Former NASCAR Cup driver has nightmare comeback | Sports News

Brendan Gaughan’s return to NASCAR didn’t go as meant.

Gaughan drove within the Navy 250, piloting the No. 20 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet for McAnally Hilgemann Racing. Notably, Friday marked the 50-year-old’s first NASCAR begin since retiring in 2020, and it was his first Truck Series begin for the reason that finish of the 2013 season.

Considering how long he had been away from the game, the previous Georgetown basketball participant’s outcomes have been simply as anticipated, with the star seemingly needing more time to acclimate to the race. During observe/qualifying, Gaughan was one of the vehicles to hit the wall.

Speaking about his expertise earlier within the day, Gaughan didn’t maintain back on his evaluation, stating: “You know, Mac and I didn’t have a lot of backups to begin with, with all the trucks we had, so kind of a stupid move on my part, but we’ll work on it and Mac and I’s got some great guys, Dewey and the guys.

“We’ll get it back collectively and we’ll be all proper within the race. I simply want we might have that second observe to get me a little bit more time, however that is, it was a dumb transfer on my half. Didn’t need to go back out and so I’ll take the blame on this one.”

When the race began in earnest, it was evident that Gaughan was rusty from his time away. Four laps into the race, the star was clocked to be 55 seconds behind the leader.

With four laps remaining in the Navy 250, Gaughan found himself in 26th place. Still, the star expressed his excitement to be part of NASCAR’s first race in San Diego.

Speaking about the track after qualifying, the 50-year-old stated: “Oh, I like it. It’s a enjoyable monitor. It’s imply, it is nasty, it is bumpy, it is bought a, it is bought a Mickey Thompson leap going down into flip two. You know, I imply, it is tremendous enjoyable. I completely take pleasure in the truth that we’re racing right here.

“I still think this is the coolest thing ever. Just want to make it a little more exciting for myself and the team.”

Despite how the afternoon panned out for him, the star’s pleasure for driving at Coronado Naval Base was palpable, even earlier than the races started. In a assertion, Gaughan defined why he opted to return out of retirement to race in San Diego.

“I’m more than excited about coming out of retirement for this race,” Gaughan’s assertion through the workforce mentioned partly. “This old dog doesn’t normally do the SIM stuff but it was great to get a visual on the course and I feel like it will help me be able to feel my way around this tricky course quickly. Looking forward to seeing what Dewey has underneath me and we hopefully will be close off the truck.”