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Brendan Gaughan to run full Nationwide schedule for Rusty Wallace Racing
By Rea White - Associate Editor
Monday, January 05, 2009
Brendan Gaughan will drive full time for Rusty Wallace Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2009.
John Harrelson
Getty Images for NASCAR
Rusty Wallace Racing officials announced Monday that Brendan Gaughan will drive the team's No. 62 Chevrolet full time in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Gaughan will compete for Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Gaughan takes over the ride, formerly the No. 64, that was shared by David Stremme and Max Papis and finished in the top 10 in the 2008 series owner standings.
The No. 62 was chosen in honor of Gaughan’s family racing background, which includes eight Truck series wins while driving his family-owned No. 62 Orleans Racing entries.
"It's going to be very exciting for me to drive the No. 62 again," Gaughan said. "That number has a lot of meaning to my family that not many people know about. My big brother John's football number was 62, and my two big brothers have always been my heroes in life.
“My father has always been into numbers as well. When we first came up with the number back in 2001, he loved to remind me that his lucky number has always been eight and that ‘six plus two equals eight.’ He would always remind me as if I couldn't figure that out. I also feel that the number is a tribute to Rusty. With all of his years running the No. 2 Miller Lite car, our replacing the four with a two – in the same style as his old number – makes this an even bigger honor for me.”
Further, the team announced that Las Vegas-based South Point Hotel and Spa will serve as primary sponsor of Gaughan’s No. 62 team for a number of races in 2009. RWR plans to announce the complete sponsor lineup for the No. 62 in the coming weeks.
“I’ve known Brendan and his family for quite some time now, and they’re all absolutely first-class people," team owner Rusty Wallace said. "Brendan has shown that he has the talent to get the job done. I could see that back in 2004 when we were teammates at Penske. He’s a more mature and focused driver now than he’s ever been, and we’re really looking forward to having him as a part of our team in 2009.
“I also just can’t say enough about Michael Gaughan and everyone at South Point Hotel and Spa. Mr. Gaughan is a first-class individual, and he has a phenomenal group of people around him. Everyone at RWR is thrilled about this new partnership, and we can’t wait to get to Daytona. I feel like our team’s potential grew by leaps and bounds last year. We really think that 2009 is going to be a great year for both of our teams.”
While the driver-owner combination is new, Gaughan’s move to RWR is not his first experience with Rusty Wallace. Gaughan was teammate to Wallace and the No. 2 team at Penske Racing in 2004, when Gaughan piloted Penske’s No. 77 in the Cup Series.
In making his move to RWR and its No. 62 Chevrolet, Gaughan leaves his 2008 Truck Series seat with Circle Bar Racing and its No. 10 team.
In addition to its driver and sponsor announcements, RWR also announced several other key personnel moves:
- Brian Berry, Gaughan’s long-time Truck series crew chief, will accompany Gaughan in his move and head the No. 62 team in 2009.
- Former No. 64 crew chief, Dale Ferguson, will move to the team’s No. 66 entry and driver Steve Wallace for 2009. Ferguson led RWR’s No. 64 team and driver Stremme to 16 top-10 finishes in 2008, en route to a top-10 finish in the final owners’ standings.
- Former No. 66 car chief, Shane Huffman, has returned to the team after a brief hiatus and will serve as car chief for Gaughan and the No. 62 team in 2009.
A team spokesman said Harold Holly, formerly crew chief for Steve Wallace, has parted ways with the team.
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9 responses to "Brendan Gaughan to run full Nationwide schedule for Rusty Wallace Racing ". Post a Comment.
Andrew Briscoe said:
Jan 5, 2009 at 4:22 PMIt's nice to see that RWI isn't cutting back their program (at least it appears that way) when just about every other Nationwide team is doing that. It'll be interesting to see what happens to Circle Bar Racing's empty seat, though.
Scott Ludwig said:
Jan 5, 2009 at 7:34 PMWhat happened to Stremme??
ed gordon said:
Jan 5, 2009 at 7:48 PMStremme will be in the #12 Cup ride for Penske.Brendan is bringing at least partial sponsorship in the form of his family's SouthPoint casino.
MS said:
Jan 5, 2009 at 11:48 PMHOT DANG! I now have a reason to watch the Nationwide series again! Go, Brendan, Go!
Philip Mathew said:
Jan 6, 2009 at 2:59 PMAs a fan of Brendan, watching him lose the Truck Championship in 2003 was awful. For the first time since then, he actually has a chance to run up front on a week-to-week basis. His personality and heart will help RWI a bunch.
dave ginger said:
Jan 6, 2009 at 3:48 PMI'm happy for Brendan, glad he's getting another ride. Maybe he can tutor Steve Wallace? Playin the point at Georgetown should qualify him.
Werner Boehmert said:
Jan 6, 2009 at 5:12 PMnice to see that Rusty got along with Brendan back int the PENSKE days...better than he got along with Ryan...don't think we'll see Ryan in a RWR car...
Bernadette Motherway said:
Jan 6, 2009 at 9:02 PMYea, you remember back a few years he tried running in the Cup Series? Always causing wrecks. He needs a few more years in a truck! Not a real fan of Brendan's as you can see.
Janice Marler said:
Jan 7, 2009 at 12:29 AMGO BRENDAN GO!