Orleans Racing Takes Bad With Good in Charlotte Showdown

CONCORD, NC – (May 19, 2006) - Orleans Racing kicked off the nine-race summer stretch with a hard earned top-15 finish at Lowe’s Motor Speedway that once again saw them ranked as best in class when the checkers fell.

Like his fellow competitors, Brendan Gaughan was faced with the challenge of handling a new harder Goodyear tire on a new racing surface. It was a combination that proved to be treacherous for many but not so for Gaughan who guided his brand new Dodge through the 134-lap event and emerged without a scratch.

Gaughan’s closest call of the evening came on Lap 94 when Jack Sprague spun out in Turn 4 and threatened to collect the No. 77 Orleans Dodge. Gaughan managed to steer clear and maintain his track position as the fourth of six caution flags flew.

After that it was smooth sailing for Gaughan who came home 14th and collected his fourth consecutive top-15 finish.

“Once again the guys did a fantastic job in the pits,” Gaughan noted. “We’ve got a rookie changing tires in Danny Goad in the rear and he just did a phenomenal job in only his second race. We just had great, great pit stops and the guys did a great job putting this truck together – everybody from the fab shop to the suspension shop.

“It’s good news and bad news for the Dodges in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series right now. The good news is this team proved we’re the best Dodge again. The bad news is we’re the best Dodge and we’re 14th. The guys are working so hard to get us to be this good.

“We’ve just got our work cut out. We’ve got to find out what it is we’re missing. The only thing I know is it’s not motor. Dodge horsepower is still fantastic and Kevin Kroyer is building us some great engines. We’ve got to keep experimenting. The good thing is this team is not going to quit. Dodge is giving us more wind tunnel time, so we’re going to the tunnel and we’re going to keep working and we’re going to win a race this year if it kills every single one of us.”

Gaughan held onto 15th in the point standings as Orleans Racing heads to Mansfield Motorsports Speedway next weekend for Race #7.