornaday Jr. will start Friday's race on the outside pole after posting a qualifying lap of 185.778 mph.

Gaughan played basketball for Georgetown from 1993 to 1997 with Reid and Harrington and also was a member of the Hoyas' football team. He graduated with a business management degree in 1997.

The incident started when Brett Bodine brushed the wall and spun in front of Bobby Hamilton. Jimmy Spencer, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, Ricky Rudd and Todd Bodine also got collected in the melee.

Hamilton's car got the worst of it and the driver said he would have to go to a backup car for Thursday's 125-mile qualifying race. Burton's car also suffered moderate damage, but his crew was working to repair it by Thursday.

"I think Brett got tight or loose or something and bumped the fence," Hamilton said. "All we could do was turn left to try and get up under it. We did that and I rubbed him a little bit and it broke my momentum and then (Burton) or somebody hit me."

None of the drivers were injured in the incident.

The race will be shown on all 34 of the restaurant's television screens starting at 9:30 a.m. Commercial breaks will be punctuated with prize giveaways and a free driver parlay sheet will be distributed.

The 400-seat NASCAR Cafe will open at 8 a.m. and will be offering a breakfast buffet from 8-10 a.m. for $9.95. Fans can reserve seats by purchasing breakfast buffet tickets in advance in the NASCAR Cafe RaceWear Shop or by phone at 734-7223.