Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Gaughan still in picture as No. 3 Penkse driver

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003 | 9:33 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.

NASCAR team owner Roger Penske finally addressed the rumors surrounding his fielding a third car for Las Vegas' Brendan Gaughan next season in the Nextel Cup Series.

Penske said last Thursday in an interview on the Speed Channel's "Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain" that rumors of Penske Racing hiring Gaughan were premature -- but he admitted it "could be a possibility."

Penske also confirmed that he and several other Nextel Cup team owners have been approached by Kodak about a sponsorship opportunity for the 2004 season. Kodak sponsored the No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports this season but apparently is looking to hook up with another team.

"There has been interest by our team to possibly look at a third car," Penske said. "Kodak has come back through and talked to four or five teams in Charlotte; they came to our shop and we made a proposal. So, at this particular time, we have interest ... to bring another young driver in might be a real opportunity for us for next year."

Gaughan has been rumored to be the driver Penske is looking at if a third team develops. Gaughan told the Sun last week that he did not have a deal with Penske to drive in the Nextel Cup Series next season.

"Brendan is one of the young Dodge drivers and obviously with our relationship with Dodge with Rusty (Wallace) and Ryan (Newman), he could be a possibility," Penske said. "You have to decide, do you go with a young driver or do you go with a proven star that has been in (Winston Cup).

"At this point, we don't have an official announcement to make. Rumors seem to be the thing of the day when you're in auto racing, but there is a lot of water that has to go across the dam before we can make any formal announcement, I can assure you that."

Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers, Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Sterling Marlin Dale Jarrett and Ward Burton are among the drivers expected to test on the 1.5-mile superspeedway. This year's test drew nearly 50 Winston Cup and Busch Series drivers to the four-day event.

The test will be open to the public, free of charge.

The season-opening Daytona 500 once again was the most-watched race with a 9.8 rating and 21 share -- and was viewed in approximately 10,473,000 households.