The TMAC Motorsports team in Victory Lane at Jackson (Doug Johnson Photo)
(Bill W) May 26, 2015 – It was a big weekend for Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team! They picked up the $10,000 to win Folkens Bros. Trucking Spring Nationals with the FVP National Sprint League at the Jackson Speedway in Minnesota Friday night. A top five finish on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway capped a solid weekend for a team that will see a big week of racing. The NSL will be in action in their “March through Missouri” Thursday at the Saint Francois County Raceway in Farmington and Friday at the Randolph County Raceway near Moberly. On Saturday, the Altoona, Iowa driver will be back in weekly action at Knoxville.
Jackson looked like a new place when the NSL arrived on Friday. “They’ve done some nice work with the facility,” says TMAC. “New blood and new ideas for any business are a good thing. As far as the track, it’s a little wider in one and two, but it races about the same. The cushion is about in the same spot. The lights were great, and I’m sure Tod (Quiring) will add things as time goes on.”
TMAC would time in 8th quick. “We went out fairly late (26th out of 35),” he says. “No one beat us after we went out, and there were some good cars. It was good enough to get us into the redraw if we did well in our heat race. This format with the NSL is a really good one. If you’re ninth or tenth or eleventh quick like we were at Burlington, it still gives you a shot at that redraw.”
He would start the heat fifth. “We had a good start,” says TMAC. “Everyone up to that point had been running the cushion. I went around the bottom in slow laps, and saw there was some juice down there. I thought if I could stick that, we’d be good. By the time, we hit turn three, we were third and I thought that would be good enough for the redraw.”
It was and TMAC would start the Dash outside row one. “I have to thank Dusty Ballenger’s son for helping me draw the number two,” he says. “There’s such strong competition around here. There are twenty drivers that wouldn’t shock you if they won anywhere. It makes it difficult, so a good draw never hurts.”
He would lead the Dash from green to checker. “We had a really good car in the Dash too,” says TMAC. “Doug (Rankin) has been doing well again all year. We were rolling around there really nice. We were able to get a good start on Mark (Dobmeier) and our A.R.T. is really comfortable right now. That’s so important with the way my back is. You never want to deal with an ill-handling car, but especially now.”
TMAC would lead at the outset of the feature as well. “My car was so nice rolling around there,” he says. “We had a red at four laps, and they told me we were pulling away. I looked at the left rear and even with a good handling car, it was pretty worn after four laps. I told Doug I was concerned. I knew it would be an issue for everyone.”
TMAC was a bit of a sitting duck leading out on the cushion when Bill Balog found the rubber in the middle of the track and started cruising to the front. “The good thing was, I was rolling so well on the cushion,” he says. “The bad thing was I wasn’t able to feel the rubber coming down. You don’t want to try anything when you’re in the lead and running so well. Bill found the rubber before we did, and he did a great job.”
He made a bid for the lead, but Balog pulled away. “At one point, I thought I had a shot on him on the bottom,” says TMAC. “He had to go high around a lapped car. My brake pedal went to the floor for some reason, and I missed it. I saw him smoking the tires a little bit, and I don’t think he’s run Jackson that often. I kind of went into protective mode trying to save my tire as much as I could without slowing down too much.”
A caution slowed things with two laps to go. “Once the yellow came out, I saw a white stripe on Bill’s tire,” says TMAC. “I knew he was in deep trouble. I pulled beside him just to let him know his tire was going down. If I was in his position, I certainly wouldn’t have stopped until I had to. On the restart, his tire was so far down, he had a big push. I went underneath him, and Tim (Kaeding) made a great move to go to the outside of him. It’s unfortunate for Bill. Sometimes, when you’re the first to find the rubber, it works out. In his case, it probably made his tire go a little quicker. We were fortunate enough to win it.”
TMAC appreciates an event like the Folkens Bros. Trucking Spring Nationals. “I’m a promoter at heart,” he says. “I love the pomp and circumstance, and that race reminds me so much of the Front Row Challenge. They do a lot of the same things with giveaways and so on. That’s what makes it fun. Maybe you had a bad night, but they hand you a tire for being last in the B. That type of thing makes it a big event. It means a lot to us as car owners and drivers. The trophy is awesome. It lights up. It’s got a semi-truck on it for Folkens Bros. Trucking. It’s one of the coolest trophies I’ve ever won.”
At Knoxville on Saturday, he would time in third quick. “We hurt our favorite motor the night I got hurt, and this one has twelve nights on it,” says TMAC. “It’s getting a little worn out. We were still third quick, so you can’t say enough for Rider engines.”
TMAC would start sixth in his heat, but not make a transfer spot. “The first start went well,” he says. “We got a good jump, but they called it back for the front row. The second time, guys like Ian Madsen aren’t going to give it to you twice. We kind of just got caught back there. There were guys all over the place and I got slowed down to their speed. It’s like an Outlaw show every week at Knoxville. Qualifying is great, but we didn’t do our job and make it through our heat.”
After winning the B, TMAC would start the main event ninth. “It’s nice that we don’t have to start at the tail anymore after getting through the B,” he says. “We started ninth in the feature, and we had a good car. It’s tough. If you make a mistake or a wrong move, it’s hard to get those spots back. We were up to fifth and had a shot at fourth. We almost got by Tim there at the end. We got up over the cushion. I think if we could have gotten by him, we would have had a shot at third. I wouldn’t have changed anything about the car…I may have changed some of my decisions during the race. Anytime we finish in the top five with the back and all, it’s a good thing.”
TMAC knows Thursday’s NSL show at Farmington will be a test. “I think the last time we were at Farmington was 2009,” he says. “The local guys are really good around there. They’re going to be really tough to beat for the NSL guys. They have great fans, and I’m sure they’re excited to see one of their guys beat us.”
He also talked about Moberly. “Moberly is the site of one of my most disappointing losses ever. Jack Hewitt was driving the #5m car for (Chuck) Merrill Contractors and my Dad was operating the car. They had a USAC winged race there, and Jack was racing a late model somewhere for JW Hunt. At the last minute, they asked me to drive. We went down there and took off. It was rough and tough. I think they had six or seven yellows and two or three reds. I led it and I led it. Rich Vogler was running second (Hoffman #69). They had a late restart, and I thought I’m going to throw a block on the bottom of one and two and keep Vogler behind me. I hit a rut down there and about turned it over. He got by me and we ran second. I could have had a USAC win in my career if I would have held on. Talking to the Vogler family, that’s one of the few winged races he won.”
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 Week in TMAC History!
TMAC won on May 27 in 2001 at the Huset’s Speedway. He topped Dennis Moore Jr., Don Droud Jr., Mark Toews and Skip Jackson. The field was a solid one assembled over the Memorial Day Weekend. He won his fifth of a record eight Huset’s track championships that season.
"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.
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The TMAC Motorsports team in Victory Lane at Jackson (Doug Johnson Photo)
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