Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Gaughan thinks his truck has a shot this week

Tuesday, March 11, 2003 | 10:04 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.

Brendan Gaughan finished 20th last season in his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway but that result, Gaughan said, is misleading.

Gaughan was running in seventh place when his Orleans Racing Dodge developed a mechanical problem that left him three laps off the pace by the end of the race.

Armed with a year's experience in the truck series, Gaughan has high hopes for Friday's race at the "Track Too Tough to Tame."

"With all the knowledge we have gained over the past season, I think we have a really good chance at a podium finish," Gaughan said.

Gaughan, a Las Vegas native, will be driving the same truck this week that captured the outside pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last October and finished third at California Speedway three weeks later.

"We are running our number eight Dodge, the one we call 'Twister,' " Gaughan said. "It has just come back from the wind tunnel and ... we know it is a great piece.

"If you add in the speed and talent of our crew, plus our crew chief Shane Wilson's knowledge and that of our shock specialist Steve Hibbard, you certainly have all the right ingredients. The rest is going to be up to me."

Qualifying for Friday's Craftsman 200 will be Thursday afternoon and Friday's race will be televised live at 1 p.m. (PST) on the Speed Channel.

Darrell Waltrip, the three-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion turned television analyst, is scheduled to drive the truck in two races (Martinsville Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park). Michael Waltrip said he would "probably end up driving a race somewhere" this season.

Busch was involved in a multi-car wreck two weeks ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and fell victim to a blown engine last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Busch said the engine problems that sidelined him and Roush Racing teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Burton on Sunday came as no surprise.

"We've always had a problem under the hood," Busch said. "We try and try and try. We gain horsepower, we're just not competing under the hood like the other teams."

Busch, who held the Winston Cup points lead going into the Las Vegas race, has slipped to 14th in the past two races. On a more positive note, Busch still remains second to Michael Waltrip on the money list with $1, 317,570 -- thanks in large part to his runner-up finish and $1,022.450 payday in the Daytona 500.

Smith told the Charlotte Observer that he met with Bob Johnson, who is paying $300 million for the Charlotte NBA franchise, and was awaiting a formal proposal from Johnson before deciding whether to buy into the club.