Four drivers have shot at points lead at Texas

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series leader Brendan Gaughan has pressure in triplicate weighing him down heading into Saturday's Silverado 350 at Texas Motor Speedway.

But Gaughan has the best possible antidote firmly loaded in his pocket -- three consecutive victories at the fast, 1.5-mile oval.

Craftsman Truck Series  Tools of the Trade

He needs every drop that elixir can offer, after a 15th-place finish last weekend at South Boston tightened the Truck Series point race to 74 points separating Gaughan from Dennis Setzer

	Travis Kvapil: 20 points back

Gaughan is encumbered by that pressure, as well as Dodge's goal to win its first Craftsman Truck Series drivers' championship to go with the second owners' title that Gaughan secured with a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks ago.

"Hopefully we'll come back and have a stellar week in Texas," Gaughan said. "I don't want to embarrass my daddy."

Brendan Gaughan's hardly done that to his team owner father, Las Vegas casino owner Michael Gaughan, since he finished second in his first look at Texas Motor Speedway in June 2001, when his team ran only a partial schedule.

Gaughan considers the track just as much a home venue as Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It makes him wonder even more about his Texas success.

	Ted Musgrave: 58 points back Credit: Autostock

"We've thought and scratched our heads a lot about it but we don't have any one magic thing to explain how well we've done," Gaughan said. "The biggest thing besides having a great truck is fate -- you have to believe in everything that's been done before you strap in the seat (and) I have faith in my team."

That resulted in a nine-race run, beginning with a victory in St. Louis, during which Gaughan finished in the top five eight times and secured his spot in the championship race with Travis Kvapil, Ted Musgrave and Setzer.

None of them have previously won a Truck Series crown.

It makes a win Saturday afternoon, after the trucks stage Bud Pole Qualifying to set the 36-truck field on Friday afternoon, even more critical than simply being a way to break a tie with former three-time series champion Jack Sprague for their three consecutive victories at one venue.

	Dennis Setzer: 74 points back

"This (championship) is going to go to the team that is the best prepared and brings the best truck each weekend," Gaughan said. "It's going to be tight, but we feel like we've got very good Dodge trucks to finish out this year and we're keeping our gun loaded."

The comment is fitting for a Texas race, but a couple things may not work in Gaughan's favor. In four fall truck races at TMS, four different drivers have won; former Truck Series frontrunner Andy Houston has been a frontrunner again since joining Ultra Motorsports two races ago; and Texas native David Starr has had good trucks at his home venue.

"It's a wish I know I've made a million times while I was blowing out the candles on every birthday cake since I was a kid in Houston," Starr said about winning a race in his home state, and he's had three thirds, a fourth and a sixth place here in the five races since 2001.