Tommy Gale (racing driver)

Tommy Gale (September 10, 1934 – September 30, 1999) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race car driver from McKeesport, Pennsylvania who raced from 1968 to 1986. He ended up becoming one of the runners-up for the 1977 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award.

Career[]

Gale started as a NASCAR Cup Series rookie when he was 34 years old and competed until his retirement at the age of 51. Leading only three laps of his 60,655-lap spanning career, Gale managed to make $683,965 in total winnings ($1,614,813.54 when adjusted for inflation). While starting in 27th place on average, his average finishes were 22nd place after competing in a grueling 75,239.7 miles or 121,086.6 kilometres of top-level professional stock car racing.^[1]

His only three DNQs came at the 1972 Miller High Life 500, the 1973 Daytona 500 and at the 1984 Talladega 500.^[2]

Gale's strongest performances are on short oval tracks where he finished an average of 20th place. His weakness would be found on road courses; where a finish of 28th place would be expected out of Gale.^[3] His primary vehicle throughout his career was the #64 Ford machine owned by fellow NASCAR driver Elmo Langley.^[4]

Post-NASCAR career[]

After Tommy Gale retired from NASCAR, he decided to focus on his son and started a trucking business in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania; which is near his hometown of McKeesport.^[5]

References[]

External links[]

• Tommy Gale driver statistics at Racing-Reference