Tuesdays with TMAC – Missed it by That Much!
(Bill W) June 24, 2014 – With the level of competition at an all-time high at both the Knoxville Raceway and Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota, being off a tick is going to show. For Terry McCarl, that was the case last weekend at both venues. He’ll get a chance to rebound Friday with the Outlaws at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, where he picked up a MOWA win in April.
The Altoona, Iowa driver raced in Sprint Invaders competition aboard Jimmy Davies #99 last Friday night at Bloomfield (IA) Speedway. Unfortunately, he finished one spot out of a transfer in his heat race. “We were off on the car a little bit,” says TMAC. “We thought the track was a little slicker that it was…the straightaways were. We were just way too tight. There was a rough hole in three and four…we were just way too tight. I’m learning their shock packages and things like that. You’re going to have races like that as you learn about that stuff.”
TMAC was able to go from fourth to win an exciting B main. “We loosened the car a bunch, but it was still a little tight,” he says. “We fell back to fifth at the start, but we were able to get back through there and win it on the last corner of the last lap. That was exciting for the fans, I’m sure.”
Starting seventeenth, he would work his way up to seventh in the feature. “It was a tricky racetrack,” says TMAC of the 3/8-mile oval. “It was really demanding, which made it fun. The straightaways were really slick coming off the corners. Getting into the corners, it was heavy all night long. We left the car about the same for the feature, and we were able to move up through the pack there. We were able to move up to seventh. We learned a lot during the night, and loaded the car up in one piece.”
The difference of a split second was evident at Knoxville on Saturday, when TMAC qualified ninth quick. With an invert of eight in the feature, a fraction of a second was the difference in starting up front or in row five. “I just was kind of off all week,” he says. “You come off a high running second to the Outlaws last week, and then we qualify ninth. Sprint car racing has a way of slapping you back down and putting your ego in place. In retrospect, you look back on a night like Saturday and there was one-hundredth of a second between my time and (Craig) Dollansky’s. That was the difference between starting on the pole of the feature and starting ninth like we did. That would have changed both our nights. We just missed it a little bit. It was a brand new car, and it was a little different setup than we had been using in the other one. Our package was off a bit, and if you’re off a bit, it can change your whole night.”
Starting fourth in the heat, TMAC was able to come home victorious. “Knoxville went back to the one right rear a night rule,” he says. “You always want to win the heat, but if you don’t, it’s o.k. You want to save your right rear. We were able to get by Davey (Heskin). He is really fast, so we were happy with that.”
He missed on his setup a bit in the main event. “I know better, but I got the car too tight,” says TMAC. “It had been raining all week, and the track really came in on the bottom. I got going good enough. I got a really good start in one and two, but Danny (Lasoski) rolled up off the bottom in three and four, and that really took the air off of us. We pushed into the middle of the track and (Dusty) Zomer got by us.”
As is the case every week, it was on for position back in the pack. “We had a heck of a race back there,” says TMAC. “There were several times, when Dusty and Ian (Madsen) and I were three-abreast. I wish it was for the lead, because the fans would really be in a frenzy, but some of the races from second on back have been crazy.”
He would checker ninth. “It was a great racetrack,” says TMAC. “We just missed it a little bit with the car. We were a little tight. If you do that, it’s going to cost you. You really have to be on your game. It’s a mini-Outlaw show every night there. We did well against the Outlaws, and I think the regulars will fare well at the Nationals.”
Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota saw the floodwaters move out. TMAC was second quick there Sunday night. “We have eighteen nights on that motor,” he says of the Rider in Jeremy Scadden’s #6 machine. “To still be second quick…we feel good about that. We ran third in the heat and everything was feeling good.”
Again, he was off in the main event and checkered fifth. “We just missed a bit in the feature,” says TMAC. “I was not good. We were lucky to finish fifth. I think Dakota Hendrickson was actually better than me and could have passed me if he had a little more experience. I struggled the whole race.”
The competition assembled every week is not lost on TMAC, and shouldn’t be lost on fans in the Midwest. “There’s an awesome group of cars at Knoxville and Huset’s this year, and the fans have to really be enjoying it,” he says. “Everyone there is Outlaw-caliber, and if you miss your setup at all, you’re going to pay.”
To check out opportunities to partner with TMAC Motorsports on a nightly basis, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com or call 515 957-0020!
Front Row Challenge Tickets on Sale!
The 19th Annual Casey’s General Stores/Musco Lighting Front Row Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Company will be held Monday, August 4 at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Tickets are now on sale! For more information, call Front Row Challenge Enterprises, LLC at 515 957-0020. For further information, stay tuned to www.OskyChallenges.com!
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!
TMAC has two wins on June 23. In 1996, he won a Huset’s Speedway feature in the Brad Gray #51, leading Danny Lasoski, Dave Ekern, Steve Beitler and Terry Reilly to the stripe. In 2001, he won on Mid-Season Championship night at Knoxville Raceway, leading all 25 laps ahead of Don Droud Jr., Kerry Madsen, Skip Jackson and Ricky Logan.
"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@hotmail.com with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Country Builders Construction, Rossie Feed and Grain, Bosma Poultry, SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, DeBerg Concrete, Colin Bulmer – Bayaire Industries, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, Ryan Yager Trucking, Vortex Racing, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Rens Trucking, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, T&P Brothers, 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 Trucking, Van Der Brink Designs, Morgan Strawberry Farms, Buttman BBQ, Aurora Rod Ends, Crow Safety, Justice Brothers, KSE Steering, Snyder Lawn & Landscaping, 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 Jun 24, 2014
- Article Date: 6/24/2014