Before the Kansas Lottery 300, Speedway Digest caught up with Brendan Gaughan. Along with how he began his racing career, the driver of the No. 62 South Point Chevrolet in the NASCAR XFINITY Series shared his thoughts on the 2016 season, rodeo and the beginnings of the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa.
SD: Your family has been in the hotel/casino business in Las Vegas since 1979. How did the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa come about?
BG: “It was the next project for Coast Casinos (founded by father Michael Gaughan), a subsidiary of Boyd Gaming Corporation. The plans for the hotel began in 2001 and it opened in 2004. ‘Coast’ owned the land at the time and it was the next smart location. Originally called ‘South Coast’, it was a Boyd Gaming property.”
“When Boyd Gaming left, we (the Gaughan’s) kept it. The name was changed to ‘South Point’ in 2007 and it continues to do well. We’ve added more land and moved a couple things around but it’s not going to get much bigger.”
SD: With the NFR (Wrangler National Finals Rodeo) around the corner (December 1-10), what is your favorite rodeo event?
BG: “I’m a big fan of bulldogging (Steer Wrestling). I love the talent and sheer tenacity it takes to be a bulldogger. I’ve never had the size for it so doing it would have never worked for me. My family also owns bucking horses and bulls so I enjoy watching the rough stock events.”
SD: How did you get started in auto racing?
BG: “My dad grew up in the 1960’s racing in the desert in events like the Mint 400 and Baja 1000. It was a family thing. My brothers did it, I did it. When we were little boys, we watched dad race and sometimes one lap was 100 miles long. Every two-and-a-half hours, mom would say ‘here comes dad, there goes dad’. My brothers don’t dabble in it as much as they used to but my dad and I still do. When I got out of college, Walker Evans, another off-road racer, was racing in the NASCAR Craftsman (now Camping World) Truck Series and said ‘let’s go drive this truck’”.
SD: How would you describe your 2016 season in the XFINITY Series?
BG: “This year has definitely been more consistent. That’s why we’re still sitting in the Chase. We probably didn’t have as much speed as we’ve had in the past, have had years when we were faster and had faster race cars. We’ve done more with these than we did with the faster ones. I’m proud of the consistency we’ve had. Coming down to crunch time, we’ve got to find some of that speed again.”
SD: The Chase format is new to the XFINITY and NCWTS. How do you like it?
BG: “I love the Chase format. I’m glad they (NASCAR) did it. I wish they wouldn’t have waited so long. It definitely made me want to keep racing. It has fans more interested and teams pumped up again. The amount of pressure and the amount of intensity that is now on this front half of the garage, you can feel it. It’s much more ramped up. Teams are doing things that they don’t always do with the intensity and pressure. You can see who handles it well and who doesn’t very quickly.”
SD: How would you describe your ‘Round of 12’ and how do you feel now that you moved on to the ‘Round of Eight’?
BG: “The ‘Round of 12’ was not perfect. We were not very good some times and good other times. I made mistakes, they (the team) carried for me, they made mistakes, I carried for them. You don’t yell, you don’t scream, you believe in and back each other and you fix the problems. Coming out of the first round with a solid finish propelled us to make the ‘Round of Eight’. We don’t have to win the race, we just need to make sure to do the right stuff.”
SD: What were your goals at the beginning of the 2016 season?
BG: “Our goal at the beginning was to make the round at Miami. That’s what we’ve wanted to do from the beginning. We wanted to win more races and haven’t been able to accomplish that but our consistency has been better so I feel really good about that. I just wish we could get that speed needle back up.”
SD: What goals do you have for 2017?
BG: “I just worry about race to race. In every race, a different strategy portrays. Even in the middle of the race, the strategy changes. You can’t worry about stuff until you get to it. I don’t put too much emphasis on looking way out into the future at this point. We’re in the middle of a championship run.”
Gaughan finished 31st in the Kansas Lottery 300 and is currently ranked seventh in the Chase standings with 3010 points.
I didn’t decide I wanted to pursue a career in NASCAR until the summer of 2012. I’m not a wrench head or strong enough for a pit crew so media was the next best thing. At the beginning of 2013, I started going to races and making connections within the sport. I also studied Motorsports Management at Sports Management Worldwide. Although I love what happens on the track, I’ve always been interested in what goes on behind the scenes and I’ve gotten to know many people throughout the radio, TV and digital media world.
While I’m a long time writer, 2015 was my first year actually covering the sport with www.nascarfemale.com . I also became a media correspondent for Raceline. I’ve been able to help the TV show gain recognition on social media. My current goal is to acquire more experience in covering NASCAR and move up the media ladder. Outside of motorsports, I have been an equine-sports statistician for 16 years.
I currently reside in Gillette, WY where I’m still involved with horses. I enjoy riding them, rodeo, swimming, traveling and meeting people.
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