NASCAR has a way of luring its past drivers back into the racing car, no matter how much time has passed. After spending nearly 13 years away from the sport, Brendan Gaughan is all set to put on his fire suit one more time.

During his recent appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the veteran NASCAR driver announced his return to the Truck series at Coronado Naval Base for a one-off race on June 19.

"I could not resist it," Gaughan said. "And when they announced this (San Diego race) last year, I called Bill McAnally up five minutes after the announcement, and I said, 'You're building me a truck no matter what. I don't care what you say.' So, I'm going to come out for one race. We're racing at Coronado Naval Base, C'mon!"

He further spoke about his tie to the track that made him come out of his 13-year hibernation. 

"One of my good friends who I played college football with, he just retired actually from the Navy. He was stationed at Coronado for 28 years. He was the Commander of SEAL Team 1 in the 2010s, and Captain Shan just retired. So I've got so many ties to Coronado and out on the West Coast. It's a street course on the Naval Base, first time ever, I couldn't pass this opportunity up. So I wanna come and race one more time with the boys in the Truck Series."

The NASCAR veteran will be driving the No. 20 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, rekindling his ties with the team from when he won the ARCA Menards Series West championship in 2000 and 2001. 

This will mark Gaughan’s first truck race since 2013. He has had a very successful Truck Series career with eight wins, 47 top fives, and 80 top-10 finishes in 217 Truck Series starts. Out of the eight wins, he managed to get six wins in 2003 with a fourth-place finish in the final standings. 

However, Brendan Gaughan is not the only veteran driver to come out of retirement at San Diego.

Jamie McMurray to Drive for Kaulig at San Diego

Kaulig Racing announced that the veteran NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray will take over the No. 25 Ram truck at San Diego. During his tenure as a driver, McMurray bagged seven Cup Series wins over his two-decade career.  

As for his Truck Series career, he has 25 career starts with one race win, which came in at Martinsville in 2004.  In a statement, he spoke about the unique challenge that the track brings. 

"Racing on a naval base in San Diego for the very first time is going to be an incredible experience," said the FOX reporter. "Street courses reward precision and adaptability, and I’m looking forward to teaming with Kaulig and Ram to make some history in that No. 25 truck."

This will mark the first time that McMurray will drive in a street course format. With two veteran drivers coming out of retirement, it will give the new NASCAR fans a glimpse of how the veteran drivers drove. 

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak