Off to a very quick start, Gale looks to impress in '08

Young Alabamian Cale Gale has got a couple things going for him as he builds a career in NASCAR racing at Kevin Harvick Inc.

He gets along great with his boss, as he shares Harvick's attitude, commitment and dogged work ethic. And oh yeah, he's fast.

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One thing that's come through loud and clear for Gale is Harvick's intensity and single-minded focus when it comes to all things racing. And Gale gets great comfort from knowing that's something they apparently share.

"I've come to realize that Kevin Harvick doesn't believe in losing -- at all," Gale said. "He refuses to lose. He's not going to do it -- he's going to do whatever it takes to win -- and I feel the same way about myself.

"And to see him as successful as he's been in the business, it makes me want it that much more, because I can see exactly what you need to do to be a superstar in this business. To see someone like him and to be able to watch him day-in and day-out just makes me dig that much harder."

Gale, 22, spent two days in the spotters' stand last weekend at Daytona, offering guidance from above and soaking in the sights as Harvick tested his No. 33 Chevrolet stock car in the opening days of Nationwide Series Preseason Thunder. (speed charts)

Then, Gale stepped into the No. 77 Chevy that he'll make his 2008 debut in -- during Speedweeks' Camping World 300 -- then share for five more races this season with Ron Hornaday.

"To spot for Kevin and to watch him in the draft and work traffic, definitely helped," Gale said. "I was able to watch Kevin and then talk with him about how I should drive the car during my test.

"And then to have him watch my test session and talk with me about my weak points and tell me ways to improve, that was awesome. I now have a few weeks to think about the things we discussed and prepare to return in February."

Using the lessons he'd learned from spotting, and also absorbing his owner's expertise after Harvick hung out a couple days for Gale's test, Gale was the fastest car in single-car runs on Monday and Tuesday mornings.

Gale ended up second overall on the cumulative overall single-car time sheet for the five-day test, less than a tenth of a second and three spots ahead of his owner.

"The biggest challenge for me, obviously, is going to be the pressure of needing to run good," Gale said. "Because you know that when Kevin gets in a car, he's going to do everything he can behind the wheel and it's going to be up front.

"Last year, the hardest thing for me was to adjust to the new racetracks that I'd never been to, whereas this year I'm going back to most of the tracks that I've already been to, one or two times.

"So the hardest thing is just going to be to compete in the top 10 and try to keep up with Kevin's performance as much as I can, which is definitely going to be hard to do."

This season, the plan is for Gale to contend for the Nationwide rookie of the year award with crew chief Wally Rogers.

How well Gale's settled in with his owners, Harvick and his wife, DeLana, has a lot to do with the comfort he does feel. Gale made his debut for KHI at the end of 2006 and has been there ever since. (Continued)