Monday, February 7th 'What If' Question

Before Brendan Gaughan became the driver of the No. 77 Kodak Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series or driver of the No. 62 South Point Toyota for Rusty Wallace, Gaughan was making a name for himself in the Camping World Truck Series.

Debuting in 1997, Gaughan got his feet wet. He only ran two races in 1998 before racing full-time in 2002 where he won Rookie of the Year. Then the wins started to come in a truck that many will never forget him in: the No. 63 Orleans Dodge which was owned by his family. In 2003 he came one race and one wreck short of winning the championship.

At Homestead he was wrecked by a teammate to Ted Musgrave, whom he was racing for the title. After that season Gaughan moved to the Cup Series then down to the Nationwide Series, while dabbling in the Truck Series. And it's his time in trucks that won't soon be forgotten and where he's had the most success.

He has eight career wins, three poles and 55 top 10s. He also has four consecutive wins at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Gaugan will return full-time to the Camping World Truck Series in 2011 for Germain Racing. He'll drive the No. 62 South Point Toytoa and be teammates with the 2010 CWTS champion Todd Bodine.

But ....

What if Brendan Gaughan had never left the Truck Series, how many races and championships could/would he have won? #NASCAR

@ARosser14: The way he failed to produce wins or titles after going back after his Cup run in '04, I doubt it would've made a difference. Toyota changed the game in '04, of course maybe his team woulda changed over, in that case, he mighta been strong and won a title or two.

@Talon64: Not many if he stuck with his family-owned team, struggled even when he came back in 2006 and 2007. #NASCAR

@chuckallen2: Probably a few races, but no championships. He's a great second tier driver.