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Brendan Gaughan

Brendan Gaughan is a truck racer born on July 10, 1975 in Los Angeles, California. Gaughan is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate. He drives the 77 Jasper Engines & Transmissions / American Racing Dodge in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Brendan won his first race in a 1991 SNORE (Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts) off-road race. He was the Class 10 SNORE champion in 1991, 1992, and 1993. In 1995 he moved to SODA (Short-course Off-road Drivers Association) series. He was the 1995 Class 13 champion (relatively small trucks), and the 1996 Class 8 champion. He moved with most SODA drivers to CORR, and won the 1997 and 1998 Pro-2 series championships.

He then decided to move to stock car racing. He was the 2000 and 2001 champion on the NASCAR Winston West series. He raced in a few Craftsman Truck Series (CTS) events. In 2002, he got back together with former fellow off-road racer "the Legend" Walker Evans in a Walker Evans Racing CTS truck. He raced full-time, winning twice, on his way to the Rookie of the Year title. 2003 was Gaughan's breakout year. Driving the #62 Orleans Dodge for his father Michael, he picked up where he left off in '02, scoring six wins, the two most notable of which were at Texas Motor Speedway which gave him four straight wins at the track.

In 2004, Gaughan moved up to the NEXTEL Cup. He drove the #77 Kodak Dodge for Penske Racing. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year standings, and 28th in the final points standings. He finished the season with 4 Top 10's including a career best fourth place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. However, it wasn't enough for him to keep his job, and he was replaced by Kvapil, who beat him for the 2003 CTS championship.

In 2005, he moved back to the CTS, behind the wheel of the Jasper Orleans Racing #77 Dodge Ram. He finished 19th in the final points standings, with two Top 5 and 7 Top 10 finishes. In 2006, he is still in the CTS but he is back in the blue Orleans colors. Starting with the September 23 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the team will sport a new livery of the South Point Casino in which his father, Michael, is the owner.

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