Tuesdays with TMAC – Fast Run “Down Under”!
(Bill W) February 4, 2014 – Terry McCarl is slowly dusting off the jet lag from another successful run “Down Under” in Australia. After competing at the President’s Cup at Avalon Raceway near Geelong, Victoria and the Sprintcar Classic at the Premier Speedway near Warrnambool, Victoria, he is setting his sights on Florida action commencing in less than two weeks.
Pairing again with Bayaire Industries’ Colin Bulmer and his #V2 team, TMAC was fast out of the box with second quick at the President’s Cup. “We seem to always qualify well at Avalon,” he says. “It was really amazing that we were so good so quickly again…to jump in another car at another track with different motors (KRE) and be that good. We actually went out a little early and the track was greasy. We were a half-second quicker than anyone else for the longest time. That’s a credit to Colin Bulmer and the team. We had a new crew chief helping us this year, Keith Giles. Mick Kirkup and Wayneo Cole were helping us along with Colin’s son, Riley.”
The heats were up next. “In their format, you start in the back of the first heat and in the front of the second (with a good qualifying time),” says the Altoona, Iowa driver. “It kind of got me. We ran ninth in the first heat from the back. The second heat we were dialed in and won it going away.”
TMAC would start tenth in the President’s Cup feature. “We got an excellent start in the feature and came out running fifth,” he says. “Unfortunately, there was a crash behind us involving Paul McMahan and Daryn Pittman and some other cars. On the next start, I got stuck on the top and got shuffled back to twelfth or so. From that point, it went non-stop. We had a really good car and started clawing our way back in. We were able to get up to ninth and run down sixth, seventh and eighth. It was good preparation for Warrnambool.”
This year, the Sprintcar Classic, Australia’s premiere event, expanded to three days. The format saw half the field qualify on each of the first two nights. TMAC would qualify well in his Saturday prelim. “It was necessary to make that move,” he says of the new format. “This year, there were 118 cars. We went out 42nd out of 54 cars on our night. We were seventh quick with it ‘gut-slick’ up on the fence. We got it about perfect where we needed to be.”
Just like the Knoxville Nationals, the Sprintcar Classic is run on a points’ system. “Time trials go down by two points and so does the feature…but the heats go down twelve points a spot!” explains TMAC. “The first round of heats went well, and we won from the front. The second round I only moved up a spot and didn’t get on the top soon enough. That put us tenth overall in points heading into the feature.”
Starting outside of row five in the preliminary feature, TMAC battled a tight racecar. “We were so tight and I couldn’t figure out why,” he says. “We had an open red late in the race, and we moved the right rear out a bit. We were a little better, but we dropped way back and ended up coming back to ninth. That was really good considering the way the car handled. When I got into the pits, the left rear looked like a big balloon. I asked how much air was in it, but there was only 4.7 pounds. The tire itself had grown to a point where we only had nine inches of stagger. That wasn’t close to what we needed. It was nobody’s fault, it was just a freak tire deal.”
Entering the final night 21st in overall points, TMAC made up for it in the heat running from his sixth starting spot to second. “We were able to get up to second,” he says. “That was huge for us. We were able to gain quite a few spots. It was the first heat, so that made it really good. We ended up starting tenth in the Classic, and with as many cars as there were, we were happy.”
The track looked to be stacking up well in the consolation events, but concerns over a dry track saw officials rework it before the finale. TMAC would start tenth. “The track was perfect through the B mains,” he says. “It was up on the fence and down on the bottom. It had laid rubber the first night, and they decided to rework the track for the final. Unfortunately, it didn’t blow off. I didn’t know what to expect. It ended up being forty laps around the bottom, which was unfortunate. I don’t blame the decision at all, but it was tough racing.”
From his starting spot outside of row five, TMAC did his best to move the ca forward. “I tried to make some things happen,” he says. “I tried to run the top early. I got stuck out there and lost a few spots. I tried to go around (Donny) Schatz and (Robbie) Farr. They were racing each other…and I about stuck it in the fence. We ended up fourteenth. We did our best.”
Just like previous seasons, TMAC came back even more impressed with Australia’s biggest sprint car event. “Honestly, it’s a great event,” he says. “Any American sprint car fan should try to get there. I put it as the third biggest event in the world behind the Knoxville Nationals and King’s Royal. I think they sold it out. I hope they keep raising the purse, and it’s just a great event. I look forward to going back.”
To check out opportunities to partner with TMAC Motorsports on a nightly basis, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com or call 515 957-0020!
Front Row Challenge Tickets on Sale Today!
The 19th Annual Casey’s General Stores/Musco Lighting Front Row Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Company will be held Monday, August 4 at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Renewal tickets for the 19th Annual Front Row Challenge in 2014 go on sale today, February 4. For more information, call Front Row Challenge Enterprises, LLC at 515 957-0020. For further information, stay tuned to www.OskyChallenges.com!
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!
On February 10, 1994, TMAC drove Bob Weikert’s famous #29 to a fifth place finish in All Star competition at Ocala Speedway, where he was victorious on January 31, 2009. In that race, TMAC followed Kevin Huntley, Fred Rahmer, Bill Brian Jr. and Lance Dewease to the finish. In his short partnership with Weikert, TMAC scored two wins (JAX Raceways in Florida with the All Stars and Lincoln Speedway in Pennsylvania) in ten feature starts in 1994. There were four top five, and eight top ten finishes.
"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, Deanfield Farms, Bosma Poultry, SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, DeBerg Concrete, Colin Bulmer – Bayaire Industries, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, Ryan Yager Trucking, Vortex Racing, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Rens Trucking, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, T&P Brothers, 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
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia