Brendan Gaughan

William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver who has competed in off-road and stock cars. He is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan, and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate.

Gaughan began his career racing in off-road and he rose through the ranks from pickup trucks to the professional two-wheel-drive Trophy Truck class. In the late 1990s, he switched to pavement racing in a stock car. This led to a career in NASCAR racing. He began in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, which was followed by the Busch and Cup Series during the 2000s. Gaughan competed full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2009–2010 and 2014–2017, followed by a part-time Cup schedule from 2017 to his final season in 2020, before returning to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2026. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet Silverado RST for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.

Personal life and education Born in Los Angeles, California but a long-term resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, Gaughan attended Georgetown University and played collegiate basketball as a walk-on for the Hoyas with friend and former Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson. He is also the brother of Las Vegas gaming executive John Gaughan.

Gaughan earned All-Conference honors as a placekicker on Georgetown's NCAA Division I-AA football team.

A unique individual, he even sported cornrows during a race at Dover International Speedway during the 2005 Craftsman Truck Series season. On August 18, 2007, he married his wife Tatum, and on October 30, 2010, Gaughan and Tatum welcomed a baby boy, who they named Michael James. His second son William was born on October 11, 2012.

Gaughan founded City Lights Shine, a distillery, is involved in his family's South Point Casino business, and also owns New Wave Cleaning Solutions.

Racing career

Off-road career Gaughan competed in the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) in the 1980s, where he had future fellow NASCAR driver Casey Mears as a teammate. but did not win either championship as Scott Taylor won both championships. He moved with most SODA drivers to Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) at the end of 1997 and raced in the Pro-2 category through 1998 where he finished third behind champion Ricky Johnson and Taylor.

Gaughan's biggest wins came at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. His multiple wins In 2019, he won the class at the Baja 1000. He added another class win at the 2025 Baja 1000.

NASCAR career

Early career Gaughan made his NASCAR debut in a Truck Series race in 1997 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Driving the No. 20 Orleans Hotel & Casino-sponsored Dodge for Walker Evans, he qualified eighteenth and finished 24th. He ran two races in 1998 with the No. 20 team, but he failed to finish both races. He also attempted his first Busch race at Las Vegas, but he failed to qualify. In 1998, he was part of the Coca-Cola 500 at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan and was involved in a crash that also collected Bobby Hamilton.

Gaughan then decided to move to stock car racing. He ran in the Winston West Series in 1999, and was the 2000 and 2001 champion on the circuit. He attempted to qualify for a Busch Series race at Pikes Peak International Raceway in 2000, but failed to make the race. In 2001, he made his Busch Series debut at Fontana for Ed Whitaker but finished 41st. The next week, he attempted his first Winston Cup race at Las Vegas but failed to qualify. He also ran seven times in the Truck Series for Bill McAnally and TKO Motorsports, and had two top-five finishes.

2002–2004

In 2002, Gaughan and his father fielded a team for himself in the Truck Series full-time. He drove the No. 62 NAPA Auto Parts-sponsored truck to two victories on his way to the Rookie of the Year title. In 2003, he drove the No. 62 Orleans-sponsored Dodge for his father Michael, and he won six times, including twice at Texas Motor Speedway, giving him four consecutive wins at the track. He also held the points lead for most of the season, but finished 4th in points after wrecking in the last race of the season with Marty Houston, a teammate of one of Gaughan's rivals for the championship, Ted Musgrave; the collision with Houston validated Gaughan's concerns that Ultra Motorsports had entered extra trucks to serve as roadblocks to help Musgrave, as Houston was one of the extra entries.

In 2004, Gaughan would bypass the Busch Series, to move up to the Nextel Cup Series, driving the No. 77 Eastman Kodak-sponsored Dodge for Penske-Jasper Racing. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year standings and 28th in the final points standings. He finished the season with four top-tens, including a career-best top-five finish at Talladega Superspeedway, where he had been in contention to win before Dale Earnhardt Jr. and several other drivers shuffled Gaughan back to fourth place. He did come close to a win at the Glen where he led a total of seven laps in the final 25 laps. He then spun out with nineteen laps to go and then broke a transmission, finishing 34th. He was replaced at the end of the season by Travis Kvapil, after team owner Roger Penske was not satisfied with Gaughan's progress in the sport.

2005–2020

In 2005, Gaughan moved back to the Truck Series, behind the wheel of the No. 77 Dodge Ram. He finished nineteenth in the final points standings, with two top-five and seven top-ten finishes. Starting with the September 23 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the team began sporting a new livery of the South Point Casino in which his father, Michael, is the owner.

In 2007, the South Point team switched to Chevrolet Silverados, where Gaughan returned to the manufacturer which he drove during his efforts in the AutoZone West championships. In 2008, South Point Racing was to merge with Wyler Racing into Wyler-Gaughan Racing, fielding the No. 60 and No. 77 Toyotas. But the deal fell through and SPR was forced to close, leaving Gaughan and 10–12 of his crew members without a team. Gaughan signed to the drive No. 10 Ford F-150 for Circle Bar Racing in the 2008 CTS season. He had five top-tens and finished fifteenth in points.

In 2009, Gaughan drove the No. 62 Chevy for Rusty Wallace Racing in the Nationwide Series. In 2010, he rejoined RWR, but this time in a Toyota, RWR switched manufacturers at the end of 2009. He also competed in the November Phoenix Cup race for TRG Motorsports where he finished 43rd after a first-lap crash. For 2011 he returned to the Camping World Truck Series to drive the No. 62 South Point Toyota for Germain Racing while Michael Annett replaced him at RWR. However, Gaughan was unhappy with the lagging performance of the team and left the team at the end of the season. In 2012, he joined Richard Childress Racing to compete in eighteen races between the Truck Series and Nationwide Series, as well as four Sprint Cup Series races in the No. 33 South Point Casino Chevrolet. Gaughan's performances in his limited opportunities were strong, posting four top-fives in eight truck races, and five top-tens in ten Nationwide Series races.

Gaughan returned to the Truck Series full-time in 2013, driving the No. 62 South Point Chevrolet for Childress with crew chief Shane Wilson. After 77 laps led, ten top-fives and thirteen top-tens in the 22 truck races that season, it was announced that Gaughan and Wilson would be moving up to the Nationwide Series full-time for RCR for the 2014 season.

Gaughan won his first Nationwide Series race at Road America in June 2014 after Alex Tagliani ran out of gas before the final caution. After a battle with Chase Elliott, he passed Elliott on the final lap to win the race. He was very emotional about his win as he was running a car dedicated to his deceased grandfather John Jackie Gaughan. Following the emotional win, Gaughan continued his success racing up front consistently and by winning the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky.

In 2015, Gaughan competed full-time in the Xfinity Series once again for RCR. He also drove the No. 62 Sprint Cup car for Premium Motorsports in most of the series' races without RCR support. Gaughan would not reach victory lane as he did the season before, with his best finish being runner up in California. He would finish the Xfinity season with a career-high fourteen top-tens.

In the Cup Series, after a 28th place finish to begin the season in Atlanta, Gaughan failed to qualify with Premium Motorsports at Martinsville suffering his first DNQ of the year. He then failed to qualify for five of the next six after that, and blew a tire and crashed in his only start in this period, at Talladega. He qualified for the 2015 Autism Speaks 400 and again for Pocono, before suffering two more DNQs at Michigan and Sonoma. He did make the field at Daytona and finished 28th after suffering from a stuck throttle for more than half the race. Before Kentucky, he and Premium Motorsports agreed to part ways. The 2016 season would mark Gaughan's third season in the number 62 for RCR. Gaughan, on the strength of career highs in top-fives (four), top-tens (fifteen), and average finish (11.4), qualified for the Xfinity Series Chase. Gaughan made it into the Round of 8 with two top-tens in the first three races. The Round of 8 began with bad luck, as Gaughan spun through the grass in the first race of the Round of 8 at Kansas, leaving him below the cut line with two races left.

After speculation about retirement, Gaughan announced he would return to RCR's No. 62 in 2017. Gaughan also announced he would run his first Daytona 500 since 2004, driving for Beard Motorsports. He finished the 500 in eleventh place, earning him starts with Beard at the three remaining Cup Series restrictor-plate races.

Gaughan then had a dismal first quarter of the Xfinity season, with many mechanical failures and several instances of being swept up in accidents. Gaughan's average finish in Xfinity following Talladega was below 25th. Gaughan did return to the No. 75 Cup car at Talladega, finishing 27th. He returned to the No. 75 for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, where, despite being involved in a couple wrecks, was able to finish seventh. It was his first top-ten of the year, as well as his first top-ten and best Cup finish since finishing sixth at the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2004. After the 2017 Xfinity season, Gaughan announced it would be his final full season in NASCAR, though he intends to continue racing part-time for Beard at the Cup Series' superspeedways.

During the 2019 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega, Gaughan ran as high as second and led for a split second before being collected in a wreck that sent his No. 62 car into a flip over Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto. Gaughan finished 27th and was unharmed in the crash. On December 21, 2019, Gaughan announced that he would retire from racing after the 2020 season.

On February 9, 2020, Gaughan made the field at the Daytona 500 by posting the second fastest qualifying speed of all the non-charter teams (188.945 mph; 33rd overall). He finished seventh in the race, his best finish in the Daytona 500. Gaughan also achieved a top-ten finish at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. In his final NASCAR race, the YellaWood 500 at Talladega, he finished 35th after being collected in a Stage 2 wreck.

