Promising Night Cut Short: Gale Finishes 32nd After Being Caught Up in Multi-Truck Wreck

Cale Gale

> DAYTONA BEACH, FL. -- With a truck that was quick immediately off the hauler, Gale had posted competitive speeds on the practice chart throughout the weekend and secured the seventh starting position during qualifying. The team had kept the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet running near the front of the pack throughout the first half of the event. With no complaints regarding the truck's handling, the Rheem team worked to devise the optimal pit strategy to place Gale in the best position for the closing laps of the race. Unfortunately the team was never given the opportunity to play out that strategy and Gale's night came to an end as the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado was collected in a multi-truck accident on lap 62 of the event. At the conclusion of the NextEra Energy Resources 250, Gale was scored in the 32nd position.

The Rheem team unloaded the No. 33 Chevrolet and cleared NASCAR technical inspection just hours before the first practice. Prior to entering the session, the team had devised a plan for what shocks and springs they would like to try throughout the session to ensure that Gale's truck traveled properly around the 2.5-mile superspeedway and was dialed in as best they could. Gale pulled the Rheem Chevrolet Silverado on track at Daytona International Speedway and immediately posted a lap that was third quick among approximately 30 trucks that had already posted speeds. By the end of final practice, the team had the Rheem Chevrolet Silverado handling exactly as they wanted and the entire group was looking forward to seeing how their truck measured up during the race.

Cale Gale made his debut for Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) from the seventh position in what is typically considered a "wild card" race for driver's in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Within the opening 10 laps, Gale had worked his way into the top-five. The 26-year-old Alabama native was able to hold his ground inside the top-five through a round of pit stops and the next green flag run. After taking just two tires and fuel during the opening caution, crew chief Jerry Baxter made the decision to recall the No. 33 machine to pit road under yellow flag conditions during the lap 43 caution for fuel only. Gale made the long drive down pit road twice during that caution-once for an initial fuel stop, and once to top-off his fuel tank.

The stop caused Gale to drop back further in the pack than he had raced all day; however, it also put him in a good position for the end of the race. While many other drivers would be forced down pit road to fill their entire fuel tank, Gale was in a position to take only a few seconds of gasoline and return to the track quicker.

By lap 61, Gale was among a group of drivers who were racing hard for position. Traveling three-wide through the tri-oval, another driver moved up the track and into the front quarter panel of Gale. With nowhere left to go, Gale turned head-on into the outside wall directly in front of teammate Mike Skinner. Both ESR trucks suffered extensive damage as a result of the accident and were forced to retire from the event. Gale was credited with a 32nd-place finish in the 250-mile event at Daytona International Speedway.

"I hate it for all of our guys at Eddie Sharp Racing, for everyone at Rheem, and for all the fans," commented Cale Gale following the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway. "We had high expectations for this race. We knew we had a really strong truck and expected to be competing for the win tonight. Unfortunately we got caught up in an accident. Our truck was awesome and we had a good pit strategy-Jerry had us in great shape. The Rheem team will go to the next one and try again-that's all we can do. We've learned a lot during our first two races together and we will continue to get better every week."

Cale Gale will return to his roots with a little bit of short-track racing over the next month. First the Rheem team will travel to Mobile, Ala., where Gale will compete at his home track for the inaugural Mobile ARCA 200. While the race won't be televised, fans are encouraged to follow all the action both on- and off-the-track online. Additionally, Gale will make several appearances in the days leading up to the event to thank all of his fans in Mobile for supporting his career.

Following the ARCA event, Gale will return to the seat of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway-the site of Gale's career best NCWTS finish (seventh), recorded last fall. Race coverage will begin at 1:00 p.m. EST on SPEED, MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on Saturday, March 31. As always, fans can visit www.teamesr.com, www.twitter.com/teamesr, or www.facebook.com/TeamESR for the latest news and updates about Cale Gale and the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado team.

Cale Gale Daytona Update: Final Practice

> Final Practice Notes: There were no incidents involving the No. 33 entry during practice. All three trucks attempted drafting practice during the session. Cale was very pleased with how the trucks handled throughout the session. The No. 33 is slated to qualify 21st tomorrow.

> Quotes: Cale Gale, No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet:"It's Daytona; anything can happen here. Our Rheem Chevrolet is really fast and I'm comfortable with the way it handles. I'm just so thankful to be here and have the opportunity to kick off the 2012 season with the support of Rheem and Eddie Sharp Racing. It's going to be a good race."

> Media Coverage: Tune into SPEED tonight at 6:30 p.m. EST to watch final practice from Daytona International Speedway and tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. EST for qualifying. Live coverage of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 will be broadcast on SPEED, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio beginning at 7:00p.m. EST on Friday, February 24th.

