Racer Gaughan reaches out to kids

Brendan Gaughan knows how to warm up a group of middle school students.

The affable driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series met with students from Hyde Park Middle School on Thursday and talked about the importance of an education.

He asked a boy and girl to step forward and had them put on fire-resistant racing gloves. Gaughan then held a torch to their covered hands for a few seconds.

"You didn't feel that, did you?" he asked. Teachers were relieved they didn't.

"Someone invented this material after spending years and years in college. That's why it's important for you to learn to read and listen to your teachers," said the driver of the No. 77 South Point Racing Dodge.

The crowd was captivated.

"I love doing stuff like this with kids," Gaughan said. "I don't have any yet, except for my nieces and nephews. They're on my mental wave length. I'm a 12-year-old at heart."

Gaughan is carrying on a tradition learned from John Thompson, the former Georgetown University basketball coach whom Gaughan played for.

"He taught me all kids start out great; no kid is born a racist or bigot," Gaughan said.

His hour with the students stressed education and drug-free living, which was more important to him than gaining exposure for Saturday night's Smith's Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Gaughan and his family-owned team also have been learning since he returned to the truck series three years ago after spending the 2004 season driving in the Nextel Cup series.

In 2003, he won six truck titles, including the one in Las Vegas, and nearly captured the championship.

His team has undergone several changes since finishing 15th last season, from crew chiefs to trading Dodge trucks for Chevrolets.

"We've been really good recently," he said. "Our team has come so far ... except for winning."

Gaughan, 32, is 12th in points with two top-five and six top-10 finishes. He was runner-up to Johnny Benson three races ago and has finished 12th or better in four of the past five races.

Gaughan said he has no plans to move his truck operation to North Carolina to start a Cup team.

"Getting into Cup is always on our radar screen, but we have no plans now to do that," he said. "We'd consider it if we found the right partners and sponsors.

"But I'll never move away from Las Vegas." ...

Gaughan will host an open house at 3 p.m.-7:30 p.m. today at the team's headquarters at 6975 Speedway Blvd., Building D-104. ...

The Stratosphere is hosting an autograph session from 7 to 8 p.m. today. Top drivers scheduled to attend include Todd Bodine, Ted Musgrave, Jacques Villeneuve, Stacy Compton, David Green, Scott Lynch and Dennis Setzer.

• KYLE BUSCH SPONSOR -- Mars U.S. was finalizing a deal to use its M&M's brand to sponsor Las Vegas native Kyle Busch when he moves to Joe Gibbs Racing next season.

M&M's would replace Interstate Batteries, which has sponsored Gibbs' flagship No. 18 since its 1992 inception.

J.D. Gibbs, president of the race team, didn't respond to a request for comment. But two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mars was working on a deal to sponsor Busch that officially will be announced next month at M&M's World in New York City. They requested anonymity because the deal was not yet complete.

• SEALY'S BIG WIN -- Morris Sealy began racing 18 years ago and enjoyed the biggest win of his career Saturday night.

The 46-year-old Las Vegan won his first Late Models feature race in the NASCAR All-American Series at the speedway's Bullring after racing stock cars for five years.

• MONSTER TRUCKS -- The Major League of Monster Trucks competes tonight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's dirt track.

Among the teams entered are Big Foot, Madusa and Samson. Added features are a freestyle motocross show and racing by Thunder Trucks on the half-mile oval.

• QUARTER MIDGETS -- The Las Vegas Quarter Midget Racing Association will host its inaugural event Saturday at the go-kart track behind the speedway's Bullring grandstands.

Races for children ages 5 to 15 begin at 9 a.m. Children accompanied by a parent can test drive a car at noon for $10. There is no charge for spectators.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.