There were five non-chartered (open) cars on the entry list for this past weekend's NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, and one of the four that successfully qualified was the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet.
Joey Gase drove that car for the second time in 2026 and the first time since he competed in another drafting race at Talladega Superspeedway in late April. He finished in 36th place on Saturday in what was the team's fifth race of the year. They also attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 in February with J.J. Yeley but failed to do so.
But neither Gase nor the team currently have any confirmed plans to run any of the 10 races on the upcoming Cup Series "Chase" postseason schedule.
NY Racing Team, Joey Gase out at Darlington
There are just two open cars on the entry list for Sunday's playoff-opening Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, and the No. 44 car isn't one of them.
These two cars include the No. 66 Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) Ford, which is set to be driven by Chad Finchum after it failed to qualify at Daytona with Gray Gaulding behind the wheel in his first Cup appearance since June 2023, and the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota, which is set to be driven by Corey Heim for the second week in a row and the 10th time this year.
Because the entry list for Sunday's 367-lap race around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) egg-shaped Darlington, South Carolina oval features 38 cars, both of the open cars are locked into the race.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase is scheduled to begin this Sunday, September 6, with live coverage from Darlington Raceway set to be provided by USA Network beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET. Catch all of the action with the first race under the new-look playoff format at the track "Too Tough To Tame"!
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