Tuesdays with TMAC – Solid Runs at STN!
(Bill W) October 29, 2013 – One of the major events had eluded Terry McCarl until last week. He took his first crack at the Short Track Nationals at the I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas with success. The Altoona, Iowa driver drover Jeremy Scadden’s #6 out of a B main to advance to eighth in the finale. This Saturday, he’ll be driving Clyde Lamar’s famous Tri-C Racing #3c with the King of the West Series in Stockton, California.
This year’s STN saw an additional event added on Wednesday to replace their former practice session. “For me, a guy who’s never been there, it was great to have that race on Wednesday,” says TMAC. “For sprint cars, it’s tough to get a test run on a track, and that provided the opportunity. Jeremy is a great guy. Whether we win or lose, he’s always got a smile on his face. Driving for someone else takes so much pressure off, and I seem to be in a better mood too.”
TMAC would start eighth in one of ten heats. “You never know how the draw’s going to go, and there were over ninety drivers,” he says. “I drew 125 out of 150. I found out three of the first four guys in my heat were Jason Johnson, Sammy Swindell and Jason Sides. The other guys were tough too, so we had our work cut out for us. I had some fun, and Jeremy just has a great car. We were able to drive up through there and run fourth.”
The finish put him on the pole of a B, in which he won. He would line up 21st for the feature. “The track was really slicking off,” says TMAC. “Jeremy runs a J&J and I run an A.R.T., so it makes me timid on getting the car tight. But we were really good in the feature. We were able to drive into the top ten. I just got by Sam (Hafeertepe) for eighth I believe it was, and the yellow came out. That sealed our tire up a bit and slowed our progress, but we ended up with a solid top ten finish. I was pretty proud of that for our first time there.”
Thursday was TMAC’s preliminary run, and he drew better (inside row two) of his heat race. “The track was definitely to our liking,” he says. “There was a bottom and a top and it was slick through the middle. That’s all you can ask for. We drove right to the front and that gave us some points headed into the qualifier.”
He would line up sixth in his qualifier. “We had a great run,” says TMAC. “We were able to drive up to second. I think we were third in points heading into the feature, and we had passed a lot of cars.”
TMAC would line up inside row two of the feature, as he was third-highest in points. “I knew from the practice night that we were good,” he says. “I had still felt a little loose, so for the feature Thursday we tightened it up a little more. I took a practice lap and it felt really good. I hit the middle on the first couple of laps, and I knew I had a great racecar.”
Unfortunately, his run was short-lived. “I had a good run on the guy in front of me in three and four, and I attempted to go underneath him,” says TMAC. “He missed the bottom a little bit, and I thought there was enough room to get between him and the infield tire. It turned out, there wasn’t. I didn’t want to run into him, so I clipped the tire and the front-end was knocked out about halfway down the front straight. That spun the car backwards and I backed it into the infield tires in turn one. I was thankful for my Butlerbuilt seat, because I haven’t hit anything that hard in a long time. It knocked me goofy for a while.”
The mishap cost TMAC a shot at locking into the finale. “It was disappointing, because the car was so good,” he says. “There’s no reason we couldn’t have had a solid top three there and locked ourselves into the Dash on Saturday night. We had a solid car. Jeremy and Tommy Barber put the car back together on Friday while I took it easy. It was nice to have the day off to get it ready.”
A rain delay of four hours occurred after Saturday night’s D mains. “The most important thing about promoting races is the one thing you can’t control…the weather,” says TMAC. “They did an excellent job. It rained off and on all day, really. They did a great job getting the race in, and the crowd was awesome. It was packed.”
With the B main taking seven to the finale, TMAC would start right on the bubble. “The B was super tough,” he says. “We were able to get up to fourth. We may have been a little better, but once we were locked in, I didn’t want to do anything stupid.”
Posting thirteenth, he would move forward to an eighth place finish. “We actually tightened it up a bit,” says TMAC. “The car was working really well. We were able to get up to eighth place, and again it was a solid run. There wasn’t a ton of passing, but we did well.”
TMAC’s had favorable impressions of his first STN. “It was such a great event,” he says. “It was a lot of fun, and I think we were one of the fastest three or four cars all week long. There were so many good cars that didn’t make it, and we were able to do that all three nights.”
He’s also looking forward to California. “We’re going to be running the 410 for Clyde Lamar at Stockton,” he says. “That #3c car has had so many great drivers, and I’ve known Clyde since I drove out there weekly in the early-‘90’s.”
He adds, “We’re still looking for some sponsorship so we can get to Charlotte!”
To check out opportunities to partner with TMAC Motorsports on a nightly basis, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com or call 515 957-0020!
Websites for the McCarl Gang!
Driverwebsites.com develops the websites for the McCarl boys. Check out www.TerryMcCarl.com, as well as www.AustinMcCarl.com and www.CarsonMcCarl.com!
This Month in TMAC History!
In 2006, TMAC finished third in WoO action at the United Sports Arizona raceway in Tucson. He trailed Donny Schatz and Brooke Tatnell at the finish. He won three features with the WoO in 2006, and eleven overall. His WoO triumphs came at Huset’s Speedway (SD), Williams Grove Speedway (PA) and at the Nodak Speedway (ND). He also recorded $10,000 paydays at East Bay Raceway Park (FL) and Volusia Speedway (FL) that season. Though missing much of that season with a broken leg, he still managed a 9th place season standing with the WoO.
"Tuesdays with TMAC"!
"Tuesdays with TMAC" is an up close and personal look at colorful sprint car veteran Terry McCarl. To receive "Tuesdays with TMAC", send an e-mail to sprntcar@iowatelecom.net with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Country Builders Construction, Rossie Feed and Grain, “Lord I Apologize BBQ Sauce”, Deanfield Farms, Bosma Poultry, SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, DeBerg Concrete, Colin Bulmer – Bayaire Industries, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, SCE Gaskets, Justice Brothers, 212 The Boiling Point Bar & Grill, Vortex Racing, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Rens Trucking, Pick Farms, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, Superflow Technologies, T&P Brothers, Mediacom, Larry Fleck Trucking, Winters, DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, Jocko's Sprint Parts, Sander, Brown and Miller, Pro Shocks, Ben Cook, Bell Helmets, Burnett's Rock and Landscaping, Van Der Brink Designs, Morgan Strawberry Farms, Aurora Rod Ends, Crow Safety, Justice Brothers, KSE Steering, Strange Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, Waterman Fuel Pumps, Weiland Racing, Butlerbuilt, PBS Bushings and Mote Fasteners.
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
- administrator on Oct 29, 2013
- Article Date: 10/29/2013