Spencer Gallagher could find himself behind the wheel in the next NASCAR Cup Series race and while he has one NASCAR Cup Series start, he wouldn't characterize himself as fully ready for a full-time Cup ride.
He would characterize himself as being as ready as he has for any other step along the NASCAR ladder.
The son of GMS owner Maurice Gallagher is expected to get the nod to drive the No. 23 Cup car if GMS president Mike Beam is successful in his bid to purchase BK Racing. The sale is scheduled for approval Tuesday in U.S. bankruptcy court, and Beam, with the support of Gallagher, was vying for the team along with Front Row Motorsports and possibly a company formed by former BK owner Ron Devine.
The sale is scheduled to occur Monday but the winning bidder won't be revealed until court Tuesday.
Gallagher, owner of Allegiant Airlines and other companies, is likely to emerge with the winning bid, with court approval possibly the biggest hurdle.
But if the sale is approved, the buyer must be on track for practice Aug. 31 at Darlington Raceway.
For GMS Racing, that means Spencer Gallagher, 28, likely will be in the car.
"Something I've learned through my progression in this business is I effectively have been thrown in the deep end in every series I ever participated in just because I started out late in this game," he said.
"I turned my first lap in an oval when I was 19. So my entire career has been one long chain of, 'Sink or swim, kid.'"
Gallagher has had a year to remember and forget. He won the April 28 Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway and then three days later he was suspended indefinitely for failing a NASCAR drug test.
His comments about partying after the Talladega win had people wondering whether he should have said those things. But he said he had no idea that he faced a possible suspension when he was celebrating the Talladega win.
Gallagher confirmed the test was not done at Talladega (the tests are sent to the Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory of Salt Lake City, so a turnaround in a few days is not practical), but wouldn't say when the test was taken. He declined to say (and NASCAR never reveals) the drug found in his system.
Gallagher swears he didn't know a suspension was coming when he won at Talladega, indicating that the test was long enough prior to Talladega that he figured he didn't have an issue.
"I got a call Tuesday [after the race] and I'm pretty sure they had to get an excavator because my heart dropping through the building left a crater," Gallagher said.
NASCAR reinstated Gallagher two months later and he has been eligible to compete since July 4.
"I've definitely grown a lot," Gallagher said. "That was an experience, to be sure. The best experiences make the best teachers. The worst experiences make the best teachers. I'd like to think I have grown up a lot. ... I spend time at GMS like it's my life because it is my life. I'm here and dedicated to make this race team everything I possibly can."
Gallagher hasn't competed on a weekly basis since his reinstatement. GMS Racing had done deals for other drivers to compete while Gallagher was indefinitely suspended and has honored deals and commitments unless it was a situation where the substitute driver didn't mind giving up the ride.
So Gallagher has competed in just two Xfinity races since his reinstatement in addition to the Cup race at Watkins Glen earlier this month.
"You always enjoy being in the seat week-in, week-out," Gallagher said. "But it's been really just nice getting back in the garage, being with the team. I just get to sit on the box and play owner for a couple of races, observe from the outside what's going on."
Gallagher said he has spent a ton of time in the simulator prior to getting back in the car last month at Kentucky.
"That felt really good -- that's one of those things that your life is back together and back on track," Gallagher said.
It will literally be back on track if he is in a Cup seat full time.
"I know it's going to be a challenge if that's what it comes to," said Gallagher, who has two top-5 finishes in 51 career Xfinity starts and was seventh in the standings at the time of his suspension.
"We're not just jumping in the deep end in the Cup Series, you're jumping in the ocean. ... If I get that call, I've kind of inoculated myself against that fear of the unknown. Every time I've been asked to sink or swim so far, I've managed to swim. So I see no reason to think I couldn't do it again."