Cale Gale Daytona Update: First Practice

> Practice Notes: There were no incidents involving the No. 33 entry during practice. Gale's truck was quick immediately off the hauler placing him third on the leaderboard during his first run with approximately 30 trucks already taking time.

> Quotes: Cale Gale, No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet: "Jerry and all the guys have been working really hard. Our truck handles really well; we need to work on making it suck up to other trucks better in the draft, but I think it will be great in the race. Our Rheem Chevrolet and all of our Eddie Sharp Racing teammates should be really strong in tomorrow night's event."

> Media Coverage: Tune into SPEED tonight at 6:30 p.m. EST to watch final practice from Daytona International Speedway and tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. EST for qualifying. Live coverage of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 will be broadcast on SPEED, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio beginning at 7:00p.m. EST on Friday, February 24th.

Cale Gale Daytona International Speedway Event Preview

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 - February 24, 2012

Cale Gale

No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado News and Notes

> Double Duty at Daytona... The NextEra Energy Resources 250 will actually be Cale Gale's second race at Daytona International Speedway this week. Gale wheeled the No. 6 Rheem Chevrolet in the ARCA Racing Series event on Saturday afternoon where he brought home a 13th-place finish. This weekend, Gale is set to make his debut in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), where he will race all season for Eddie Sharp Racing. By the conclusion of Friday night, Gale is expected to have completed over 450 miles of racing around the 2.5-mile superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.

> Racing for Rookie of the Year... After spending the last six seasons racing part-time schedules at teams like Phoenix Racing and Kevin Harvick Inc., NASCAR driver Cale Gale will finally take on a full-time schedule in the NCWTS with Eddie Sharp Racing. As a result, the 26-year-old Mobile, Ala., native will finally have the opportunity to make an official run at the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title. Over a period of three seasons, Gale has made a total of 10 NCWTS starts.

> New Partners, New Places... Cale Gale and Atlanta-based Rheem Manufacturing Company first paired up during the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Later that year, Gale turned heads as he captured the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway and went on to finish fourth at the grueling track in his No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet. The feat quickly caught the attention and support of Rheem executives, and the duo have worked side-by-side ever since. Gale has competed under the Rheem colors in NCWTS, ARCA, and Super Late Model series events, and will continue that relationship in 2012 at Eddie Sharp Racing.

> Listen In... Cale Gale will be on Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody and Angie Skinner at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 20. He will recap the action from the ARCA Racing Series' Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, and preview the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' NextEra Energy Resources 250 from Daytona International Speedway. Tune in on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90, to hear what the driver of the Rheem Chevrolet has to say. Gale will also be on WBOB Radio in Jacksonville, Fla., with ESR teammates Justin Lofton and Mike Skinner from 11:50 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. on Friday, February 24. Listen online at <http://www.wbobradio.com/> http://www.wbobradio.com/.

> Meet Cale... Fans are invited to attend the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series autograph session at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 24th from 2:30-3:15 p.m. The driver of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado will be on hand to meet fans and sign autographs for the crowd.

> Follow Cale... Fans are invited to follow Cale Gale, driver of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado, on twitter <http://twitter.com/CaleGale> @CaleGale and on <https://www.facebook.com/CaleGale> Facebook (facebook.com/CaleGale). Fans can also check out the new <http://www.CaleGale.com> www.CaleGale.com for news and updates throughout the weekend.

> Get the Inside Scoop... Follow Eddie Sharp Racing on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook to get real-time updates and behind the scenes information: <http://www.twitter.com/teamesr> @TeamESR or <https://www.facebook.com/teamesr> facebook.com/teamesr.

> Watch and Listen...The NextEra Energy Resources 250 from Daytona International Speedway will be broadcast live on SPEED, MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, at 7:00 p.m. EST on Friday, February 24. Practice sessions from the 2.5-mile track will be aired on Thursday, February 23, at 12:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. EST. Qualifying for the 250-mile event will be broadcast on SPEED at 4:00 p.m. EST Friday afternoon.

Cale Gale Daytona International Speedway ARCA Post Race Report

Rookie & No. 6 Rheem Team Scores Solid 13th Place Finish in ESR Debut

Cale Gale at Daytona in the No.6 Rheem Racing Chevy

DAYTONA, FL. (February 18, 2012) - Cale Gale made his debut for Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) this weekend in the No. 6 Rheem Chevrolet in the ARCA Racing Series.  As an ARCA championship-winning team, the ESR group utilized the weekend to get Gale warmed up for next Friday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, and also for the March 10th ARCA event at Mobile International Speedway.

The team opened up the weekend with a car noticeably quicker than many of the competitors.  The No. 6 Rheem Chevrolet ranked among the top-five speeds for single-car runs in first practice, and Gale picked up 0.118-seconds during final practice just hours before the race.  Gale ran a 49.516-second lap to capture the sixth starting position among the 54 cars attempting to qualify for the 200-mile event at the prestigious Daytona International Speedway. 

