Cale Gale Las Vegas Motor Speedway Event Preview

No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet News and Notes

  • Second chance at Vegas… Cale Gale will make his second career start this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender competed in the Smith’s 350 last fall when he rolled off 17th in the Rheem Chevrolet and finished the event in the 20th position after his Silverado suffered race-ending damage in a lap 120 accident.
  • Teammates introduced at full speed… After having a run-in with Justin Lofton at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last fall, Gale will return to the 1.5-mile speedway this weekend with Lofton as his teammate.  An accident on lap 120, where Lofton and another truck made contact before Lofton came back up the track to collect Gale, resulted in an ambulance ride to the infield care center where the two future teammates met. 
  • Meet Cale Gale… Gale will participate in the NCWTS autograph session on Friday evening at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Fans are invited to the Neon Garage in the infield where Gale, his ESR teammate Justin Lofton and other NCWTS drivers will be signing autographs from their garage stalls at 6 p.m. PT.
  • Battling for points… With just six races remaining in the 2012 NCWTS season, Gale is currently ranked inside the top 15 of both the championship driver and owner point standings.  Gale, who has scored four top-10 finishes this season, is ranked 13th in driver points and 15th in owner points.  Currently second in the Rookie of the Year points, Gale is chasing down leader Ty Dillon. 
  • Follow Cale… Follow Cale Gale, driver of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado, on twitter @CaleGale and Facebook (facebook.com/CaleGale), and check out CaleGale.com for the latest news and updates.
  • Get the inside scoop from ESR…  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… The championship battle moves to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend as competitors from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series take on the 1.5-mile oval on Saturday, September 29.  Live coverage of the Smith’s 350 will air on SPEED, MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

From the Driver’s Seat

Cale Gale Quotes… On racing in Las Vegas:  “I’ve raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway one other time in my career-it was in last year’s Camping World Truck Series race.  I really enjoyed the track and I’m looking forward to getting back there.  We’re taking the same chassis that we ran last week at Kentucky Speedway.  It was a really fast truck, and my team and I really enjoyed racing it.  I feel like our Rheem Chevrolet will be good this weekend.  I’m looking forward to getting out there on Friday.” 

 

On the character of Las Vegas Motor Speedway:  “Probably the most important feature of Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the bumps getting into turn one.  It starts at the entry to the corner and goes all the way to the middle of the turn.  We need to make sure that the Rheem Chevrolet handles well getting through that turn.  Last year, we ran the truck race during the day, but this year we’re starting during the day and racing into the night so that will be a little bit different too.”

 

On how he met his teammate Justin Lofton:  “It’s kind of an interesting story about how I met Justin for the first time.  We actually met at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  It was a crazy deal-we were both at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in an accident.  The first time we met or spoke was in the ambulance on the ride to infield care.  Hopefully this year one of us will be able to come over and shake the other’s hand in victory lane.”

 

From the Pit Box                      

Jerry Baxter Quotes… On getting ready to race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:  “The Rheem team is excited to get to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.  We’re taking chassis No. 045-it’s the same truck that we ran last weekend in Kentucky Speedway.  It’s a great truck.  During practice we need to focus on the bumps down in turn one and make sure our Rheem Chevrolet can travel over those.  Las Vegas Motor Speedway is known for being very dirty-there’s always a lot of dirt and dust from the desert, and that is always a factor at the beginning of the day.  Most weeks we practice during the day and race at night, but this week we race as the day turns to night.  The change won’t be quite as drastic, which will likely make it easier for us to guess how the track will change throughout Saturday’s race.”  

 

ESR