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[/media-credit]Cale Gale
No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado
Charlotte Motor Speedway – N.C. Education Lottery 200
May 18, 2012
Cale Gale races teammate Justin Lofton at  Charlotte Motor Speedway
Cale Gale drove the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet to a 19th-place finish in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 on Friday night. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender fought back from being two laps down to finish on the lead lap at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ (NCWTS) fifth race of the season.
The NCWTS competed with a one-day show feature at Charlotte Motor Speedway featuring two practice sessions in the morning followed by qualifying in the afternoon and the 200-mile race Friday night. The No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet unloaded fast with Gale ninth on the speed chart during the opening session and third on the board during final practice.
The races at Charlotte Motor Speedway always hold a special significance for teams who operate out of race shops surrounding the Charlotte, N.C. region. Gale rolled off eighth in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 after posting a 30.051-second lap in qualifying earlier that afternoon. The Mobile, Ala. native raced inside the top-10 throughout the opening laps before coming down pit road during the lap 25 caution period for his first pit stop of the night. With only two sets of sticker tires to use during the race, crew chief Jerry Baxter made the call for a fuel-only stop knowing how crucial new tires can be at the intermediate track.
By lap 30, Gale seemed to be falling through the field as he told the crew his truck was “plowing tight.” Following the advice of veteran spotter, Rick Carelli, Gale searched the track for a higher line that would balance out the handling of his truck until the Rheem team was able to pit. Gale was on pit road under green flag conditions by lap 64 when the driver felt a tire going flat on the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet. The team decided to short pit and execute a list of changes that Baxter came up with to help Gale’s Silverado. When the caution was displayed five laps later, Gale found himself in the 26th position just behind then-leader Timothy Peters, who had not yet pitted, to be scored two laps down.
By staying on track during the caution, Gale was able to collect one lap from the wave-around rule as all the leaders came down pit road, and was left fighting with competitors to gain back the second. On the lap 95 caution, Gale was the recipient of the lucky dog award by being the first truck one-lap down. Knowing that he had to restart at the rear of the field, Baxter called the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. Gale was still a little tight, but expected everything to balance out with sticker tires. The driver of the Rheem Chevrolet fought his way back to the 19th position during the closing laps to record his fourth-straight top-20 finish.
“I can’t thank Jerry Baxter and all the guys on my Rheem team enough for their hard work,” commented Gale. “It’s cool to come here and practice, qualify and race all in the same day, but it also makes for a long day with changing track conditions.  We unloaded fast and the guys worked really hard all day to keep up with the track. By the middle of the race, it seemed like we were a little off, but Jerry and I worked through diagnosing the handling and had our Rheem Chevrolet working better during the closing laps. We get better every week working together and communicating as a team. I’m really excited for the race at Dover. I’ve never raced there before, but it’s a short track that I expect will be kind of similar to Bristol where I’ve run really well in the past. I really appreciate having Rheem’s support this year; it will be cool to finally get in the rhythm of racing every week.”
On Friday, June 1, the NCWTS will roar into Dover International Speedway (“The Monster Mile”) for round six of the 2012 season. Fans can tune in to SPEED for NCWTS qualifying from The Monster Mile at 10:00 a.m. ET. Race coverage of the Lucas Oil 200, an afternoon race, will be broadcast live on SPEED, MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, at 4:30 p.m. ET with a replay scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, June 1. 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.
About Eddie Sharp Racing
Eddie Sharp Racing (TeamESR.com) (ESR) is a championship winning race team housed in a 40,000 square-foot facility in Denver, N.C. After just four short years of competition within the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Racing Series, the team impressively accumulated upwards of 20 race wins.  The 2009 season was a pivotal year for ESR, as they dominated the series with six race wins, 15 top-fives and 19 top-10s en route to the series championship with driver Justin Lofton. In 2010, ESR made the transition to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 2011, Sharp and Lofton were reunited within truck competition.  In 2012, ESR expands to house multiple truck teams with Lofton returning to the No. 6 CollegeComplete.com Silverado, and Cale Gale joining the team behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado.
