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Helmet a lasting symbol of visit with troops
By TIM HADDOCK
Los Angeles Daily News
It was a mistake that NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan's racing suit and helmet arrived with him at an airport in Baghdad, Iraq.
Gaughan's trip with a NASCAR contingent to visit U.S. troops fighting in Iraq had been in the works for a while, but he was also in the process of moving from Las Vegas to Charlotte, N.C., to be closer to his new team headquarters.
His suit and helmet, which were supposed to end up in North Carolina, instead went with him to Iraq.
And while talking with a group of soldiers, Gaughan, the rookie driver for Penske Jasper Motorsports and a two-time Winston West champion, left his helmet out for the troops to look at.
"The helmet was sitting there and someone pulled out a Sharpie," Gaughan said. Before he knew it, about 50 soldiers had signed his helmet.
Someone suggested he take the helmet in the field to get more signatures, but Gaughan was told by military officials not to take any unnecessary equipment out. That included racing helmets.
But one of the soldiers stationed at the Baghdad airport took the helmet out anyway and by the time it was returned to Gaughan, more than 150 soldiers had signed it.
Gaughan received approval from NASCAR officials to use the helmet in a race and he will wear it for his first Daytona 500 on Sunday. After that, Gaughan said he is going to put it away in his trophy case.
"It's the most cherished thing I have," Gaughan said. "Some people who signed it, they are no longer with us."
The signatures on Gaughan's racing helmet will serve as a reminder to how lucky he is to be driving a stock car in his first Daytona 500.
By TIM HADDOCK
Los Angeles Daily News
It was a mistake that NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan's racing suit and helmet arrived with him at an airport in Baghdad, Iraq.
Gaughan's trip with a NASCAR contingent to visit U.S. troops fighting in Iraq had been in the works for a while, but he was also in the process of moving from Las Vegas to Charlotte, N.C., to be closer to his new team headquarters.
His suit and helmet, which were supposed to end up in North Carolina, instead went with him to Iraq.
And while talking with a group of soldiers, Gaughan, the rookie driver for Penske Jasper Motorsports and a two-time Winston West champion, left his helmet out for the troops to look at.
"The helmet was sitting there and someone pulled out a Sharpie," Gaughan said. Before he knew it, about 50 soldiers had signed his helmet.
Someone suggested he take the helmet in the field to get more signatures, but Gaughan was told by military officials not to take any unnecessary equipment out. That included racing helmets.
But one of the soldiers stationed at the Baghdad airport took the helmet out anyway and by the time it was returned to Gaughan, more than 150 soldiers had signed it.
Gaughan received approval from NASCAR officials to use the helmet in a race and he will wear it for his first Daytona 500 on Sunday. After that, Gaughan said he is going to put it away in his trophy case.
"It's the most cherished thing I have," Gaughan said. "Some people who signed it, they are no longer with us."
The signatures on Gaughan's racing helmet will serve as a reminder to how lucky he is to be driving a stock car in his first Daytona 500.
