Cedar Rapids’ Joey Gase racing in Iowa but in unusual place

Joey Gase is stepping into unknown territory this weekend.

The Cedar Rapids NASCAR driver is back in Iowa, but trying something a little different.

He’ll race in Saturday’s Clean Harbors 250, a NASCAR Truck Series race at Knoxville Raceway.

With the NASCAR Xfinity Series taking a two-week break — and the NASCAR Cup Series taking this weekend off — this was a perfect time for Gase to return home and get in some racing.

“I definitely miss racing in Iowa,” he said earlier this week.

Gase actually made his annual appearance at Hawkeye Downs Speedway last weekend, winning the Asphalt Stock Car feature.

“It was kind of a last-minute deal,” he said from his shop in Charlotte, N.C. “It was an off week for me, so it worked out.”

Getting back in Victory Lane felt good.

“That makes (returning to Iowa) that much better,” he said.

Gase was busy this week getting a truck ready for this weekend’s race in Knoxville — but not the truck he’ll be driving during practice Friday and qualifying Saturday.

That’s part of the deal when you’re an owner/driver. You get equipment ready for others while also focusing on your own time behind the wheel.

This will be a different deal, though. Gase has 90 Cup races over his 12-year career and 254 in the Xfinity Series. He’s been behind the wheel of a truck four times.

“It’s different,” he said of the NASCAR trucks. “But they are still purpose-built race cars.”

The other thing is racing in dirt at the “very well-known” track in Knoxville, the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.” Gase grew up on the asphalt at Hawkeye Downs and hasn’t spent a lot of time on dirt tracks.

“The biggest difference for me is being on dirt,” he said. “I’ve never actually even been” to Knoxville Raceway.

“If I could get in the Top 15 this weekend, finish the race and have some fun ... I’d be thrilled.”

The Emerling-Gase Motorsports team ranks 28th in owner points in the Xfinity Series and Gase has five starts, his latest — and best — a 16th at Talladega Superspeedway.

He’s not the only driver on the team, so he’s not behind the wheel every weekend.

“If I have a sponsor, I’ll drive it,” he said, adding if he doesn’t someone else will drive the car. “I have to treat it as a business.

“(But) we’ve made every race, 100 percent.”

His first foray into ownership has gone well, he said.

“There’s always room to improve,” he said. “We’re meeting the majority of our goals.”

And now he’s back in Iowa, in a different kind of racecar on a different kind of surface.

“I get to race in front of my friends and family again in the great state of Iowa,” he said.

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