Tuesdays with TMAC – Good Times in Arizona!
(Bill W) January 12, 2016 – Despite a hefty car count filled with competition, Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team came away having made all five feature events at Cocopah Speedway’s “Winter Heat Showdown” near Yuma, Arizona. Amongst the finishes were a pair of top tens. The Altoona, Iowa driver flies to Australia next to compete in five events in a week’s time.
This was TMAC’s first trip to Cocopah’s show. “It’s grown into an amazing event,” he says. “We had a great time, and there’s great people running it. You can always find little things to critique about any event, but it’s all positive on my side. When the track is right, it’s really good.”
He liked what he saw there in 2015. “Last year we watched it at home, so we wanted to get there,” says TMAC. “We were happy to be there, and it was fortunate that Austin could find some sponsorship to go as well. Kevin Hetrick and my crew chief, DJ Brink were there. Carson was the crew chief for Austin. For anyone in the frozen tundra, I think you need to make plans to be there next January.”
Most of TMAC’s best runs came early in the night. “We started off with a tenth and a ninth (January 1 and 2),” he says. “We were good early every single night. We were good in the heats and qualifiers (winning four of them). Come feature time, it was hard to get a handle on the car. As of today, I’m pretty perplexed. There’s something wrong with the car I think. Since the first night at Charlotte, it hasn’t been reacting well.”
That may be attributed to a rough and heavy race surface at the World Finals on the preliminary night. “The last night at Charlotte, we were horrible in the feature,” says TMAC. “We’ve done normal maintenance, but haven’t gone all the way through it. Every night (at Cocopah Speedway), when it got slick, there was nothing for the right rear to stick to. I think the last night (last Saturday) was my best. We were fastest hot lapping and won the heat over Shane Stewart. We started sixth in the qualifier and made it up to fourth. The track started to slick and Danny (Lasoski) got by us.”
Having battled the car all week, TMAC approached the finale differently. “We didn’t tighten the car up at all for the feature the last night,” he says. “We had been too tight all week. I left the heat race setup on, and we were still rolled up. Every time there was a restart, we lost a few spots and we ended up thirteenth. The last night was probably our worst. That makes me mad as a mechanic. That’s what makes dirt track racing fun. You have to adapt to track conditions.”
Both Terry and son Austin, who finished 15th in Cocopah’s finale, are planning on running in Florida in February. “We’re putting together a new Maxim for Florida, and we’ll be running there with the World of Outlaws,” says TMAC. “Austin will be running Ocala and Volusia for Tom and Sherry Leidig in their #59, so that’s a cool deal.”
In the meantime, TMAC will be heading “Down Under”. “We’re heading to Australia Friday,” he says. “We’ll be driving in the President’s Cup at Avalon and the Classic in Warrnambool for Colin Bulmer and Wayne Cole. We’ll also be running the open show there the following Tuesday.”
Back in the States, he’ll be sticking with the World of Outlaws through the Spring. “We’ll be running with the World of Outlaws all Spring,” says TMAC. “If anyone wants to give us a big sponsorship, we’ll do the whole thing! In the meantime, winter is not over. Go to SnowPlow.com right now!”
McCarl Family Websites!
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 just his second shot at the Chili Bowl in 2008, TMAC turned a lot of laps in the WilkePAK #11. After finishing third in his B main in the prelim, he finished 17th in the feature. That put him in Saturday’s C, which he won. He then advanced through the pack to third in the B to qualify for the finale. He continued his drive to a 19th place finish!
"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, Destiny Motorsports, Searsboro Telephone Company, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, Vortex Racing, Mastell Brothers Trailer Sales, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, SuperFlow, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Rens Trucking, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, Snap On Tools, Sposato Paint, Winters, Kilani Fender, Inc., DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, Taco Bravo, Brown and Miller, Pro Shocks, Ben Cook, Bell Helmets, Burnett's Rock and Landscaping, Octane Ink, Morgan Strawberry Farms, Dynasty Stucco, Aurora Rod Ends, Crow Safety, KSE Steering, Snyder Lawn & Landscaping, Strange Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, Waterman Fuel Pumps, Butlerbuilt and Mote Fasteners.
Photo: TMAC poses at Cocopah Speedway with Kevin Hetrick (L) and crew chief DJ Brink.
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
- administrator on Jan 12, 2016
- Article Date: 1/12/2016