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[/media-credit]Cale Gale
No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado
Charlotte [N.C.] Motor Speedway
N.C. Education Lottery 200
May 18, 2012
No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet News and Notes
Racing at Home… Cale Gale will make his second career start in NASCAR’s backyard at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Friday, May 18. With one NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) start on his resume at the track, the driver will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) debut on the high-banks of the mile-and-a-half speedway in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado. Gale’s only start at Charlotte Motor Speedway came in the May 2008 NNS event. After rolling off in the 16th position, Gale raced inside the top 15 before a punctured oil tank ended his evening early and resulted in a 30th-place finish.
Staying Busy During the Off Weeks… While the NCWTS teams had a few weekends away from competition, Gale continued to focus on life in the fast lane by testing and working on race cars and trucks. The 27-year-old attended a test session at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway earlier this month where he logged over 200 laps in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet. Working on a variety of setups, the driver also benefitted from the extra time of working with crew chief Jerry Baxter and the Rheem team-a group that came together just before the start of the 2012 season.
Around Town… While NASCAR drivers and crew members enjoy racing in their own backyards’, Gale will make several appearances around the Charlotte region over the next two weeks. Gale will join other drivers from the NCWTS at an autograph session at the Statesville Camping World Store (1220 Morland Drive, Statesville, NC 28677) during the annual “Grill Fest” event on Thursday, May 17th at 12:00 p.m. Gale will also make appearances in Uptown Charlotte during the annual Food Lion Speed Street Festival. Come out to the Chevy Stage (Tryon Street & Third Street) for a brief Q&A Session with the driver of the Rheem Chevrolet on Thursday, May 24th at 3:30 p.m. Then stop by the Creative Loafing Display (Tryon Street & Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) at 4:00 p.m. to meet Gale and get an autograph. Admission to all events is free.
Follow Cale… Follow Cale Gale, driver of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado, on twitter @CaleGale and Facebook (facebook.com/CaleGale), and check out the new CaleGale.com for the latest news and updates.
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: @TeamESR or facebook.com/teamesr.
Watch and Listen… After three weeks away from the track, the NCWTS will be back in action at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night, May 18. Tune in to SPEED for final practice (10:20 a.m. ET, Friday, May 18) and qualifying (4:00 p.m. ET, Friday, May 18) before the action heats up for the N.C. Education Lottery 200. Live coverage of the 200-mile race will be broadcast on SPEED, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, May 18.
From the Driver’s Seat
Cale Gale Quotes… On racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway: “The biggest obstacle this weekend will be practicing during the day and racing at night. Charlotte Motor Speedway is very heat sensitive, so the truck will change a lot from the day to the night. We need to be a little bit free in practice, and the racetrack should tighten up as it cools down. It’s an aero mile-and-a-half with good pavement since being repaved several years ago. Everybody is really excited for the race this weekend and we look to go there and have a good run since it’s our home track. This will be our first race this season on a high-banked mile-and-a-half. We’re taking the same truck that we raced in Kansas; Jerry [Baxter, crew chief] and all the guys have been working really hard to make sure that our Rheem Chevrolet is good to go.”
On meeting the fans around Charlotte: “Racing in Charlotte is always a big deal. Countless fans come to town and it seems like there are appearances and autograph sessions everywhere you go. We’ll be at a couple appearances representing Rheem over the next few weeks too, so that should be a lot of fun. The Statesville Camping World Store is having an autograph session for all the NCWTS drivers and we’ll be there to meet the fans this Thursday afternoon. We’ll also be at Speed Street next Thursday [May 25] for a Q&A at the Chevy Stage and an autograph session. It’s my first time going to Speed Street, but I know many fans have a lot of fun going there, so it’s pretty cool to be a part of that. I always enjoy getting to meet the fans. It’s pretty special to be driving the Rheem Silverado this season and to be able to be a part of all this.”
From the Pit Box
Jerry Baxter Quotes… On what to expect in Charlotte: “The race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is going to be challenging in a few different ways. First of all, we practice during the day and race at night-that will be our biggest challenge. The track changes how your truck handles, and you have to guess right on the setup of your chassis. Additionally, our driver has never raced at Charlotte in a truck, which is where our Nashville test will hopefully pay off. We all felt like we learned a lot during those two days and built our confidence a ton.”
On preparing for Charlotte: “We’re taking the same truck to Charlotte that we raced at Kansas. It’s the best downforce truck that we have. I think the most important thing that we did to prepare for the race at Charlotte was test at Nashville Superspeedway. We had at great two-day test at Nashville and were able to spend some time finding out exactly what Cale [Gale] needs in a truck. We were able to learn his responses to different changes, and were able to build his confidence during those 200-plus laps. Having that test was a huge benefit for our team.”
Cale Gale By the Numbers
Cale Gale’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career Stats
Races
Wins
Top-Fives
Top-10s
Poles
Money Won
14
0
0
2
0
$158,599
Cale Gale at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Series
Date
Race
Start
Finish
Laps
Status
NNS
5/28/2008
Carquest Auto Parts 300
16
30
179 / 202
driveshaft
Total / Average
1 Race
16.0
30.0
179 / 202 (88.6%)
No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado Truck Information
The No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet team will compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway with chassis No. 051 as their primary truck. The chassis is the same chassis that the Rheem Racing team utilized during last month’s NCWTS race at Kansas Speedway. Gale qualified 15th, competed inside the top 10 for most of the afternoon, and crossed the finish line in the 11th position.
No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet / Eddie Sharp Racing Team
Driver: Cale Gale Crew Chief: Jerry Baxter Owner: Eddie Sharp
Truck Chief / Rear Tire Changer: Ray Holm Gasman / Hauler Driver: Ben Smith Engineer: Eddie Troconis
Rear Tire Carrier: Manning Gregory Pit Crew Coach: Nick Sutton Shock Specialist: Jeff Keller
Front Tire Changer: Joey Forgette Mechanic: Beau Wilkes Motor Tuner: Howie Frazier
Front Tire Carrier: Greg Powell Mechanic: Justin Peiffer PR Rep: Ashleigh Aungst
Jackman: Kevin Teague Spotter: Rick Carelli
