Joey Gase Bio
Joseph Robert Gase, known professionally as Joey Gase, is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. Born on February 8, 1993, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he has spent more than a decade competing across NASCAR’s national touring divisions while also fielding his own entries. He is recognized both for his work as a driver and for his long-running efforts to promote organ donation awareness.
Over the course of his career, Gase has competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, including a stint driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team, and part-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the current name of the second-tier Xfinity Series, behind the wheel of the Nos. 35 and 53 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen. He also owns and operates his own team, Joey Gase Motorsports, which fields Chevrolets in the series.
Early Life and Background
Joey Gase was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he developed an early fascination with speed. He began his racing journey at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in 2001, competing in the track’s junior classes. That local grounding in short-track racing shaped the disciplined work ethic that has followed him through every level of the sport.
By 2007, Gase had won the track modified B championship at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, becoming the youngest driver ever to claim that title. Two years later, in 2009, he added another milestone by becoming the youngest driver to win the late model championship at his home track, Hawkeye Downs Speedway. Gase graduated from Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids in 2011, the same year he made his first national-series start.
Off the track, Gase experienced a formative personal loss when his mother, Mary Jo, died from a brain aneurysm while he was eighteen years old. Her passing later inspired his well-known advocacy for organ donation, a cause that has become closely tied to his public identity as a driver.
Path to NASCAR
After climbing the short-track ladder in Iowa and Wisconsin, Gase branched out into regional touring series. He ran a limited American Speed Association schedule beginning in 2008 and added selected ARCA Racing Series, USAR Pro Cup Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events in 2010 and 2011. Those seasons gave him the experience needed to make the jump to NASCAR’s national level.
Gase made his first NASCAR Nationwide Series start at Iowa Speedway in August 2011, driving the No. 39 Ford for Go Green Racing. He posted five starts during the second half of the season, recording a best finish of twentieth and an average finish around twenty-fifth. The following year, he was announced as the lead driver of a planned two-car Go Green Racing effort, though a lack of sponsorship forced him into a partial season split across several teams.
Through steady work and a willingness to run limited schedules, Gase kept his foot in the door at the national level. In late 2012, he announced plans to drive full-time for Jimmy Means Racing in 2013, even as sponsorship challenges continued to shape his path. That persistence ultimately opened the door to his Cup Series debut in 2014 and to a career that has spanned more than a decade across all three of NASCAR’s top national series.
Joey Gase Career
Early Career (2008-2013)
Gase’s early career was built on short-track success and regional touring experience. After winning championships at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway and Hawkeye Downs Speedway, he turned his attention to higher-profile regional series. His American Speed Association starts in 2008 marked his first step beyond weekly tracks, and his 2010 and 2011 ARCA and K&N Pro Series East entries gave him exposure to longer races and larger fields.
His first Nationwide Series season with Go Green Racing in 2011 was modest but encouraging. Plans for a full 2012 season with Go Green Racing were scaled back due to sponsorship, leading to a split schedule across multiple teams. The 2013 move to Jimmy Means Racing provided more stability, even as he continued to piece together additional opportunities with Go Green Racing later that same year.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Breakthrough (2011-Present)
Gase’s most sustained success at the national level has come in what is now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. His best career Xfinity finish came on May 2, 2015, when he placed fifth in the Winn-Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, a result that highlighted his comfort on the drafting tracks. Across his Xfinity career, he has recorded four top-ten finishes without a victory, and his best series points result was a twentieth-place ranking in both 2014 and 2018.
On January 5, 2018, Gase was announced as the full-time driver of the No. 35 Chevrolet Camaro owned by Go Green Racing, a sister team to Go FAS Racing. The following year, he joined MBM Motorsports to run the full Xfinity schedule in the team’s No. 35 Toyota Supra. From 2020 onward, he has continued as a part-time competitor, racing the Nos. 35 and 53 Chevrolet Camaro SS entries for his own Joey Gase Motorsports team with Scott Osteen.
One of the more dramatic moments of his Xfinity career came at the 2024 ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway, where a late-race crash led to a heated reaction in which Gase tore off his bumper and threw it toward another car. NASCAR fined him $5,000 for the safety violation. The incident drew attention to his intensity, even as he continued running the part-time schedule for his own team.
NASCAR Cup Series (2014-Present)
Gase made his NASCAR Cup Series debut on August 27, 2014, driving the No. 32 Ford for Go FAS Racing in the MyAFibStory.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. He returned in 2015 with Go FAS Racing at Richmond, though that race ended with a hard impact into the SAFER barrier after contact from Aric Almirola. His best Cup Series points result remains a forty-fourth-place finish in 2020.
