Brad Perez rejoins Emerling-Gase for 2023 Xfinity

Brad Pérez will return to Emerling-Gase Motorsports for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, running a part-time slate beginning at Circuit of the Americas on 25 March. He announced the news via video posted on social media in which he approaches EGM owners Patrick Emerling and Joey Gase about a 2023 seat before being ordered to find sponsorship, leading to a series of comedic calls to secure funding.

A subsequent graphic confirms the COTA entry, though other starts were not immediately revealed as he hints by listing later dates as “idk yet”, “we will figure it out”, and “yeah”. One of the phone calls in his video is to sponsor Weiss Sand & Clay, LP who requests he enter the Chicago Street Race (1 July), to which he responds, “We’ll see about that.”

Pérez made his NASCAR début in 2022 as a road course ringer with a pair of Truck Series starts for Reaume Brothers Racing, scoring a top twenty in his maiden start at COTA. He later entered the Xfinity race at Indianapolis for MBM Motorsports but failed to qualify, before racing Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval for EGM with another twentieth at the former. Due to his background as a Spec Miata racer, all of his starts have come on road courses. Assuming he continues to race on such tracks in 2023, other Xfinity road races besides COTA include Portland International Raceway (3 June), Sonoma Raceway (10 June), Road America (29 July), Indianapolis (12 August), Watkins Glen (19 August), and the Roval (7 October).

A popular name in the garage and online, he also works as a mechanic and tyre specialist along with odd jobs to support his career.

He is the first confirmed driver for EGM in 2023 as the team plans to run the #35 and #53 full-time for multiple drivers. The #35 was the team’s primary car during their first year in 2022 and finished thirtieth in owner points, while the #53 only ran the season opener at Daytona and Talladega.