Brendan's Bio

Full Name: William Brendan Gaughan
Birth Date: July 10, 1975 Height: 5'9"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA
Residence: Las Vegas, NV / Charlotte, NC
Marital Status: Married (Tatum)
Children: None
Hobbies: Basketball, diving and snow skiing

Having grown up in Las Vegas, Brendan Gaughan saw his path to NASCAR's big leagues paved much differently than that of his east-coast comrades. The son of Michael Gaughan, a successful hotel and casino owner, Brendan spent much of his childhood around the Vegas gaming business.

However, when not at his family's businesses, Brendan could be found watching his father race off-road trucks in the desert. Like many other racers, Brendan opted to follow in his father's footsteps, taking to the desert himself for the first time in 1991. He became a quickly rising star in the off-road ranks, eventually winning three consecutive CORR Pro-2 World Championships from 1996-1998.

In 1997, Gaughan graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in business. While there, he was a member of the Hoyas' varsity football and basketball teams. He earned All-Conference honors in football and played on two Big East championship basketball teams, under the direction of legendary coach, John Thompson.

After graduating from Georgetown, Brendan took the advice of famed off-road racer, Walker Evans and made the move to pavement. Gaughan competed in a partial NASCAR West Series season in 1998 and eventually won back-to-back West Series titles in 2000 and 2001. This feat propelled him towards victories in the NASCAR Truck Series and eventually into a full-time Sprint Cup Series ride in 2004.

For the 2004 season, Brendan was picked by car owner, Roger Penske, to pilot Penske Racing's No. 77 Dodge, as a teammate to Ryan Newman and racing legend, Rusty Wallace. Noted Gaughan, "In 2004, I had one of the greatest opportunities of my life, to drive for Penske Racing. While there, I had the good fortune to be a teammate to one of my racing heroes, Rusty Wallace. Although our No. 77 team struggled, Rusty was always there trying to help us. Whether it was his allowing me to drive his No. 2 car in our first test together at Rockingham, or his testing my No. 77 at Indianapolis, he was always trying to help us improve."

Although Brendan may not have known it at the time, his stint at Penske Racing would ultimately foreshadow his future. In late 2008, Wallace, now the Lead Auto Racing Analyst for ABC / ESPN, as well as a NASCAR Nationwide Series team owner, called upon Gaughan to pilot Rusty Wallace Racing's No. 62 Chevrolet for the 2009 Nationwide Series season.

Said Wallace, "I've known Brendan and his family for quite some time now and they're all first-class individuals. 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 excited about having him as a part of our team in 2009."