Gale Looks To Make "Dream Come True"

On May 3, 1992, Davey Allison drove the No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford to a win by two car lengths over Bill Elliott's No. 11 Budweiser Ford in the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

That was the last time a driver who called Alabama home won at the state's racing showplace.

On Saturday, Mobilian Cale Gale will try to end the state's Talladega drought in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron's 312.

"Being able to race at Talladega means a lot, but to go there and win a race would mean just so much more being from the state," Gale said. "It would mean a lot to be on the same page as Davey Allison. It would be a dream come true."

A little more than a year after his eighth victory in 22 races at Talladega, Allison was dead, killed by injuries sustained in a helicopter crash at the track where the fans revered the Hueytown heir of the legendary Alabama Gang.

Fifty Alabama drivers have competed at Talladega, which has hosted events in five racing series. They've accounted for 17 victories all by Davey Allison and the Alabama Gang of Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Neil Bonnett and Red Farmer.

Gale, who was 8 when Davey Allison died, became the track's 50th Alabama driver in October, when he made his Talladega debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Mountain Dew 250. Gale's chances were derailed when his side window blew out, and he finished 22nd in a race where Mobilian Rick Crawford nearly ended the state's winless streak, coming up just .014 second short.

"The trucks and the cars are just so much different in the way they draft and the way they drive that there's probably not much from last year's race that I can use this year," Gale said. "But I do think there's a little bit that I learned from driving the car at Daytona that will be useful this week.

"One thing about Talladega is that it's a drafting track, and I don't have much experience at that. But if you look at it, there's a lot of guys that you wouldn't think would win at Talladega who have won because it's a restrictor-plate track. You need a good car and a little luck and you have to make the right move at the right time."

Gale opened the Nationwide season with a 23rd-place finish at Daytona in Kevin Harvick Inc.'s No. 77 Chevrolet. He finished 20th and won top rookie honors at Atlanta in KHI's part-time car. Then, in his first start in KHI's top car, the No. 33 Chevy, he turned in his best NASCAR finish by taking eighth at Nashville.

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