Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Gaughan set for land speed record attempt

Friday, Jan. 30, 2004 | 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.

After spending two full seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Brendan Gaughan is used to driving a truck at high speeds.

But even Gaughan admits he will be slightly out of his element next week when he attempts to set a land speed record for a stock production pickup truck at the Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan.

Driving a 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 powered by a Dodge Viper engine, Gaughan will attempt to break the record of 147 mph set last August by a Ford SVT F-150 Lightning.

"The speed they told me that we have to do -- even I was nervous," Gaughan, a NASCAR Nextel Cup rookie, said Thursday. "It's a stock pickup truck, right off the factory line. The record is 149 or something like that and we're going to beat that ... and I've been told we'll beat it very easily.

"This truck is coming off the factory line, so I'm putting a lot of faith in what Dodge does but it's going to prove how good a truck they're building and we're going to prove the SRT-10 is the baddest pickup out there."

To qualify for the record and certification by Guinness World Records, the truck must be identical to what a customer can find at a local Dodge dealer. Gaughan's speed will be measured over a kilometer, and the record speed is derived from an average of his speeds in both directions on the 4.71-mile, high-speed oval.

"For six-tenths of a mile, I have to hold whatever speed it is we're trying to hit," Gaughan said. "Right now, another manufacturer holds the stock production truck record and we're going to make the Dodge Ram SRT-10, the new Dodge with the Viper motor, the fastest production pickup truck.

"I'm just praying for a nice sunny day -- a crisp sunny day -- up in Chelsea, Michigan, because you don't want to be doing it on snow tires."

But Gordon said he doesn't see Nextel Cup teams going the way of their Formula One counterparts and hiring drivers to take care of the bulk of testing.

"Maybe some day, but not anytime soon," Gordon said of test drivers in NASCAR. "I've tried that at Daytona and Talladega and it just doesn't really work out -- whether it be just the team chemistry or whatever.

"It also depends on what you're trying to learn. What we were trying to learn out here in Vegas, your driver has to be in the car but you can get away with it maybe at a couple other places."

Jimmie Johnson, Gordon's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, said the organization is doing a better job of sharing information from tests so that each of the team's drivers doesn't have to take part in every test.

"All of Hendrick Motorsports has been trying to work closer together and we've made huge strides in (sharing information)," Johnson said this week. "Terry (Labonte) and the (number) 5 team didn't feel the need to come out because we're going to bring home information.

"That's the goal: to bring one team, if it's possible, have them collect the information and be able to share it with all the other teams so we can break up our four- or five-car team and try to get more tests and more efficiency out of our testing program for everyone."

Rick Hendrick fields full-time Nextel Cup entries for Gordon, Johnson, Labonte and rookie Brian Vickers. Kyle Busch will attempt to qualify a fifth Hendrick car in six Nextel Cup points races this season.

"The OWRS victory in court is just unbelievable. I am thrilled," said Carpentier, who drives for Forsythe Racing with fellow Las Vegan Paul Tracy. "I was training in the morning (Wednesday) and wondered if I was training for nothing or if we would have a series to run in by the end of the day.

"When I heard the news, I was almost in tears; it was such a huge relief."

The new ownership group, headed by CART team owners Paul Gentilozzi, Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, last year stated its intention to run a race in Las Vegas this season but has since said it would not be held on the previously announced May 16 date.

OWRS plans to open the 2004 season with the April 18 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

NHRA TESTING: Several NHRA teams are testing today through Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in preparation for the 2004 NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series season opener next month at Pomona (Calif.) Raceway.

Among the drivers scheduled to test this weekend include Tony Pedregon, Gary Scelzi, Whit Bazemore, John Force, Eric Medlen, Ron Capps, Tommy Johnson Jr., Jerry Toliver, Gary Densham, Del Worsham, David Baca, Jim Head, K.C. Spurlock, Arley Langlo, Ashley Force and Las Vegan Duane Shields.

Testing runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $20 per day for adults and $6 per day for children between the ages of 6 and 12.

"This whole experience is beyond anything I can imagine," Anderson said. "They fly with so many G-Forces that compared to them, the drag racing world is slow.

"I might have to jump into a Top Fuel car after this. I may never want to go back to the door-slammers; they might feel like taxi cabs after a ride on a F-16."

Schmidt visited the garage area during the NASCAR test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to round up Nextel Cup and Busch Series drivers to participate in the tournament.

The event, scheduled for a shotgun start at 11:30 a.m., includes lunch, golf tournament, cocktail reception and awards dinner. Entry is $300 per player or $1,000 per foursome. Dinner-only tickets are available for $50 per person.

Call 249-3832 for additional information.