Joey Gase's work with sponsors paid off with Hawkeye Downs win

CEDAR RAPIDS — Joey Gase is constantly on the move.

Whether he's traveling weekly as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, to the Jimmy Means Racing shop to help with his No. 52 Chevys, to sponsor appearances and meetings or simply on the phone tracking new partners down, the Cedar Rapids native doesn't let up.

He doesn't really have any other option. In order to chase the racing dreams he has, it's part of the deal.

Back in Iowa for this weekend's NXS race at Iowa Speedway, Gase spent this week doing all of the above — highlighted Friday night by a main event win in his No. 35 Late Model at Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

'I always feel like I'm behind and rushed; doing something. I never feel like I can relax. We're always looking for sponsors, and when we do get them, we're trying to get everything we can done for them and keep them happy,' Gase said. 'This absolutely makes it all worth it. It's always good to come back home to Hawkeye Downs and get to Victory Lane. I don't care if you're racing a go-kart or a Cup race. A win's a win.'

Gase has had an interesting 2016 to this point, too.

The sponsor side of things continues to grow by the week, making all the work he does — essentially on his own, by the way — fruitful. Gase did his usual rounds with Iowa Donor Network, highlighted by an event in Ankeny for the Iowa DOT in which kids put their handprints on the car and signed their names in honor of organ donation.

He also welcomed Cedar Rapids-based companies Speed-E-Pan — a recyclable oil pan — and Highway Equipment Company this week to help with both NXS and Late Model efforts. And he also announced an upcoming partnership with the Lisa Colagrassi Foundation, which is working to raise awareness of brain aneurysms — the condition that Gase's mom Mary died from.

So much positive energy (and cash flow) made coming to his home state to race even sweeter.

'One connection leads to another one, with the sponsors, and on and on,' Gase said. 'I wouldn't be out there without any of them.

'(This year has) not been as good as I would've liked, but these last couple of weeks we've been going the right direction and getting some good finishes. Hopefully it keep continuing on. We've been learning some things, too, that have helped us.'

Gase has three top-25 finishes this season, and they've all come in the last three races — highlighted by season-bests of 23rd at both Dover and Pocono.

He came into Iowa Speedway on Friday hoping to build on those results — the Pocono one, he said, 'we probably had the worst car we've had all year, and somehow we matched our best finish.' In just one practice on Friday, Gase finished the session 25th on the speed charts ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

Gase missed the second practice to get back to Cedar Rapids and race his Late Model, but said the missed track time shouldn't hurt too bad given how the conditions will be Sunday.

'We'll still be all right and get the car tuned in. The thing is the second session … (was) a lot cooler than what it will be Sunday. So if we had to pick a practice to run, the first one would be the one we want to have anyway,' Gase said. 'I was the tightest I've probably ever been at Iowa (in practice). Our corner entry was better than it's ever been before, so we don't quite know what's going on. Hopefully we can get it freed up and be a little bit better.'

Gase started fourth in the Late Model main event Friday night at Hawkeye Downs, made quick work of the front three cars and never really looked back in beating Brian Gibson, Brad Osborn, Brian Allen and Scott Siems to the finish. Not to mention, he did all of that with just one contact lens in — the other fell out during pace laps.

Getting to play a little bit at his home track certainly makes a sponsor appearance more fun. He's a racer, after all.

Moments like that make the stress and work finding sponsors and working on his racecars all the more worth it. All that's left this weekend is trying to better his best finish of the season in his Xfinity car.

'Not really (I don't get tired of the work). Some days, I've learned that I just can't stressed out by it, because whatever happens happens,' Gase said. 'Tonight was good. Tonight was fun. Luckily I was able to get around those front guys before Brian (Gibson) was. We were able to make it happen.

'I think we had 300 people over on the party deck (for Iowa Donor Network). We've been working hard, and it paid off, I guess.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com