Tuesdays with TMAC – On to California!
(Bill W) March 11, 2014 – The TMAC Motorsports #24 was running strong again at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas with the World of Outlaws last weekend. Unfortunately, cut tires slowed the progress and stymied the results a bit. Still, the Altoona, Iowa driver was running in the top ten in Outlaw points following the two-night event. This weekend, The Country Builders Construction #88 will hit the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California with the WoO.
Things started in Vegas on Wednesday. After qualifying twelfth, TMAC ran third in the heat. “We qualified in a good position and Cody Darrah got by me in the heat,” he says. “Getting in the Dash is huge. I kind of ducked in behind Wayne (Johnson) and let him go, because I was in his dirty air. I didn’t think the bottom was as good as it was and Cody got by me. Once he did that, I was able to stay right with him and we barely missed a transfer (to the Dash).”
TMAC would start fourteenth in Thursday’s feature. “We were able to get up to seventh at one point,” he says. “Las Vegas is a great facility and I love going there. Gary Risch Jr. did a great job with the track…he did Volusia too. There was a top and bottom. But there are a lot of rocks there. I got hit with one that broke the right arm guard in the heat race. In the feature, a rock cut a tire while we were running seventh.”
He would lose some ground, but finish. “We were lucky to finish twelfth as it was,” says TMAC. “We’re fast, we just haven’t had any luck on our side. Our hood was broken and we ended up putting a whole new body on for Thursday. I hope they can get the rocks out of there. The sponsors and fans love going there.”
On Friday, TMAC qualified well despite a late pill draw. “The track was great,” he says. “It held up through qualifying well. We went out towards the end and we were tenth quick. We were faster than Donny Schatz, who went out about the same time, so we felt good. Right now, we just have one motor and one car.”
TMAC would win the heat in convincing fashion, but resulted in another flat. “I came in after the heat and the right rear had a hole in it,” he says. “You can’t change tires. It was pretty scary, but we used a tire plug. We plugged it the best we could.”
Starting fifth in the Dash, he would checker seventh. “The bottom was still pretty greasy,” says TMAC. “I went down into one and about spun out. I got passed by a couple of guys. We ran Joey (Saldana) and Mark Dobmeier back down. When we came back in, the right rear was down again, so we felt fortunate to even finish seventh.”
Starting seventh in the main event, TMAC was running well. “We took off in the feature and the car was nice,” he says. “We had a good battle with Dobmeier there. We were going back and forth. We were biding our time a little bit, because I know how Vegas is with attrition sometimes. We had a couple guys blow tires in front of us and that got us in the top five.”
The right rear tire was deflating again. “On a yellow there, I had a right rear going down and didn’t know it,” says TMAC. “We took off on the restart, and went down into three and four and it went flat. Unfortunately, someone got into my left rear wheel down there and bent the wheel. The red came out.”
DJ Brink had two tires to change. “He went to the right rear to change it,” says TMAC. “So we had two tires to change after Calvin Landis’s Dad pointed out our left rear wheel was bent. It turns out that we needed to notify an official that we were doing that. It wasn’t like we were trying to hide it. I don’t have three full-time crew guys like these other teams, and I don’t know that DJ, who is a 23 year-old kid, has crewed five Outlaw shows in his life. Of course, we were planning on going to the back. They came over and told us we were disqualified for not telling them we were changing both tires. It seems extreme, but that’s their rule.”
Overall, TMAC is pleased with the way the program is going in 2014. “Of course, we want to win, but I’m happy,” he says. “We left Vegas still ninth in Outlaw points. I feel good, because we are in the game. Every time I go out, I feel good. By far, we’ve been the best ‘non-Outlaw’ team out there. DJ Brink has come along with me and really helped me out. He’s a good truck driver and gives me a lot of good feedback. He’s a driver himself, and unfortunately, I’m going to lose him the first of April when he gets back to racing. Unfortunately, (son) Austin really doesn’t have anything going as far as a ride for this year, so we may be going back to where we were two years ago with him as my primary crew chief.”
He looks forward to racing in Tulare this weekend. “Our Rider engine is really running good, and we’ll be picking up another A.R.T. chassis while we’re out here,” says TMAC. “My record there has been good. On the west coast, it really is at the top of my list of tracks. Usually, on the first day it’s heavy, and then on the second it slicks off like it is at the Trophy Cup in the fall. When it slicks off, it’s a really fun racetrack. We’re throwing the red body back on the car here and we’ll be the Country Builders #88 here for a month. It’s a lot of fun hanging with the Offill family. They mean a lot to me.”
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!
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 are on sale. 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 March 9, 2006, TMAC ran fourth at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the World of Outlaws. He started ninth in an event that was run during miserable conditions, including high winds. He registered the quick time of the night with a lap of 14.419 seconds. Donny Schatz passed Jeremy Campbell at the halfway point to win it.
"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 Trucking, Van Der Brink Designs, Morgan Strawberry Farms, Buttman BBQ, 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
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