Austin at Knoxville (Ken's Racing Pix)
Des Moines, IA (May 30, 2018) – Make it three wins for Austin McCarl and the TKS Motorsports team at the Knoxville Raceway, and we’re only at the end of the month of May! After beginning the season winless at Knoxville with Austin in the seat, the Troy & Tammy Renfro-owned team couldn’t be happier with the start of the season and to be nipping at the heels of points leader Brooke Tatnell. Austin will be looking to score win number four, and his second back-to-back of the year, in the Casey’s General Stores #2KS this Saturday night.
The TKS team had the car rolling well from the start of the night, but a tricky track made for an interesting go in time trials. “I definitely could have qualified a lot better than I did,” said Austin. “The car felt great, but the track was just kind of weird Saturday. I was able to make my way through turns one and two well on my first lap, but I let the rear end hang out too much coming off of four and that killed my momentum coming to the line and for the second lap.”
While it wasn’t as strong of a qualifying run as Austin and the team would have liked, his time was good enough to stay in the top ten, taking 9th. Rolling off fourth in his heat, McCarl was able to make some strong moves to finish 2ndand earn a spot in the A-main invert. “It was really a great points night,” said owner Troy Renfro. “We didn’t time great, but Austin ran well in his heat and was able to put himself in a good position for the A-main. Knoxville’s point system forces you to be strong in all phases and we were able to do that Saturday.”
Starting on the inside of the second row, Austin was able to get off to a great start, thanks in large part to the outside line getting bogged down. “Justin (Henderson) didn’t get a good start at all on the outside of the front row,” said Austin. “That allowed myself and (Davey) Heskin to put some space between us and the rest of the field.”
After making the pass on Heskin for the lead on the fourth circuit, Austin was able to charge out to a commanding lead, though a difficult cushion and some unpredictable lapped cars kept Renfro on his toes while watching from the pits. “The cushion was definitely treacherous on Saturday and there were a few holes at the exit of turn four that were hard to miss,” said Troy. “I’m a pretty calm guy, but with the track being as tricky as it was, we had some close calls with some of the lapped cars and I had to look away a couple times.”
While McCarl was dealing with traffic, that allowed Brian Brown to close in and make it a race. “Austin slowed himself down, hit his marks, and did a great job in traffic,” said Renfro. “However, when he was dealing with lapped traffic, Brown had open track and was able to catch up.”
A last lap (near) encounter with a lapped car, caused for an exciting finish to the main event. “After taking the white flag, I had a lapped car get way sideways coming off turn two in front of me,” said Austin. “I hit the brakes so hard that it felt like I came to a stop, killing all my momentum, and I knew Brian was right behind me. I was able to roll the middle well enough in three and four to keep the lead and grab the win, but it was definitely the most nervous I think I’ve ever been on a last lap!”
McCarl’s winning weekend wasn’t done after Saturday night, as he jumped in a different car and picked up the Sprint Invaders win at 34 Raceway on Sunday night. “I got a call at 6:00am on Sunday to see if I’d want to race at Burlington and was able to go down and get a win,” said Austin. “It was a great weekend and hopefully we can put the #2KS back in victory lane this Saturday.”
Troy and Tammy Renfro celebrated Saturday night’s win on Sunday by watching daughters Katelyn and Sydney graduate from high school. “It was a great weekend, both on and off the track!” said Troy.
Austin will be back behind the wheel of the TKS Motorsports #2KS this Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway, looking to jump to the top of the points standings and go back-to-back for the second time this season! Check out the new TKS Motorsports website for the season schedule and more from the TKS team.
TKS Motorsports is thankful for the support from all of their loyal sponsors:
Casey's General Stores, Des Moines Industrial Products (DMIP), Midwest Basement Systems, Neumann Brothers Construction, AFA Wheels, AL Driveline, All Star Performance, AO Designs, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Billy Bell House Moving, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Fibreworks Composites, Gail Dielman, Hoosier, HRP, Indy Race Parts, Justice Brothers, KSE Racing Products, Liberty Ready Mix, Mag Tech Ignition, Maxim Racing Chassis, Parker Performance, PennGrade Motor Oil, Schoenfeld Headers, Slade Shock Technology, Snyder Landscaping & Lawn Care, Tony Moro Collision Center, Tony Moro Powdercoating & Sandblasting, Top Flight Wings, Walker Filtration Systems, Webb Family Farms, Wilwood, and Winters Performance Products.
Photo Credit: Ken Berry
Morgan Broeg
broegracewriting@gmail.com
West Des Moines, IA USA
Twitter: @BroegW