(Osky News Photo)
Des Moines, IA (July 17, 2018) – After a weekend complete with a 360 Sprint Invaders win, nearly a clean sweep at Knoxville, and all three McCarl boys in the top five (including Austin with the win), Terry McCarl will be looking to ride that momentum into this coming Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway!
The weekend got started a little earlier than usual, with TMAC jumping in the Scott Bonar-owned car for the Sprint Invaders show at the Cedar County Fairgrounds in Tipton, Iowa. “I got a late call from Scott asking if I’d want to run the fair race at Tipton on Thursday,” said McCarl. “It was only my second time racing there, with the first being in Jimmy Davies’ #99 when Scott was the crew chief and we won that night. I always like running the old fair races and I don’t have a 360 motor right now, so I jumped at the opportunity.”
Terry would make it two-for-two at Tipton, piloting the Midland Performance #50 to the win in the night’s A-main, though he was even more pleased with the progression of the night. “As a driver, you always want to win, but every time we hit the track we got better,” said TMAC. “By the time we ran the feature, the car was very comfortable and we gelled well as a team. Running with Scott is nice, because he and I have very similar ideas when it comes to how to setup the car and that showed on Thursday.”
McCarl carried the strong momentum from Thursday through to Saturday night, where he was able to set quick time yet again in the SnowPlow Snow Pushers #24 at Knoxville. “We’ve now set fast time in three straight 410 shows,” said TMAC. “We had struggled mightily the last couple of years with qualifying and, I know I’ve said it before, but how well we’ve qualified over the past couple weeks is such a testament to how hard Doug [Rankin] and Steve [Fitzpatrick] worked in the offseason to make us better.”
While the TMAC Motorsports team is receiving credit where credit is due, Terry knows that you won’t go far without a great engine builder “Our Rider engine has been great!” said Terry. “I’d really love to take all the credit,” Terry says jokingly; “but without Tommy Rider and my crew guys working their butts off, we wouldn’t be anywhere near as fast as we’ve been.”
Rolling off on the outside of the third row for his heat, McCarl steadily made his way forward to take the win in his heat, heaping praise on the Knoxville track prep. “They [the Dunkins] have been giving us amazing tracks,” said TMAC. “Usually it’s tough on a dirt track to have the track be competitive in both the heats and the features, because if the track is wide and multi-grooved in the heats it will take rubber by the A, but they haven’t been going away at all recently.”
Though winning a heat from sixth at Knoxville is an accomplishment in itself, how it was done also proved a point of pride. “I was really proud of winning that heat with it going to caution-less,” said Terry. “To chase down Davey [Heskin] is tough enough, but to do it without the help of a yellow felt really good.”
A bit of caution at the beginning of the night’s A-main caused McCarl to have to dig himself out of a hole and some ill-timed yellows made it all the more difficult. “I got off the gas at the beginning of the feature, because it looked like Austin [McCarl] was going to make contact with another driver; I was being a little cautious and that ended up costing us a few positions,” said TMAC. “I was able to start working my way back near the front, but it seemed like the cautions were just hitting at the wrong times; I’d make a pass, but the yellow would come out before the lap was completed.”
Once again, the TMAC Motorsports team used the A-main as a testing ground and the tweak made on Saturday fared much better than the previous week’s attempt. “We did well with our setup test in the A,” said Terry. “I made sure that we didn’t overdo it like the week before. I was ripping the tires off the last four or five laps and we actually ran our fastest lap on the final circuit.”
TMAC would end the night in 3rd, but he was joined in the top five by both sons, with Austin scoring his fourth win of the year at Knoxville and Carson his best finish of the season. “I was able to get to third on the last lap, which was great, but it felt even better to have Austin win it and Carson 5th.”
“Carson did a great job in the 360s too,” said Terry. “After breaking a wheel in his heat, he was able to move from 18th into the top ten in the feature against some stout competition.” With all of the boys in the top five in the 410 feature and Carson earning the hard charger in the 360 A, a family celebration was on tap (literally). “‘McCarl Fest’ was great and Lori was a proud mom, so we had a solid celebration at Dingus after.”
TMAC and the team will be back in action this Saturday at the Knoxville Raceway where he will be looking to dethrone Austin as the McCarl atop the podium!
With a number of big events on the schedule between now and the Knoxville Nationals, there are some great opportunities to add your business to the list of partners supporting TMAC Motorsports. Secure your company’s spot on the top wing when Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports team return to the Knoxville Raceway this Saturday night looking to better last week’s finish by one spot!
Front Row Challenge & Ultimate Challenge Tickets!
We are only THREE weeks away from the Sage Fruit Front Row Challenge presented by Musco Lighting, and the Sage Fruit Ultimate ASCS Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Company at the Southern Iowa Speedway!
You can purchase your tickets now by calling (515) 957-0020 between 10:00am-4:00pm; Adult tickets for Monday are $30, Tuesday for $25, or both nights for $50 if purchased before July 30th, with Children’s tickets $15 each night. You can also buy tickets at the TMAC Motorsports merchandise trailer or at the race hauler after the races!
You can save $5 on your Infield Party Passes by purchasing them at the Oskaloosa True Value Hardware at 202 1st Ave. East on the square in Oskaloosa!
Check out the Osky Challenges website to learn more at: http://www.oskychallenges.com/
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!
"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 broegracewriting@gmail.comwith "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank their great list of partners for the 2018 season: SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, KC Breweries, Bosma Poultry, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, TW Vance Trucking, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, Simplot Grower Solutions, Rens Trucking, Hoosier Tire, Don Long’s Searsboro Telephone, Octane Ink, Destiny Motorsports, Country Builders Construction, 212 The Boiling Point, DeBerg Concrete, AL Drive Line, All Pro Cylinder Heads, All Star Performance, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Aurora Rod Ends, Bell Helmets, Berryhill Racing, Bob and Beulah Elder, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Burnett's Rock and Landscaping, Butlerbuilt, CM Rock, Crow Safety, DriverWebsites.com, Dynasty Stucco, Engler Injection, HRP, JLT Ent., Kilani Fender, Inc., KSE Steering, Mote Fasteners, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, Phil and Vivian, Pro Shocks, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Scribner Plastics, Silva Chassis, Snap On Tools, Snyder Lawn & Landscaping, Sposato Paint, Strange Performance, and Winters.
Photo Credit: Osky News
Morgan Broeg
West Des Moines, IA USA
broegracewriting@gmail.com
Twitter: @BroegW