By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Despite giving his best effort, Joey Gase becomes one of two drivers to be sent home after the Gander RV Duel at Daytona.
When MBM Motorsports arrived in Daytona Saturday, the car did not unload off the truck with speed. Going into the duel, Gase did not know if he would be able to draft at all.
“We didn’t know if we were going to draft at all,” Gase said post-race. “With it being an impound race and us being a small team with nothing to fall back on, you have to load up so good. We just don’t have anything to do that. It would have been nice if it wasn’t an impound race and we had a little more practice. I am just happy for the opportunity.”
After the 60-lap dash to the checkered flag, Gase emerged from the car disappointed, but he also believes that the team surprised people by how long they hanged on at the beginning.
“Of course, I am disappointed. At the same time, I think we surprised a lot of people by hanging on as long as we did at the beginning,” he said. “In my book, we are only one of the really, really small teams that attempted of the open cars.
“We are the only car that doesn’t have a leased motor or any
affiliation with anybody. I am happy to have the opportunity for how low a
budget deal this is. Brendan Gaughan had the faster car, but it was fun racing
him while we could. We will hopefully go get them Sunday.”
Although Gase and MBM Motorsports did not make the Daytona 500, their Monster Energy
NASCAR Cup Series schedule remains the same.
“The plan is still the same. That check would have helped a lot to a little team like us. I didn’t know what the plan was going to be in the offseason when some bad stuff happened to me. I have to thank Carl for the opportunity because I wouldn’t be here without him.”