Gaughan makes changes pay off

Brendan Gaughan has changed truck manufacturers and crew chiefs over the past couple of years trying to get his South Point Racing team on track in the NASCAR truck series.

He might have finally found the trick to regain the magic he had when he won six races in 2003 driving a Dodge.

Gaughan finished second in Wednesday night's truck race in Bristol, Tenn., for his best performance of the year.

It came four days after he married Tatum Hayes of Las Vegas.

"I knew everyone would give credit to Tatum for what we did at Bristol," Gaughan joked Thursday after returning home.

He led the race at one point but at the end couldn't catch Johnny Benson, who had fresher tires in the waning laps. Gaughan moved up two spots to 12th in points with his best effort since being runner-up in last year's finale.

Gaughan switched to a Chevrolet last year, and Bryan Berry is the team's third crew chief in three seasons.

Gaughan hopes the team's progress continues into the Sept. 22 truck race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he won in 2003. ...

Dale Earnhardt Inc. might have drivers Mark Martin and Aric Almirola split time next year in the No. 8 Nextel Cup car currently driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Almirola will make his DEI debut in the No. 01 Chevrolet in Saturday night's Cup race in Bristol. It will be his second Cup race and first since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing last month. ...

Kenny Wallace will fill in for Kyle Petty in the Bristol Cup race.

It will be the second consecutive race that Petty has missed while recovering from surgery to repair a broken right hand. He was injured when he punched a wall after falling out of the Aug. 5 race in Watkins Glen, N.Y. ...

Sterling Marlin will try to qualify the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevy for the Cup race.

• OPEN WHEEL -- Alex Lloyd has two chances this weekend to give team owner Sam Schmidt of Henderson his second championship in the Indy Racing League's Indy Pro Series.

The 23-year-old racer from Manchester, England, has a 98-point lead in the standings heading to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., for races Saturday and Sunday.

Lloyd has won a series-record seven times this year and has 11 top-five finishes in 13 races.

• DRAG RACING -- Las Vegas resident Rod Fuller re-injured his left knee during the rain-delayed NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series event near Reading, Pa.

Fuller originally hurt the knee seven weeks ago during a race in Norwalk, Ohio, after jumping a fence. This time he slipped getting out of his Top Fuel dragster.

A nearby orthopedic specialist treated him Monday, and Fuller recovered and outlasted a three-day rain delay. He lost to Doug Herbert in Wednesday's final round.

Fuller built a 180-point lead after 17 races and will be the top seed when the inaugural NHRA Countdown to the Championship begins next week near Indianapolis.

Fuller will have a 10-point lead over three-time reigning champion Tony Schumacher when points standings are reset for the Countdown, which begins at the U.S. Nationals. ...

Las Vegan Justin Lamb won the Super Stock title Sunday in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Races Series Northwest Division event at Yellowstone Dragstrip in Acton, Mont.

• LVMS -- Jordan Yost of Las Vegas won the Silver Cup Championship in the Thunder Roadster division's road-course series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ...

The NASCAR All-American Series returns to the LVMS Bullring on Sept. 1.

• DESERT RACING -- The Best in the Desert series' 570-mile Vegas to Reno race begins this morning in Johnnie, located about 20 miles north of Pahrump, and concludes Saturday afternoon in Dayton. For more information, visit BITD.com on the Internet. ...

The new name for the Sept. 8 SCORE Desert Series race in Primm is the Terrible's Primm 300. The start-finish line will be adjacent to the rear parking lot of Buffalo Bill's.