(Ken Berry Photo)
Des Moines, IA (June 13, 2018) – A full weekend at the Jackson Motorplex for the Jackson Nationals provided the opportunity for Austin McCarl and the TKS Motorsports team to turn a lot of laps with the best sprint car competition in the country. The weekend culminated in McCarl putting the Casey’s General Stores/Midwest Basement Systems #2KS in the main event. The Renfro-owned team is excited for this weekend’s return to the Knoxville Raceway where they will try to increase their point lead and earn win #4 of the season!
The Jackson Nationals got off to a delayed start after rain showers on Thursday forced that night’s show to be moved to Saturday afternoon. So it wasn’t until Friday night that Austin took the track for the opening night of competition. “Due to all of the rain that came through, the track was very heavy for the Friday night show,” said Troy Renfro. “Austin tried a different line early and looked good, but we were playing catch-up all night after making some changes after hot laps that we probably shouldn’t have.”
The early setback saw Austin relegated to the night’s B-main, where he would just miss qualifying after finishing 5th, one spot out of the transfer. “We were just a little off Friday night,” said Austin. “I fell back a row at the start of the B-main and thought I had a shot at getting into the transfer, but ended up missing the show by one car.”
Saturday brought Thursday night’s make-up show in the form of a day race, something that proved to be to the liking of Austin, as they notched their best finish of the weekend. “The car felt great for the day race on Saturday,” said Austin. “We timed in pretty well, but I probably should have done even better.”
Starting on the outside of the second row in his heat, Austin was able to make some moves and just missed making the dash. “I got into third pretty quick and made a move on 2nd, which would have put us in the dash,” said Austin. “I came up a bit short, but it still turned into a pretty good run for us.”
Austin finished the daylight portion of Saturday with a finish of 14th in the feature. “It was really good experience getting to run a day race for Austin,” said Troy. “That isn’t something that we really have the opportunity to do very often and for him to put together the finish that he did against the Outlaws was great!”
The Saturday night finale opened with Austin just failing to put the TKS Motorsports #2KS in the main event through his heat. “At the start of the heat, Austin got into a drag race down the backstretch with one of the Outlaw regulars and had to get off the gas to avoid wrecking going into turn three and we ended one spot out of the transfer,” said Troy. “When Austin and I spoke after, he said he could definitely tell the difference between a normal Saturday night and running with the Outlaws by how they race.”
The team was able to rebound well, as Austin was able to use the B-main to make the show, though the feature ended a bit early for the team. “Knowing that we were starting at the back, we gambled with some softer tires than most guys were running,” said Austin. “During a caution with about 10 to go, I decided it best to pull in and save the engine, rather than running the risk of blowing a tire and tearing up some equipment.”
All-in-all it was a great weekend for the TKS team, jampacked with experience that will come in handy later in the year. “It was great for Austin and the rest of the team to run that many laps with the Outlaws,” said Troy. Austin is ready that experience to use at Knoxville Raceway this Saturday: “It was a good weekend and I’m excited to get back to Knoxville and go for win number four!”
Austin McCarl and the TKS Motorsports team will return to regular action at the Knoxville Raceway this Saturday, where they will be looking to increase their lead in the point standings! Check out the new TKS Motorsports websitefor 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, Chalk Stix Torsion Bars, 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