Over the years, Gase has bounced between several Cup teams, including BK Racing, Premium Motorsports, MBM Motorsports, StarCom Racing, and Rick Ware Racing. In 2020, he raced full-time in the Cup Series with Rick Ware Racing, though he did not compete for championship points that season. In 2021, he switched to the No. 28 car for a tribute paint scheme honoring Davey Allison at the GEICO 500 weekend at Talladega.
A frightening moment came at the 2021 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, when a tire failure sent his No. 15 RWR car airborne into the wall. Gase was transported to a local hospital and released a few hours later. After a stretch focused on the Xfinity Series, he returned to Cup competition on August 20, 2024, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet for NY Racing Team in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, where he tied the team’s best finish with a twentieth-place run.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2018-2022)
Gase made his Craftsman Truck Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2018, driving a start-and-park entry for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing. He started twenty-sixth and finished thirty-first in that first outing. Later that same year, on September 28, he was announced as a driver for Copp Motorsports in a one-race deal at Talladega with Sparks Energy as the sponsor.
His Truck Series work was limited but consistent with his role as a versatile short-notice driver. His final Truck Series start came at the 2022 Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond, and his best season ranking in the series was a one-hundredth-place finish in 2022. Across his Truck Series career, he has not recorded a top-ten or a pole.
Joey Gase Motorsports Era (2018-Present)
Joey Gase Motorsports has become the central pillar of Gase’s professional life. The team fields the Nos. 35, 53, and 55 Chevrolet Camaro SS entries in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Scott Osteen as a key partner. Running his own operation has allowed Gase to balance driving duties with the responsibilities of ownership, and it has given him a platform to feature organ donation awareness liveries and other tribute paint schemes.
His Cup Series starts in 2024 and beyond have come with separate organizations, including NY Racing Team and Garage 66, allowing him to keep his own Xfinity program running while taking on select top-level opportunities. The arrangement has kept him active at both ends of the national series ladder.
Driving Style and Strengths
Gase has built much of his reputation on the drafting tracks of NASCAR, including Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway, where his fifth-place Xfinity finish at Talladega in 2015 stands out as his best series result. His experience across multiple teams has also made him a reliable short-notice option for teams needing a fill-in driver, a role he has filled repeatedly since his Cup debut in 2014.
Notable Races and Milestones
Among his signature moments, Gase’s fifth-place run in the 2015 Winn-Dixie 300 at Talladega, his twentieth-place finish with NY Racing Team in the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400, and his 2021 airborne crash at Las Vegas are the most memorable. He is also recognized for becoming the youngest late model champion at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in 2009.
Joey Gase Career Wins
Across his time in NASCAR’s top three national series, Joey Gase has notched four top-ten finishes in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, with no victories, poles, or wins at the Cup or Craftsman Truck level. His best championship result in the second-tier series was a twentieth-place ranking in both 2014 and 2018, while his best Cup Series result was a forty-fourth-place points finish in 2020.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Highlights
Gase’s first top-five result in the Xfinity Series came at Talladega in 2015, and he has continued to chase a first series victory since then. His most recent top-ten run, and his highest profile race of recent seasons, was the 2024 ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond, where his post-race incident drew league attention. He has not recorded a pole position in series competition.
Other Wins and Performances
Outside of NASCAR’s national series, Gase is best known for his early short-track championships at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway and Hawkeye Downs Speedway. He has also competed in the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East, though he has not recorded top finishes in either developmental tour. He is the recipient of the 2015 Comcast Community Champion Award, which recognized his organ donation advocacy.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| NASCAR Cup Series | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Joey Gase Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Gase’s mother, Mary Jo, played a defining role in his personal life and his later advocacy work. Her sudden death from a brain aneurysm when Gase was eighteen led to her donated organs helping sixty-six other people, a story Gase has used to promote organ donation awareness through his racing liveries. That cause has become one of the defining themes of his career and his team’s identity.
Personal Life
Joey Gase is married to Caitlin Gase, and the couple has two sons, Carson and Jace. He graduated from Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and continues to make his home in the region where his racing career began. His charitable work, particularly around organ donation, has remained a central focus of his public life alongside his driving and team ownership duties.
2025 Season Performance
Joey Gase’s 2025 season is built around his role as both driver and team owner at Joey Gase Motorsports, where he has continued to field the Nos. 35 and 53 Chevrolet Camaro SS entries in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Scott Osteen. He has also maintained a part-time presence at the Cup level, including with NY Racing Team and Garage 66, as opportunities have allowed.
His O’Reilly Auto Parts Series effort is reflected in a thirty-fourth-place points position for the 2025 campaign, consistent with his part-time schedule and owner-driver role. Across the season, Gase has continued to balance limited starts with the demands of running his own operation, and his work in the Cup Series has been measured by select high-profile entries rather than a full-time run.
Looking ahead, Gase’s focus remains on keeping his multi-car Xfinity program competitive while chasing his first national-series victory. His experience across drafting tracks, combined with the stability of his own team, gives him a familiar platform to build on as the season continues.
