DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In one breath, Robby Gordon is bemoaning the fact that he couldn’t quit NASCAR even if he wanted to. He has money tied up in a race shop and airplanes, with crew members depending on him for their livelihood.

Minutes later, though, Gordon is talking with boundless optimism about the potential of Speed Energy, a brand of energy drink that he’s trying to market on his own.

And does he have a deal for you.

“Race team’s for sale,” Gordon said. “It’s been up for sale. Really, what I’d like to do, I think the smartest thing for us to do as we’re talking candidly here, would be to bring in investors that have more opportunity to (attract) big sponsor relations. Obviously, I can drive it, we can run it, but between doing that and operating Speed, we need people that have more relations than I have.”

Gordon has been a driver-owner in NASCAR since 2005, and the former standout in Indy-style racing has had his moments – including a second-place finish at Infineon Raceway in 2010.

But there are challenges, too.

Does he make money in NASCAR?

“Right now? No,” Gordon said. “We haven’t made money in NASCAR in a long time.”

Would he consider getting out?

“I’ve got a 100,000-square-foot building,” Gordon said. “Unfortunately, I’ve got airplanes that I can’t even afford to use today that are sitting there, I’m still paying insurance on them, I’m still paying payments. The race shop, it’s not paid for, obviously I’m paying rent on it. So I’m stuck. Plain and simple.”

Gordon later reconsidered his use of the word “stuck,” saying he would prefer to stay in NASCAR on a limited schedule and take on investors.

“The reality is, I don’t want to be all the way out,” Gordon said. “I would like to run about 15 stock car races a year. That would be my goal.”

ARCA: Bobby Gerhart, who started 42nd after failing a post-qualifying inspection, won his eighth ARCA series race at Daytona International Speedway. Gerhart passed several rapidly slowing cars for his third consecutive victory at the storied speedway.

Drew Charlson finished second, just ahead of Will Kimmel, Steve Blackburn and Mark Thompson. Brandon McReynolds, who led the previous 62 laps, ran out of gas on the front stretch and faded to 11th.

NHRA: In Chandler, Ariz., Johnny Gray took the No. 1 spot in Funny Car qualifying in the Arizona Nationals.

Shawn Langdon led the Top Fuel field and Mike Edwards topped the Pro Stock class in the second of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season.