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02-17-2003
Gaughan, Orleans Racing Dodge Team Post Top-10 Finish At Daytona
TruckSeries.ocm Report
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Scoring a 10th place finish at the Florida Dodge Dealers 250,
Round 1 of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona
International Speedway Brendan Gaughan and Orleans Racing gave
the competition a look at things to come.
"While we didn't finish as high as we would have liked," said
Gaughan, who led the 100 lap race twice for 15 laps, "we
definitely showed them how competitive we are going to be this
coming season. There is no doubt that our No. 62 Orleans Dodge
is one of the very best trucks out there and it won't take much
to get us up to the top."
Qualifying in the 11th place spot, Gaughan powered off the
start and began to charge forward. Moving into the 5th place
position, Gaughan bided his time running solidly on the bottom.
"On our first pit stop, I overshot the box a little and the
guys had to push me back," explained Gaughan. "We lost a couple
of positions, but I was able to make them up in short order.
Our
Orleans Dodge was rock solid."
Continuing to move to the front, Gaughan had worked himself up
into the second place slot prior to the halfway mark. Running
nose to tail, Gaughan continued to shut the door on all those
who tried to pass. "Most of the race was pretty much like a
freight train," smiled Gaughan. "My spotters Billy Holbrook and
Larry McReynolds kept telling me to stay on the bottom and be
patient and boy were they right. We got the lead for a lap or
two when the
leaders pitted. Then we made our second and final pit stop for
fuel and two tires and went right back out. Then on lap 79, I
got the lead again. It was really looking good for us to win.
However, unfortunately, it didn't end up being our day."
Continuing to lead with 10 laps to go, Gaughan made a mistake
on the next to the last restart. "The track went green and I
jumped out in front," said the popular Las Vegas resident. "In
short, I got too good of a lead. I wasn't experienced enough to
know to drag the brakes and as I found out, at Daytona, you
just can't get that big of a lead. Second and third teamed up
on me and whoosh, they got by. It is one of those things I've
learned now."
With yet another yellow flying and the race going over the 100
laps, Gaughan ran out of gas. "Luckily for me, we were under
yellow and a push truck pushed me so I could get a splash. We
took off like a bat and were able to finish 10th under a
green/white/checker. The guys gave me a great piece for this
race and we definitely proved we are one of the best Dodges out
there. We were the third highest finishing Dodge and only 17
out of 36 trucks finished the race. All in all it was a good
day and if this race is any indication, we are going to have a
good year."
www.orleansracing.com
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