Tuesdays with TMAC – Tales of Trophy Cup!
(Bill W) October 22, 2013 – It’s always a fun trip to California for Terry McCarl. Last weekend’s venue was the Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, and it resulted in a pair of top ten finishes in the Country Builders Construction #88. Even though it was a short trip, it carried plenty of adventure including food poisoning for the driver. The Altoona, Iowa pilot will team with Jeremy Scadden’s #6 team and tackle the Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway near Little Rock, Arkansas this weekend.
The Trophy Cup has definitely gained steam the last few years, and TMAC wouldn’t mind seeing the event expanded with over eighty cars in attendance. “I’d like to see a three-day format there,” he says. “We came out in the middle of the qualifying order (44th), but with the drivers going out late, it’s really a disadvantage. They made an adjustment by cutting the qualifying points in half, so that was a plus.”
He was able to win his heat race going away. “To do that with (Jac) Haud(enschild) and TK (Tim Kaeding) in the heat was a good thing,” says TMAC. “They are two of the best at Tulare. We had a yellow and we were still able to win by a straightaway, so we were good. We were running an ASCS engine from Rider, and I don’t know that people understand that All Pro Heads are legal out there in California…so we felt good about things at that point.”
Maintenance chores on the #88 cut down on the time for feature setup. “We just haven’t run a 360 that much,” says TMAC. “We haven’t run at the Trophy Cup in a couple of years. Frankly, I don’t have a crew chief. Jim Roby was kind enough to help me. He worked for the Pennzoil team for Haud, and worked with Tim Shaffer on the Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook #83. With a crew that I’m accustomed to, I can watch the track until the last minute and make adjustments. It got really slick before the A, and we didn’t adjust enough.”
Starting fifth, things started out well enough in Friday’s prelim. “We got to third and I slid the guy for second,” says TMAC. “The yellow came out, and I just went backwards. We didn’t sipe (additional cuts in the tire) our rear tires, and they sealed up like crazy. They were shiny and smooth as a baby’s butt. They just weren’t working. I had the wing in the trunk and just kind of held on from there. I was just as loose as could be.”
TMAC would checker ninth. “It was unfortunate, because it was slick and the kind of racetrack that I’m used to here in the Midwest,” he says. “Those California guys are good on the rough and tacky tracks. I was disappointed, because I thought we could have finished in the top three and maybe won it. Still we salvaged a ninth place finish and ended seventh in points for the night.”
A decision to focus on Saturday instead of on Friday night post-race festivities ended up backfiring (literally) for TMAC. “Taco Bravo always has a great taco feed on Friday night,” he says. “Jim and I decided we were going to skip it, get the car washed, and get ready for Saturday. We stayed disciplined. By the car wash, there was an In ‘N Out Burger and an IHOP. I decided I was going to try to eat health and went to IHOP. Do not get the pot roast dinner at 1:30 a.m. when they are closing at two! I got food poisoning, and never slept a wink.”
TMAC collected himself and got to the track. “I was sick as a dog,” he says. “I finally toughed it out and got to the track about noon. I ran to the bathroom in the pits as soon as I could, and I didn’t quite make it. I threw up a couple feet from the guy’s car that was parked by the restroom. I apologized and told him it was food poisoning, not alcohol. Anyone with food poisoning knows it makes you sick as a dog.”
Being seventh in points heading into the finale put TMAC inside of the last row of heat race one. “It was the worst place to be,” he says. “The outside was definitely the best place to be, as it usually is. TK was outside of me there. The first heat had little passing, so it made a real difference to be in a later heat when the track widened. I got stuck behind a driver that ended up pulling out of the race and stopped in front of me. To make a long story short, we finished where we started in seventh. That got us behind pretty good in points.”
With the feature inverting the top twenty-four in points, TMAC would start fifteenth in the finale. “We were able to get up to eighth at one point,” he says. “We just got loose at that point. I was running the bottom well on both ends of the track. After one of the late race yellows, we got loose. I needed to move to the top in one and two looking back. We lost two pounds in the left rear and obviously that made us loose.”
He would end up tenth overall in points. “I was happy with that with everything considered,” says TMAC. “We ended up ninth in the feature and tenth in points overall out of eighty cars. Tulare is such a fun track. I just didn’t get up on the fence like I enjoy, and I still don’t feel good today to be honest.”
A busy few weeks are ahead in Arkansas, California and possibly North Carolina. “We’re heading out tonight for the Short Track Nationals this week,” says TMAC. “I’m excited that I’ll be driving for Clyde Lamar in Stockton with the King of the West series on November 2 as well. I’m trying to put some sponsorship together for The World Finals in Charlotte too, but we don’t have that done yet.”
To check out opportunities to partner with TMAC Motorsports on a nightly basis, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com or call 515 957-0020!
Websites for the McCarl Gang!
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!
This week in 2000, TMAC won in USCS (United Sprint Car Series) action at Volusia Speedway in Volusia, Florida. He drove the Mulligan #3 to the win over Kenny Adams, Mike Woodring, Sport Allen and Terry Witherspoon. In five career starts with USCS, TMAC has never finished outside of the top five and has two wins. His other win also came at Volusia in 2001, as he topped Terry Gray, Adams, Jim Raptis and Allen.
"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@iowatelecom.net with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Country Builders Construction, Rossie Feed and Grain, “Lord I Apologize BBQ Sauce”, Deanfield Farms, Bosma Poultry, SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, DeBerg Concrete, Colin Bulmer – Bayaire Industries, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, SCE Gaskets, Justice Brothers, 212 The Boiling Point Bar & Grill, Vortex Racing, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Rens Trucking, Pick Farms, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, Superflow Technologies, T&P Brothers, Mediacom, Larry Fleck Trucking, Winters, DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, Jocko's Sprint Parts, Sander, Brown and Miller, Pro Shocks, Ben Cook, Bell Helmets, Burnett's Rock and Landscaping, Van Der Brink Designs, Morgan Strawberry Farms, Aurora Rod Ends, Crow Safety, Justice Brothers, KSE Steering, Strange Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, Waterman Fuel Pumps, Weiland Racing, Butlerbuilt, PBS Bushings and Mote Fasteners.
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
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