Brendan Gaughan will put a cap on his 23-year NASCAR driving career by running a four-race NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2020, beginning with the 62nd Daytona 500 Feb. 16 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
The 44-year-old racer from Las Vegas will compete for Beard Motorsports, driving the No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro. Gaughan’s City Lights Shine, a whiskey moonshine produced by his 17A Stillery – the first legal distillery in the history of Las Vegas – will serve as an associate sponsor.
After Daytona, Gaughan will return to the seat April 24-26 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Aug. 27-29 at Daytona and Oct. 2-4 at Talladega for what will be his final NASCAR Cup Series start. Gaughan has made 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts with Beard Motorsports, all coming at Daytona and Talladega.
“I love racing, and competing with Beard Motorsports these last few years have made for some of my most enjoyable moments in NASCAR,” said Gaughan, who currently has 62 NASCAR Cup Series starts dating back to his rookie season in 2004. “We do a lot with a little, so when we run up front and lead laps, it’s very satisfying because you know all the work that went into it.
“I wouldn’t want my last races as a NASCAR driver to be with any other team. Mark Beard Sr., and his entire family are passionate about racing, and NASCAR in particular. We’re all competitive and want to perform, but we’re going to have fun doing it. That’s how we all got started in the sport – because it was fun. And as I wrap up my career, I’m going to make sure it stays fun.”
Beard Motorsports has proven to be the little team that could, a modern-day David competing against the Goliaths of the NASCAR Cup Series. Owned by Mark Beard Sr., president of Beard Motorsports and various family businesses, Beard Motorsports has taken a strategic approach to its racing endeavors, forming a technical partnership with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and running only the superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega. With cars constructed by RCR and powered by ECR-built engines, Beard Motorsports has scored two top-10 finishes, the most recent being an eighth-place drive last April at Talladega where Gaughan led five laps.
“Brendan brings a lot of experience to our race team and that has allowed us to be competitive despite not having all the resources of the bigger teams that compete week in and week out,” Beard said. “We have a lot of respect for what those teams do, and it’s an honor to be able to park in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, unload our racecar and see where we stack up. We take a lot of pride in the effort we put forth, and the effort our partners put into Beard Motorsports.
“Richard Childress and the staff at RCR provide us with top-notch equipment. We’ve worked with them since 2017 and it’s easy to understand why they’ve been in the sport for 50 years. We’re proud to continue our technical partnership with RCR and we look forward to making Brendan’s last races as a NASCAR driver memorable.”
Beard Motorsports is part passion project and part corporate initiative, with the race team serving to market Beard Oil Distributing and TTS Logistics. Beard Oil Distributing is a third-generation, family-owned company that services the nation’s pipeline construction industry. TTS Logistics is an international freight company delivering an assortment of goods via ground, air and sea.
“Racing has proven to be a very valuable asset for Beard Oil Distributing and TTS Logistics,” said Beard, a former driver who made two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in the 1980s. “We’re able to entertain customers at four of the most entertaining races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and with each race being broadcast on network television, we’re able to maximize the exposure value for all of our partners. We’re very passionate about what we do, and racing has proven to be an excellent platform to show our customers the level of commitment we put into all of our work.”
Gaughan’s journey to make the field for the Daytona 500 begins Feb. 9 with Daytona 500 qualifying starting at 12:30 p.m. EST with live coverage on FOX. His lap will determine his starting spot in the Feb. 13 Duel – twin 150-mile heat races that set the rest of the field for the Daytona 500. That event begins at 7 p.m. with live coverage on FS1. Daytona Speedweeks then culminates with the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m. All of these races can also be heard live on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90).
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