Tuesdays with TMAC – Point Battles!
(Bill W) August 26, 2014 – It’s that time of year. Point battles are coming down to the wire for Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team. The Altoona, Iowa driver was fast all night long Saturday at the Knoxville Raceway ending the championship chase second. At Huset’s Speedway, a roller coaster night saw him trade the point lead with Mark Dobmeier twice on Sunday. Two point shows remain at the Brandon, South Dakota track starting this Sunday. TMAC will drive the Jeremy Scadden #6 in four events this weekend. On Friday and Saturday, the Jackson Nationals commence at the Jackson Speedway in Minnesota. He will be back at Huset’s on Sunday with the 410 and Monday with the 360.
Despite coming out late in time trials (24th), TMAC registered the third quick time of the night at Knoxville Saturday. “We’re fast,” he says. “We learned a lot about running the heavier track at Knoxville during the 360 and 410 Nationals. We kind of got off about six weeks ago. We had the mag slowly going out, and that got us off.”
After going from sixth to second in his heat, he would line up sixth for the feature. “Saturday was really how we had been earlier in the year before we had that issue,” says TMAC. “We qualified well despite coming out late, we moved up in the heat and up in the feature. We had a great car in the feature. You have great competition there, and to start sixth and come up to second…it’s tough to do.”
When a red flag slowed things with six laps to go, TMAC found himself second behind Mark Dobmeier. “I knew Ian (Madsen) was behind me,” he says. “I thought I had a shot at Mark. I had been sticking the bottom of one and two, but it was pretty treacherous. If you missed it a little bit, you were going to hang in two. I didn’t want to give up second to Ian, so I was going to follow Mark.”
He changed his mind heading into one. “There was a little bit (of moist clay) thrown up in the middle from the bottom,” says TMAC. “I drove in there in the middle and the car just stuck. It kind of surprised me how good it was. We almost drove by him on that restart. It made it a little exciting for the fans. I tried it on the next lap, and it wasn’t nearly as good. The cushion was way faster. Mark and I were running the same line, and coming to the podium from where we started…I felt we did a really good job.”
TMAC feels the team got the most out of the car with their second place finish. “I do care about where we finish, but my main concern is how we did ‘mechanic-ing’ on the car,” he says. “We had a great car the other night. We were fast all night. You hate to see the season end at Knoxville, because we are so fast, but we have a lot of racing left this year. I’m looking forward to it.”
The see-saw battle in points at Huset’s has been going on all season. “Mark and I are in a really close point battle,” says TMAC. “Every spot is important…time trials, the heat and feature. They all go down by one point. I had a three point lead going in. Mark told me he got a little loose qualifying (11th quick) and we were third quick. We gained a few there.”
Unfortunately, TMAC was caught up in a tangle in the heat race and was relegated to an eighth place finish. “We were battling for second (from fifth), and a guy spun out in front of me,” he says. “I had nowhere to go and the guy behind me had nowhere to go and got into the back of us. It tore the car up pretty good. It bent the frame, tore up the wings and tore up the car pretty good. Mark came from the fourth row and ran second.”
Starting 16th, TMAC would put on a charge in finishing third. “We had a decent car,” he says. “We were able to get up to third, but we were a little loose at the end. We were good on the bottom, but not quite fast enough on the top. I didn’t want the car too tight starting that far back, but it was a good run. We went from having a lead in the points, to after the feature trailing Mark by a couple. It’s pretty wide open between us, and we have a couple of point shows left there.”
With TheSnowPlow.com as a partner, it’s only natural that TMAC Motorsports welcome a sponsor from Hawaii. “We’d like to welcome Kilani Fender, Inc. of Wahiawa, Hawaii on board this week,” says TMAC. “A lot of people don’t know there’s sprint car racing in Hawaii!”
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!
TMAC has a win on this date in 2001 at the Huset’s Speedway (SD), where he is the career leader in wins. He beat Chad Meyer, Gregg Bakker, Kenny Hansen, Justin Henderson and his mechanic Glen Freeland (DNF) that night. In 2005, he had a great weekend at the Grays Harbor Raceway Park in Elma, Washington. On this date, he finished third after starting 11th with the World of Outlaws, following Steve Kinser and Jonathan Allard. That locked him into the next night’s event, in which he finished fourth. As a prelude to the WoO shows, he won in Paul Silva’s #57 besting Roger Crockett in 360 NST action.
"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, Kilani Fender, Inc., 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 Aug 26, 2014
- Article Date: 8/26/2014