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 where he became known as an extra point specialist, converting 39 of 40 extra point attempts during the 1994 season for the highest extra point percentage in Hoya history. He was primarily a role player on the basketball team whose job were mostly practice related but did see action in 25 games.

A unique individual, he even sported corn rows in honor of his Hoyas teammate Iverson during a race at Dover International Speedway during the 2002 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.

In 2011, Gaughan appeared as a spokesperson for the South Point Casino in an episode of the History Channel series Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy.

in 2015 Gaughan was a guest analyst for the Arca Race at Kentucky

Racing career

Off-road career

Gaughan won his first race in a 1991 Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts (SNORE) off-road race. He was the Class 10 SNORE champion in 1991, 1992, and 1993.

In 1995 he moved to SODA (Short-course Off-road Drivers Association) series driving a Dodge Ram for the Walker Evans team. He was the 1995 Class 13 champion. He raced in premiere two-wheel-drive trophy truck Class 8 in 1996 and 1997 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 Scott Taylor.

His biggest wins came at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. His multiple wins there solidified his reputation as one of the premier off-road racers at the time with his most memorable battle coming between himself and future NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson in 1996. The two dueled throughout the race with Johnson having to come from behind after contact with Scott Taylor. However, Johnson's truck succumbed to crash damage from a previous incident with Jimmie Crowder and Gaughan took his first win at Crandon in a pro category. He followed the win with a repeat performance the next year at Crandon, this time piloting a Chevrolet.

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 Dodge for Evans, he qualified 18th and finished 24th. He ran two races in 1998 with the 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.

He 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 McNally 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 to two victories on his way to the Rookie of the Year title. In 2003, he drove the No. 62 Orleans 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.

In 2004, Gaughan moved up to the Nextel Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series), driving the No. 77 Eastman Kodak 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 4 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 a number of other drivers shuffled Gaughan back to fourth place. He did come close to a win at the Glen where he led a total of 7 laps in the final 25 laps. He then spun out with 19 laps to go and then broke a transmission, finishing 34th. He was replaced at the end of the season by Travis Kvapil.

2005-present

In 2005, he moved back to the Truck Series, behind the wheel of the No. 77 Dodge Ram. He finished 19th in the final points standings, with 2 top five and 7 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, as RWR switched manufacturers at the end of the 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 18 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 returned to the Truck Series full-time in 2013, driving the No. 62 South Point Chevrolet for Childress with crew chief Shane Wilson. In October 2013 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 with RCR support.

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 successfully qualified for the 2015 Autism Speaks 400 and again for the Pocono 400, 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.

On March 15, 2016, Jayski's Silly Season Site reported in a conversation with Gaughan's father Michael that 2016 will be Gaughan's last season in NASCAR as South Point as his sponsor.

Images

• 2009 Nationwide car

• 2010 Nationwide car at Road America

• 2015 Xfinity Series car at Road America

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * - Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup 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	36	NSCC	Pts
2001	Bill McAnally Racing	62	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MAR	TAL	PHO	CAR	HOM	ATL	NHA	NA	-
2002	Orleans Racing		Dodge	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR	ATL	CAR	PHO	HOM	NA	-
2004	Penske-Jasper Racing	77	Dodge	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA	DOV	TAL	KAN	CLT	MAR	ATL	PHO	DAR	HOM	28th	3165
2010	TRG Motorsports	71	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MAR	TAL	TEX	PHO	HOM	75th	34
2012	Richard Childress Racing	33	Chevy	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	TAL	CLT	KAN	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	47th	50
2013	Phoenix Racing	51	Chevy	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	70th	01
2015	Premium Motorsports	62	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	CLT	KAN	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	64th	01

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
2004	Penske-Jasper Racing	Dodge	17	19

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	NXSC	Pts
1998	BACE Motorsports	31	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	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	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSV	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	CLT	DOV	SBO	MYB	GLN	MLW	NZH	PPR	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR	MEM	PHO	HOM				NA	-
2001	Team Bristol Motorsports	07	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	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	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	9th	3914
2010			Toyota	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	NSH	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	NSH	KEN	ROA	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	GTY	TEX	PHO	HOM	11th	3767
2012	Richard Childress Racing	33	Chevy	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	RCH	TAL	DAR	IOW	CLT	DOV	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI	IND	IOW	GLN	CGV	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM			115th	01
2013		21		DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	IOW	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI	IND	IOW			BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM			110th	01
		33																						GLN	MOH
2014		62		DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL	IOW	CLT	DOV	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM			8th	954
2015				DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	IOW	CLT	DOV	MCH	CHI	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM			9th	1012
2016				DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	IOW	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM			-*	-*

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World 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	NCWTC	Pts
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	LVS		110th	91
1998				WDW	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	I70	GLN	TEX	BRI	MLW	NZH	CAL	PPR	IRP	NHA	FLM	NSV	HPT	LVL	RCH	MEM	GTY	MAR	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS	83rd	131
1999				HOM	PHO	EVG	MMR	MAR	MEM	PPR	I70	BRI	TEX	PIR	GLN	MLW	NSV	NZH	MCH	NHA	IRP	GTY	HPT	RCH	LVS	LVL	TEX	CAL			74th	158
2000	Bill McAnally Racing	62	Chevy	DAY	HOM	PHO	MMR	MAR	PIR	GTY	MEM	PPR	EVG	TEX	KEN	GLN	MLW	NHA	NZH	MCH	IRP	NSV	CIC	RCH	DOV	TEX	CAL				40th	615
2001				DAY	HOM	MMR	MAR														NZH	RCH	SBO	TEX	LVS	PHO	CAL				31st	946
	TKO Motorsports	41	Dodge					GTY	DAR	PPR	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	NHA	IRP	NSH	CIC
2002	Orleans Racing	62	Chevy	DAY	DAR	MAR	GTY	PPR	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	NHA	MCH	IRP	NSH	RCH	TEX	SBO	LVS	CAL	PHO	HOM						11th	2893
2003				DAY	DAR	MMR	MAR	CLT	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	GTW	MCH	IRP	NSH	BRI	RCH	NHA	CAL	LVS	SBO	TEX	MAR	PHO	HOM			4th	3797
2005	Orleans Racing	77	Dodge	DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	GTY	MFD	CLT	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	KAN	KEN	MEM	IRP	NSH	BRI	RCH	NHA	LVS	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM			19th	2564
2006				DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	GTY	CLT	MFD	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	KAN	KEN	MEM	IRP	NSH	BRI	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM			15th	2984
2007				DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	MFD	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	MEM	KEN	IRP	NSH	BRI	GTW	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM			11th	2874
2008	Circle Bar Racing	10	Ford	DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	MFD	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	MEM	KEN	IRP	NSH	BRI	GTW	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM			15th	2840
2011	Germain Racing	62	Toyota	DAY	PHO	DAR	MAR	NSH	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	KEN	IOW	NSH	IRP	POC	MCH	BRI	ATL	CHI	NHA	KEN	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	HOM			12th	713
2012	Richard Childress Racing	2	Chevy	DAY	MAR	CAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	KEN	IOW	CHI	POC	MCH	BRI	ATL	IOW	KEN	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM						83rd	01
2013		62		DAY	MAR	CAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	KEN	IOW	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	IOW	CHI	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM						7th	717

* Season still in progress
1 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	ARSC	Pts
2000	Orleans Racing	96	Chevy	DAY	SLM	AND	CLT	KIL	FRS	MCH	POC	TOL	KEN	BLN	POC	WIN	ISF	KEN	DSF	SLM	CLT	TAL	ATL	97th	185

[ Source: Wikipedia ]