Gase brings No. 35 late model car out of hibernation at Hawkeye Downs

CEDAR RAPIDS – For Joey Gase, Friday night was a bit of a reunion with an old friend.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series racecar driver and Cedar Rapids native returned to Hawkeye Downs Speedway to compete in the 11th annual Big 8 Late Model Series event “Clash at the Downs,” and he dusted off a racecar that brought him a lot of success for the occasion.

“It was fun,” said Gase, 32. “I have been out here almost once a year the last four or five years. Always in somebody else’s car.”

For the first time since 2018, Gase brought his No. 35 late model racecar out of hibernation. It was the same late model that Gase raced at Downs at age 14 and, two years later, successfully raced to a Late Model points title at Downs in 2009.

“She’s a little older than most out here,” said Gase, a Cedar Rapids Xavier alum. “Got it put back together and had some fun. We were OK, but we definitely need some more speed out of her. A lot more updating to do, but it was a lot of fun to come back home and race the old car that I got a lot of wins out of out here.”

Gase finished eighth. Randy Sargent of South Beloit, Ill. was the first to reach the finish line.

Gase continues to balance an Xfinity Series racing schedule with a third season in an ownership role with Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, a two-car, full-time racing team that includes several Xfinity drivers.

“It’s tough,” Gase said. “You want to be in the seat every week, but you have got to treat it like a business. So if I don’t have a sponsor, we put someone in the car that does.”

On the track, Gase plans to race in about half of the Xfinity schedule. The early highlight of the 2025 season arrived April 26, when Gase qualified fourth at the Ag-Pro 300 at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway before eventually finishing 21 st.

“We’re breaking some records for us, personally,” Gase said. “A huge feat for a really small team and getting more speed every week out of the car. Slowly but surely getting there.”

Gase’s top finish so far this season was 15th at the United Rentals 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in mid-February.

“It has been a so-so year,” Gase said. “Definitely better than the last two years, I would say.”

Other Downs feature race winners included Cedar Rapids’ David Ballstaedt (HD Dawgs), Kurt Bohnsack of Ely (Hornets), Norway’s Adam Petrzelka (Hobby Stocks) and Tallan Chandler (Sport Mods), plus Brandon Herb of Marion (Sportsmans).

With each successive return to Downs, Gase continues to be impressed by the ongoing improvements to the venerable Cedar Rapids racing institution, now in its 100 th season of racing.

“(Downs Race Director) Brian Gibson has done a really good job promoting the track and excited to see what it looks like when they get everything out front done,” Gase said. “Really do a refresh job. The lights are the best in the nation. … Pretty cool that the track has been around for a hundred years, for sure.”