After starting the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 in the sixth position, Gale found himself in the slower outside lane as many of his competitors dropped down to the inside groove and passed drivers racing around the top.  Without much drafting help, Gale had to test his patience to pick up positions around the track.  A couple of quick cautions during the opening 15 laps brought many of the drivers down pit road and enabled Gale to move through the field. 

By lap 18, Gale led the field to the green flag in his No. 6 Rheem Chevrolet.  The 26-year-old from Mobile, Ala., stayed out during the two previous cautions, gained track position, and quickly proved the ability of his car by pulling several car lengths ahead of his competitors without anyone's help. In fact, the Rheem Chevrolet may have been almost too strong alone and three competitors trailing the No. 6 soon utilized drafting to overtake Gale, who was forced to settle in to the fourth position.

The ARCA race at Daytona is typically filled with cautions, but this event was no normal race as the field ran nearly 50 consecutive laps under green.  Gale, who was the only driver on a different pit strategy, was forced to visit pit road under green flag conditions for a fuel-only stop.  Gale returned to the track and came dangerously close to falling a lap down to the rest of the field.  However, a well-timed caution and a leader who was willing to work with Gale enabled the No. 6 Rheem Chevrolet to stay on the lead lap when the yellow flag was displayed on lap 68.  Gale circled back around the field and remained on track for the closing laps trying to work his way around traffic.  The field was set up for a green-white-checkered finish and a couple drivers agreed to go with Gale to the high-side with a plan to move to the front.  However, when it was time to go, Gale pulled into the upper groove, while some of his expected partners stayed around the bottom of the racetrack.  After 83 laps of racing, Gale was officially scored in the 13th position. 

"Our Rheem Chevrolet was pretty good today," commented Cale Gale, driver of the No. 6 Rheem Chevrolet.  "We chose a different pit strategy that didn't work out for us.  We ended up having a long green run that we didn't think would happen.  It's not what we wanted, and we're disappointed.  We have next week coming up, and all of our Rheem guys are really excited to kick off our first truck race in Daytona.  Hopefully we'll get a good run in next weekend."

CALE GALE TO PULL DOUBLE DUTY AT DAYTONA

Rookie Driver Will Compete in Both the ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Daytona International Speedway

CALE GALE

DENVER, N.C. (February 13, 2012) - The 2012 season is sure to be a pivotal year in the career of Eddie Sharp Racing's (ESR) talented NASCAR driver, Cale Gale. After growing up in Mobile, Ala., with a dream of racing stock cars, the 26-year-old is poised to finally compete in his first full-season of NASCAR competition. While he will spend the season making a bid for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), he will spend the next two weeks at Daytona International Speedway getting as much seat time as possible while pulling double duty. Driving both ESR's No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado in the NCWTS and the No. 6 Rheem Chevrolet in the ARCA Racing Series, Gale is expected to compete in 450 miles of racing during Speedweeks in Daytona Beach, Fla.

"I'm excited to finally get to the track and get the season started," said Cale Gale, driver of the Rheem Chevrolet. "I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to work with [crew chief] Jerry Baxter and the team during the ARCA race this weekend; hopefully it will give us an opportunity to work on our communication and make sure that everything is in order for when we come back next weekend for the truck race."

In addition to the full NCWTS schedule, Gale will come home to Mobile to compete in the inaugural ARCA Racing Series event at Mobile International Speedway on March10. Throughout his ARCA career, Gale has competed in a total of nine races, achieving eight top-10s, six top-fives and a win at Gateway International Raceway in just his second start.

Gale's 2012 full-season NCWTS ride with Atlanta-based Rheem Manufacturing Company continues a relationship which began with Gale competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona in February 2008. That same year, Gale turned heads by winning the Nationwide Series pole and finishing fourth at Bristol in the Rheem No. 33 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Since then, he has competed under the Rheem colors in NCWTS, ARCA and Super Late Model series events.

"Rheem is extremely pleased with our new relationship with Eddie Sharp Racing and that our company and brands will continue to be associated with Cale Gale", said Ed Raniszeski, Rheem Corporate Director Strategic Relationships. "ESR is a classy operation and Cale is a very talented young driver who has earned an opportunity to reach for his dream. We respect his dogged determination to succeed and believe this opportunity is an example of what is possible through hard work and commitment to excellence as a person and as a professional. Above all, Cale is an outstanding young man whose easy-going nature and genuineness connects with fans at all levels, as well as with our customers. We wish him the very best this season."

The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 from Daytona International Speedway will be broadcast live on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. EST, on Saturday, February 18. Fans can also tune-in to the NCWTS' 2012 season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 24. Live coverage of the event will begin at 7:00 p.m. EST on SPEED, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

For more information on Eddie Sharp Racing, follow @TeamESR on Twitter or log on to the Eddie Sharp Racing Fan Page on Facebook.