Gaughan Looking to Rekindle His Truck Series Magic with NAPA Throwback

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer

After losing his nearly 50-point cushion over the Playoff cutoff when Jeremy Clements won at Road America, Brendan Gaughan will look to have a more secure position after the VFW Hero a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway.

Gaughan has six previous NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, he has a best finish of 13th in the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro. He also has three starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with a best finish of third, and two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at ‘The Track Too Tough to Tame.’

For this weekend’s race, Gaughan will not have his traditional black and yellow South Point Hotel & Casino colors. Instead, he will drive a very familiar blue, red, white and yellow NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro. The paint scheme based on both the car he drove to two NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Championships (2000 and 2001) for Bill McAnally and the colors he drove to two victories in the Truck Series in 2002.

Darlington’s Throwback weekend has become one of Gaughan’s favorites,

“This weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. It’s impressive what Chip Wile (former track president) started at the track a few years ago when we went back to racing Labor Day weekend at Darlington. What a way to embrace the past of this sport in the present with all the throwbacks schemes. It’s a program that all the teams, owners and drivers have really gotten behind. Last year, I ran a paint scheme for my father with the Royal Inn Casino design. This year, my throwback scheme is strictly for me. Some of the best years of my life were with the NAPA Auto Parts colors on my cars, and we got permission to run that scheme once again.”

Although Gaughan will be sporting the logos and colors of NAPA Auto Parts, his car is ‘officially’ sponsored by South Point Hotel & Casino.

Gaughan explained how the deal came together,

“We are not sponsored by NAPA, but we got permission to run the true paint scheme and it will look just like the old Bill McAnally championship car of 2000-2001. The coolest part is that there are three or four guys on my team today that were on those championship teams with me back then. It’s going to be a very special thing for all of us to be a part of. I’m excited to run a throwback that relates to some of my best years, the championship days. Thank you to NAPA for allowing us to use their color and logos, and thank you to Richard Childress for letting me run it this weekend.”

Gaughan currently sits 11th in points, the last driver in the Xfinity Playoffs on points. He has just four points over Dakota Armstrong with three races left before the Playoffs. Only a victory can guarantee Gaughan a spot in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.

Gaughan and his No. 62 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro team will now attempt to rekindle his magic with these colors from years ago at Darlington Raceway.