Brendan Gaughan in Victory Lane View High Sierra Gallery for this Race

Gaughan Wins Big In Vegas

Brendan Gaughan extended his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship lead for the fourth consecutive race as he won Saturday night's Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The victory was the fifth of the season for Gaughan, whose Orleans Hotel Dodge started from the Bud Pole and led three times for 106 of 146 laps. He edged defending race winner David Starr in the Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet by .900 second, although the fifth and final caution - for debris at lap 137 - erased a four-second advantage. Gaughan's win also clinched the series manufacturer championship for Dodge. The truck maker's only previous title came in 2001. Gaughan, who entered the season's 20th of 25 races with a 42-point lead over Travis Kvapil, extended the margin to 67 as Kvapil finished fourth. Dennis Setzer took third as both he and Kvapil took advantage of Jack Sprague's engine failure on the final lap which dropped the three-time series champion from second to fifth. Andy Houston, Terry Cook, Ted Musgrave, Matt Crafton and Bobby Hamilton completed the top-10, all completing the 146 lap distance. Five drivers exchanged the lead nine times. There were five caution periods - none for accident - consuming 20 laps. Gaughan, whose best previous Las Vegas finish - eighth - came a year ago, averaged a non-record 123.826 mph for the 219-mile distance.