Richard Childress Racing

Recent News

March 20, 2012

Brendan Gaughan Event Preview: Auto Club 400

"I've had the ability to see how much engineering is available to the RCR crew chiefs.."

RCR/HHP Photo RCR/HHP Photo

Event Preview Fact Sheet

Brendan Gaughan
No. 33 South Point Hotel & Casino

Event/Date:
Auto Club 400
March 25, 2012

Venue: Auto Club Speedway

Race Notes and Quotes:

This Week's South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet at Auto Club Speedway ... Brendan Gaughan will pilot Chassis No. 392 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Chevrolet Impala was built brand new for the 2012 season and will see its first competitive laps this weekend in the 200-lap event.

Statistically Speaking ... Gaughan has two previous Sprint Cup Series starts Auto Club Speedway, both in 2004. He earned one top-10 finish (sixth) and his career-best starting position (fifth) in May 2004.The 36-year-old racer owns an average starting position of 13.5 coupled with a 24th-place average finishing position. Aside from Gaughan's two Sprint Cup Series starts at the Fontana, Calif., facility, the Las Vegas native has five starts in the Nationwide Series and seven Camping World Truck Series starts at the two-mile race track, where he holds two top-five finishes and a pole award.

Race Rewind: Bristol Motor Speedway ... Gaughan started his third Sprint Cup Series race of the season from the 32nd position at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday. The Las Vegas native ran in the top 15 for a majority of the first 150 laps around the half-mile bullring but slipped through the field when he reported an issue with the throttle spring. He continued to hold onto the No. 33 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet throughout the remainder of the race earning a 22nd-place finishing position.

Twice the Action ... Aside from his Sprint Cup Series responsibilities this weekend at Auto Club Speedway, Gaughan will also pilot the No. 33 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Nationwide Series Chevrolet for RCR. This is the Las Vegas native's second appearance in the No. 33 racer for the Welcome, N.C.-based organization. Flag-to-flag coverage of the Royal Purple 300 will be aired on ESPN beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Four of Four ... This weekend's 400-mile event will mark Gaughan's fourth and final scheduled Sprint Cup Series race with RCR. At the beginning of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, RCR announced the No. 33 Chevrolet would run the first five events on the schedule. Elliott Sadler kicked off the season driving the No. 33 entry in the Daytona 500 and Gaughan has been behind the wheel for the last four races.

March Madness Update ... With only one of Gaughan's Final Four picks left in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the former Georgetown University basketball player cheers on Michigan State University as they head into the Sweet 16. Gaughan originally picked Florida State University, Duke University and Georgetown University as the Final Four teams, but they have since been defeated in the first two rounds of the tournament.

Did You Know ... Gaughan is slated to run three trophy truck races for Collins Motorsports this year including the SCORE Baja 500 (May 31-Jun. 3) and Baja 1000 (Nov. 14-17). The Las Vegas native ran the Laughlin Dessert Challenge in January and his team finished in the fourth and sixth-places, respectively. Gaughan grew up racing trophy trucks for Walker Evans Racing touring mainly in southern California.

BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTES:

This will be your second double header weekend. Is it more difficult to race both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series in the same weekend?
"No, it actually worked into my favor at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) earlier this month. With all the distractions that were there, it helped me stay focused and only have to concentrate on the race cars. It helped me block everything else out."

This is your last of four scheduled Sprint Cup races this season with RCR. What are your thought heading into this weekend at Auto Club Speedway?
"I just want to keep improving, this car is totally different than any other NASCAR race car I have raced, so I want to keep improving and end on a high note. I want to score my best finish and improve my driver rating from Bristol Motor Speedway."

Have you learned anything racing in the Cup Series that can be translated for the rest of the Nationwide Series season?
"Just to stay focused and give the crew chief accurate and quick feedback so he can make his changes and decisions as quick as possible. I've had the ability to see how much engineering is available to the RCR crew chiefs, it has made me realize that I have to give them good feedback and give it to them in a timely manner."

 

Back to top