Miguel Gomes will do his best to make a dream come true and compete in an official NASCAR race at the iconic Daytona International Speedway. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series driver will try to qualify for the 2023 ARCA race at Daytona, which will take place on Saturday, February 18th, just before the NASCAR Xfinity race. Gomes would be only the second Portuguese to take the green flag in a US NASCAR race after Joao Barbosa, who competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series back in 2010.
Gomes, who began his NWES career in 2021 with Marko Stipp Motorsport from Germany, will join Young’s Motorsports to take the wheel of the #02 Chevrolet. Saturday’s race will cover a total of 80 laps or 200 miles. Prior to the race, the 42-year-old will have to qualify for the Lucas Oil 200, which is limited to 40 cars. Gomes gained valuable experience at the 2.5 mile Florida track with up to 30 degrees banking during ARCA’s pre-season testing in January and is optimistic of a good starting position.
“My biggest dream since I started racing in real life has been to race at Daytona, so to be able to do it during the Daytona 500 weekend is just hard to believe! I still have to qualify for the race on Saturday, but just to be able to try is great,” said Gomes. “I felt good driving the car by myself, but didn’t get a chance to do much drafting because of the radio issues. Now I’ll be in a different car and drafting with a lot more cars, so I’ll try to get some extra simulator practice and coaching with driver Kyle Lockrow, who has been helping out since the test.”
“It’s not guaranteed that I’ll be able to qualify, because they’re expecting a full field this time. And if I manage to see the green flag on Saturday, then the first goal is to see the checkered flag! Anything can happen at Daytona, so I’ll just do my best and work hard to learn quickly,” he continued. The most exciting element of racing in Daytona is “the speed”, said Gomes. “You are always going close to 300 kph with cars all around you, you have to be really smooth at all times and be ready to react quickly if something happens in front of you.”
Gomes took his first steps in stock car racing by joining the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in 2021. An experienced simulator racer, he finished 15th in his first season with one top-10 result. He ended up third in the Rookie and Legend Trophy for debuting drivers and drivers aged 40 and older respectively. In 2022, he finished 16th with three top-10 results and fourth in the Legend Trophy. Gomes has yet to confirm his plans for the 2023 NWES season and is working to return to Marko Stipp Motorsport – the team that put him in contact with Fast Track Racing for the ARCA pre-season test.
