Tuesdays with TMAC – Three-Race Week Ahead!
(Bill W) May 16, 2017 – Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team will be busy again this week. They plan to take on the Sprint Invaders at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa Wednesday, the Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, and they will run with the All Stars and the IRA at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on Sunday. Last week, the Altoona, Iowa driver finished sixth with the ASCS National Series at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, and ninth at Knoxville.
TMAC started fifth in his ASCS heat at Lakeside Thursday. “We were definitely quick,” he says. “We were two-tenths quicker than the field and we were able to get up to second. The track was up on top pretty much all night long. I was a little tight, but we were still good even on the bottom and middle.”
After drawing a seven to start the feature in row four, the team debated setup. “Carson (McCarl) was there helping Doug (Rankin), Austin (McCarl) and I, and he was noticing the bottom coming in,” says TMAC. “It did come in, and it got heavier and heavier as the race went on. We were just way too tight. It was still a good finish for us running sixth. I didn’t feel too bad, because I think pretty much everyone missed the setup on that one. Carson may have been the smartest one in the bunch.”
TMAC is also gaining some partners in the Kansas City area. “It was fun,” he says. “We like going down there. Kansas City is home to Price Chopper. The Kansas City Breweries Company is another sponsor that helped us, and made it possible for us to come down there. They have KC Lite, KC Lager and KC Malt. It was a lot of fun.”
Qualifying has been a bugaboo the past year or so, but TMAC came out in the last pairing and timed in sixth quick at Knoxville. “The car wasn’t any good, but we were able to pull that time out of somewhere, which was good,” he says. “We would find out after the night was over that we had a shock issue. We don’t have a shock dyno, but Steve (Fitzpatrick) went and checked it afterwards and it wasn’t what it was supposed to be. It was one that was crashed at I-80 and had been run a lot. I feel good about our motor program. We qualified right there with some heavy hitters. We weren’t able to get by any cars in the heat and we ended up back in ninth in the lineup points.”
The shock issue would appear most in the feature. “We got a great start,” says TMAC. “We got by a couple cars. Craig (Dollansky) got into the fence a little bit and we were able to get by him. I hooked a rut in one and two and that’s where the shock showed itself. The left side just jumped up at that point. We had gained three spots, but we lost five before we got out of two. I was glad we didn’t flip it. The car was just a handful and you had to hit the cushion pretty hard.”
TMAC would hold on to finish ninth. “We feel optimistic about things after finding the shock issue,” he says. “Like I said, we’re really happy with our motor program and we like these JR1 chassis. I was comfortable in this car right away.”
The All Stars/IRA show at Angell Park should draw over forty cars on Sunday. “We’re really looking forward to Sun Prairie,” says TMAC. “It reminds me of an Australian track. The layout of the track and the grandstands remind me a lot of Australia. It’s a great venue.”
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!
May 20, 2006 was a painful date in history for TMAC. He suffered a serious broken leg after crossing the line 7th at Sharon Speedway (OH), and had to sit out a good share of the next month. Though he was in serious pain, he returned to action on June 18, and won from the tail of the field at Huset’s Speedway, topping Larry Ball Jr., Dusty Zomer, Jake Peters and Gary DeWall! He returned to WoO action on June 30, finishing third at 81 Speedway in Wichita, Kansas.
"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 SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, Country Builders Construction, Bosma Poultry, Destiny Motorsports, Simplot Grower Solutions, Price Chopper, Hiland Dairy, Searsboro Telephone Company, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, Vortex Racing, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, SuperFlow, Schoenfeld Headers, Rens Trucking, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Maxim Chassis, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, Snap On Tools, Sposato Paint, Winters, Kilani Fender, Inc., DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Pro Shocks, 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 at Knoxville (Chuck Stowe Images)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
Website: www.OpenWheel101.com
- administrator on May 17, 2017
- Article Date: 5/16/2017