After his retirement, Gaughan became Beard Motorsports' vice president of racing operations.

2026 In 2026, Gaughan returned to racing in the Truck Series, driving the No. 20 truck for McAnally–Hilgemann Racing in the 2026 Navy 250. 2002

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Xfinity Series NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 1998 BACE Motorsports 31 Chevy DAY CAR LVSDNQ NSV DAR BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT GTY CAR ATL HOM NA – 2000 Orleans Racing 16 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSV TAL CAL RCH NHA CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPRDNQ GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM NA – 2001 Team Bristol Motorsports 07 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL41 RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CHA MEM PHO CAR HOM 153rd 0 2009 Rusty Wallace Racing 62 DAY15 CAL9 LVS7 BRI21 TEX37 NSH17 PHO7 TAL38 RCH26 DAR19 CLT2 DOV12 NSH24 KEN4 MLW13 NHA21 DAY17 CHI13 GTY31 IRP12 IOW25 GLN22 MCH29 BRI19 CGV9 ATL31 RCH21 DOV19 KAN29 CAL7 CLT15 MEM5 TEX16 PHO19 HOM11 9th 3914 2010 Toyota DAY30 CAL24 LVS13 BRI33 NSH10 PHO4 TEX21 TAL27 RCH9 DAR33 DOV13 CLT32 NSH13 KEN4 ROA3 NHA10 DAY29 CHI16 GTY17 IRP6 IOW31 GLN30 MCH32 BRI21 CGV27 ATL16 RCH17 DOV16 KAN9 CAL32 CLT11 GTY26 TEX17 PHO27 HOM8 11th 3767 2012 Richard Childress Racing 33 Chevy DAY PHO LVS5 BRI CAL10 TEX RCH TAL DAR26 IOW10 CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI28 IND IOW14 GLN CGV11 BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN3 DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO26 HOM3 115th 01 2013 21 DAY PHO LVSDNQ BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV IOW MCH ROA11 KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW BRI15 ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 110th 01 33 GLN14 MOH 2014 62 DAY6 PHO16 LVS16 BRI7 CAL15 TEX11 DAR22 RCH20 TAL34 IOW12 CLT17 DOV12 MCH22 ROA1 KEN6 DAY28 NHA16 CHI11 IND19 IOW11 GLN28 MOH20 BRI6 ATL14 RCH18 CHI13 KEN1 DOV28 KAN13 CLT16 TEX16 PHO8 HOM29 8th 954 2015 DAY29 ATL12 LVS6 PHO8 CAL2 TEX33 BRI9 RCH11 TAL39 IOW10 CLT18 DOV7 MCH12 CHI4 DAY25 KEN9 NHA11 IND13 IOW5 GLN10 MOH12 BRI10 ROA16 DAR13 RCH16 CHI10 KEN6 DOV16 CLT15 KAN10 TEX12 PHO12 HOM23 9th 1012 2016 DAY10 ATL13 LVS10 PHO13 CAL7 TEX12 BRI16 RCH7 TAL5 DOV15 CLT10 POC14 MCH18 IOW15 DAY5 KEN13 NHA9 IND16 IOW11 GLN8 MOH8 BRI5 ROA2 DAR16 RCH18 CHI8 KEN6 DOV9 CLT13 KAN31 TEX15 PHO35 HOM8 12th 2161 2017 DAY5 ATL13 LVS35 PHO27 CAL33 TEX19 BRI35 RCH35 TAL30 CLT9 DOV20 POC6 MCH14 IOW26 DAY9 KEN39 NHA17 IND13 IOW13 GLN9 MOH7 BRI30 ROA5 DAR13 RCH21 CHI13 KEN14 DOV10 CLT11 KAN13 TEX17 PHO32 HOM13 10th 2153 2018 3 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW CHI DAY KEN NHA IOW GLN MOH12 BRI ROA24 DAR IND LVS RCH ROV17 DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM 44th 71

Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Pts Ref 1997 Walker Evans Racing 20 Chevy WDW TUS HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO LVS24 110th 91 1998 WDW HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR33 IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS32 83rd 131 1999 HOM PHO EVG MMR32 MAR MEM PPR I70 BRI TEX PIR GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA IRP GTY HPT RCH LVS24 LVL TEX CAL 74th 158 2000 Bill McAnally Racing 62 DAY HOM PHO13 MMR13 MAR PIR GTY11 MEM PPR EVG24 TEX KEN GLN MLW NHA NZH MCH IRP NSV CICDNQ RCH DOV TEX CAL19 40th 615 2001 DAY HOM MMR3 MAR NZH RCH SBO TEX LVS11 PHO13 CAL 31st 946 TKO Motorsports 41 Dodge GTY15 DAR PPR DOV TEX2 MEM MLW KAN26 KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC10 2002 Orleans Racing 62 DAY13 DAR20 MAR9 GTY11 PPR26 DOV7 TEX1* MEM13 MLW4 KAN27 KEN11 NHA5 MCH18 IRP29 NSH6 RCH16 TEX1 SBO11 LVS8 CAL3 PHO13 HOM11 11th 2893 2003 DAY10 DAR3 MMR3 MAR16 CLT2 DOV18 TEX1 MEM8 MLW1* KAN9 KEN22 GTW1* MCH1* IRP4 NSH5 BRI4 RCH7 NHA5 CAL2 LVS1* SBO15 TEX1* MAR11 PHO12 HOM29 4th 3797 2005 77 DAY30 CAL21 ATLDNQ MARDNQ GTY22 MFD15 CLT8 DOV16 TEX27 MCH11 MLW5 KAN8 KEN29 MEM3 IRP8 NSH6 BRI36 RCH11 NHA10 LVS35 MAR24 ATL15 TEX32 PHO23 HOM16 19th 2564 2006 DAY24 CAL36 ATL13 MAR6 GTY14 CLT14 MFD17 DOV19 TEX26 MCH16 MLW19 KAN4 KEN3 MEM17 IRP16 NSH5 BRI17 NHA34 LVS15 TAL12 MAR19 ATL26 TEX17 PHO21 HOM2 15th 2984 2007 Chevy DAY21 CAL21 ATL6 MAR25 KAN11 CLT35 MFD9 DOV36 TEX24 MCH3 MLW28 MEM22 KEN22 IRP10 NSH12 BRI2 GTW10 NHA25 LVS30 TAL16 MAR11 ATL8 TEX2 PHO13 HOM19 11th 2874 2008 Circle Bar Racing 10 Ford DAY34 CAL12 ATL15 MAR11 KAN6 CLT3 MFD30 DOV20 TEX15 MCH5 MLW16 MEM22 KEN28 IRP6 NSH24 BRI13 GTW21 NHA20 LVS20 TAL20 MAR22 ATL16 TEX16 PHO10 HOM18 15th 2840 2011 Germain Racing 62 Toyota DAY27 PHO17 DAR25 MAR9 NSH17 DOV7 CLT30 KAN7 TEX14 KEN3 IOW16 NSH13 IRP16 POC22 MCH8 BRI20 ATL18 CHI14 NHA12 KEN19 LVS9 TAL8 MAR9 TEX31 HOM20 12th 713 2012 Richard Childress Racing 2 Chevy DAY20 MAR CAR KAN CLT12 DOV TEX4 KEN IOW CHI2* POC MCH BRI5 ATL IOW KEN LVS4 TAL MAR TEX17 PHO23 HOM 83rd 01 2013 62 DAY29 MAR12 CAR3 KAN4 CLT2 DOV5 TEX5 KEN25 IOW31 ELD5 POC9 MCH8 BRI16 MSP18 IOW24 CHI25 LVS8 TAL11 MAR2 TEX4 PHO3 HOM4 7th 717 2026 McAnally–Hilgemann Racing 20 Chevy DAY ATL STP DAR ROC BRI TEX GLN DOV CLT NSH MCH COR16 LRP NWS IRP RCH NHA BRI KAN CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

K&N Pro Series West NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 1998 Orleans Racing 88 Chevy TUS LVS19 24th 625 20 PHO19 CAL HPT MMR AMP POR CAL PPR5 EVG SON MMR20 LVS5 1999 TUS26 LVS25 PHO20 CAL31 PPR10 MMR12 IRW15 EVG16 POR17 IRW9 RMR2 LVS3 MMR8 MOT4 13th 1742 2000 Bill McAnally Racing 16 PHO4 MMR1 LVS4* CAL3 LAG9 IRW2 POR3 EVG1 IRW5* RMR6 MMR15 IRW3 1st 1956 2001 PHO25 LVS8 TUS12 MMR3* CAL1 IRW1* LAG4 KAN4 EVG1* CNS2 IRW1* RMR16* LVS1 IRW1* 1st 2257 2002 Orleans Racing 62 Dodge PHO LVS CAL KAN EVG IRW S99 RMR DCS LVS23* 51st 104 2018 Bill McAnally Racing 62 Toyota KCR TUS TUS OSS CNS SON DCS IOW EVG GTW LVS5 MER AAS KCR 36th 39

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Ref 2000 Orleans Racing 96 Chevy DAY SLM AND CLT KIL FRS MCH POC TOL KEN BLN POC WIN ISF KEN DSF SLM CLT9 TAL ATL 97th 185

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series (key)

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points 2016 BAR1 Motorsports PC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 DAY SEB LBH LGA DET WGL MOS LIM ELK COA PET 31st 1 2018 BAR1 Motorsports P Riley Mk. 30 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB LBH MDO DET WGL MOS ELK LGA PET 59th 17