Texas II: Brendan Gaughan race notes

Fort Worth, Texas...Nothing could daunt Brendan Gaughan and Orleans Racing from taking their fourth consecutive win at Texas Motor Speedway. Neither starting from the rear of the field, nor repairing a damaged nose during the race seem to faze this winning team for one second. They definitely came, saw and conquered!

"I love Texas," shouted Gaughan at the end of the 146 Lap/219.5 mile Silverado 350. "This is just incredible. I have the best team anywhere and the greatest crew chief. "Taking this victory is really due to incredible teamwork. This weekend was the finest example I have ever seen. "My guys rock."

And rock they did all weekend...."We came in and ran second fastest in first practice," says Gaughan. "Then in second practice, we had an engine problem and were forced to change motors which automatically meant starting in the rear. But we weren't too worried. We knew our No. 62 Orleans Dodge was strong and we knew our Kroyer Racing engine was up to the task at hand. We qualified in 7th, which is pretty typical for us at this track and finished up in 'Happy Hour' in the number two position."

When the Green Flag signaled the start, Gaughan immediately began to carve a path to the front. By Lap 3 when the first of six caution flags flew, he was already up to 23rd. By Lap 9, he was up a few more spots. Then on the restart, he bumped the truck in front, slightly damaging the nose. Not willing to leave anything to chance, the team had Gaughan came into the pits for repair, fuel and a slight adjustment.

Not skipping a pit, Gaughan was in and out, never losing a lap. Still under yellow, Orleans Crew chief Shane Wilson had Gaughan pull in again to make sure the repair was strong and to top off with fuel. Pulling back out, Gaughan was ready for the green and instantly began gaining positions. By Lap 64, he had made his way up to third. Making a pit stop for fuel, tires, an adjustment and an additional patch repair, Gaughan took over the lead for the first time on Lap 77. Making one more pit stop for a quick gas and go, Gaughan moved into the front for the second time on Lap 92. And although Rick Crawford managed to get in front for one lap that was all anyone wrote, the rest of the evening belonged to Gaughan and Orleans Racing. Running first from Lap 104 to the Checkered, Gaughan took the win by a margin of 1.905 seconds.

Widening his lead in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point's battle, Gaughan and Orleans Racing also set a new record of being the very first Craftsman truck team to earn four successive victories at one track.

"The points in this championship are extremely closed," says Gaughan who sits at the top by a margin of 30 points. "With just three races left, it is definitely coming down to the wire. Next is Martinsville and we ran well there earlier this season so we think we will be good. Who knows, maybe this time we will be able to get our very first short track win in a truck. That would be cool."

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