Off to a very quick start, Gale looks to impress in '08 (cont'd)

"Obviously, Kevin's my boss, when it comes right down to it," Gale said. "But the last couple of years I think we've developed a pretty good relationship. I think the bond's getting stronger, the more that he gets to know me and the more that I get to know him."

Gale said he was looking forward to sharing the upcoming Nationwide test at Las Vegas with his owner. Other than a test at Charlotte, it's one of the few chances the Nationwide programs will get to test, Gale said.

"Obviously, any time you can have Kevin around -- in any aspect of racing, whether it's watching me driving or watching the team and seeing the things that are going on -- it's a big help," Gale said. "Kevin and DeLana both are very hands-on with their company, and they have goals set out on what they want to do to make KHI a better company for everybody, and to make it a championship organization in the Truck Series and also in the Nationwide Series.

"They do whatever they can do to make it better each and every day. I believe Kevin's as much into it on the business side of the company as he is on the driving side."

That's why Gale spent some time at the Nationwide test building shock absorbers. It's something he did back when his dad, successful Late Model racer Bubba Gale, did more with less from their Mobile-area shop.

"When I was growing up, I didn't have the best of everything when I was racing," Gale said. "We worked hard for what we had. Growing up, we built our own chassis, motors, transmissions, rear ends, shocks -- everything -- because that's what we had to do to be able to go out there and race each weekend.

"My dad raised me to be a racer on the track and a racer off the track, and anything I can do to help these guys out in the shop, I'm willing to do. If it requires me going in the shock room every day to make our racecars and trucks go faster -- I'm willing to do that.

"I'm in it to win as a driver, but I'm also in it to win as a team player -- outside the car and inside the car."

The younger Gale got his big league break with James Finch's Phoenix Racing, where he was known as a shock specialist with driving aspirations. He got a lot of people's attention when he made his ARCA RE/MAX Series debut for Finch in 2006, then winning at Gateway.

In fact, in six ARCA starts, Gale's worst finish is sixth. That's the potential that prompted the Harvicks to bring him to their organization at the end of 2006, when he made one Busch Series start before making a total of 12 spot starts in both the Busch and Truck series in '07.

Gale, who had a less intense schedule in 2007 all the way around, this year, is responsible for building all the shocks for KHI's two-truck program. He also drives the cars and trucks for pit-stop practice, as needed.

"Sometimes I'll jump in on the set-up plate, helping guys set up the cars," Gale said. "I'm just pretty hands-on -- any time anybody needs anything, I just go and help 'em."

Gale said his 2008 travel schedule will also consistently have him at the track, another change from a year ago.

"I will be attending all of the Nationwide events that I'm not running, watching Kevin and learning everything that I can learn," Gale said. "I'm going to be learning as much as I can from Kevin, inside the car -- what's he's telling the crew chief and what he's feeling and what the crew chief does to make it a little bit better.

"I did the same thing last year with all the other [KHI] drivers, [Tony] Stewart and Tony Raines [and] Ron Fellows. I was at every race that I could be at -- Hornaday's Truck races when they were companion races with the Busch races -- and I learned a lot. I learned as much off the track as I did on the track, last year."