 MADISON,
IL (July 28, 2006) -- Add rookie Cale Gale's name to the growing list of
winners in the ARCA RE/MAX Series after the 21-year-old driver won Friday
night's "Shop 'n Save 150" at Gateway International Raceway. The
unusual season continues in the series with Gale becoming the 11th different
winner in the 13 races contested this season. The race finish turned out to be
about as unusual as the season has been when several late-race cautions forced
three separate green-white-checker restarts which extended the scheduled
120-lap race an additional 22 laps.
Gale, making just his second series start, survived the multiple restarts
and took the win in front of a cheering crowd. The Mobile, Alabama driver led
three times during the event for a total of 55 laps en route to the win. The
race was carried LIVE on SPEED as the popularity of the series, which runs
exclusively on Hoosier tires, continues to grow.
Forty-six cars were entered for Friday's race with 38 cars posting times in
qualifying. It appeared as though Steven Wallace, who won at Kentucky Speedway
in May, was going to take the pole with a time of 33.783 seconds (133.203 mph).
But late in qualifying, rookie Chase Miller put his No. 4 Dodge atop the speed
charts when he circled the 1.25-mile oval in 33.744 seconds (133.357 mph). It
was Miller's first career Pork Pole Award. Brad Coleman, a winner in the July
race at Kentucky, was third in qualifying followed by Cale Gale and Phil Bozell
to round out the top five.
The race featured eight race leaders among five different drivers including;
Brad Coleman (1-4), Steven Wallace (5-46, 53-74), Cale Gale (47, 75, 90-142),
Chase Miller (48-52) and Burney Lamar (76-89). The race was slowed 10 times for
various cautions for a total of 64 laps.
At the finish, Cale Gale held off the valiant efforts of Steven Wallace on
three green-white-checker restarts to post his first-ever ARCA RE/MAX Series
win while making just his second series start. Gale took the win driving the
No. 50 Miccosukee Tribe of Florida Indians Dodge owned by James Finch who
fields the No.1 Yellow Racing Dodge in the NASCAR Busch Series. Gale, like many
up-and-coming ARCA Series drivers, is part of a driver development program.
Gale was driving out of Finch's Phoenix Racing program.
Wallace finished .540 seconds behind Gale at the stripe and was followed by
Brad Coleman in third. Pete Shepard III claimed fourth place, while Jeremy
Clements rounded out the top five.
Blake Bjorklund finished sixth followed by Ryan Mathews, Erin Crocker, Phil
Bozell and Frank Kimmel in seventh through tenth, respectively, with 13 of the
41 race starters finishing the race on the lead lap.
Jeremy Clements won the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award for advancing the
most positions. Clements started 24th en route to his fifth place
finish.
After five consecutive weekends of racing, the ARCA RE/MAX Series and its
participants will take a week off before returning to the track. Next up for
the series, a second stop at Nashville SuperSpeedway on August 12th.
Back in April, Stephen Leicht won the first race at Nashville. The 2005 ASA
Late Model Series champion has run in ARCA, Busch and Nextel Cup this year and
has subsequently signed to drive in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series full time next
season.
Both the ASA Late Model Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series run exclusively on
Hoosier tires.
The ARCA RE/MAX Series competitors at Gateway rode on radial tires
manufactured exclusively by Hoosier for the series.
All ARCA RE/MAX Series events are serviced out of Hoosier headquarters in
Lakeville, IN.
For complete race results and more information about the ARCA RE/MAX Series
visit their website at www.arcaracing.com.
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