Tuesdays with TMAC – Outlaw Top Ten!
(Bill W) September 16, 2014 – Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team held their own with the World of Outlaws in a pair of events last weekend in the Upper Midwest. At Spencer, Iowa he would come home 12th before registering and eighth place showing at Deer Creek Speedway near Spring Valley, Minnesota on Saturday. This weekend, the Fall Brawl pays $50,000 to the driver who can sweep it at I-80Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska.
Last Thursday, TMAC piloted Jimmy Davies #99 at Farley Speedway in Iowa. He would go from sixth to win his heat. “It was kind of slick and rough at Farley,” he says. “They had a lot of rain. I watched the first couple of heats and everyone was around the bottom. I was starting last and I went where they weren’t. I stuck it up top and I was able to get past them for the win. I think it ended up being a good deal for Ryan Bowers. He told me later that showed him how to get around there and he won. That was a good deal for him. He’s Carson’s teammate and we’re glad to help him out.”
The win put TMAC in the Shake-up Dash. “We tried some different things,” he says. “It was a good test session. I did something I’ve never done. We got to fifth and I thought I saw something at the flagstand and I let off at the white flag. I’ve never done that. I saw Guy Forbrook do it in my Dad’s car once at Cedar Rapids way back. The way they do the Dash, you can draw the pole anyway, so it was a good time to do it.”
The team prepared for the feature. “I started fourth and I was able to take the lead on the first try at green,” says TMAC. “There was a caution, and those guys had a second chance. I moved around and tried some different things. As long as the leader wasn’t getting away from me, I knew we were o.k. I was just trying to find where we were best. I got under (Josh) Schneiderman for third and he must not have seen me, because he came right down to the bottom and got into our front end and that spun us out. As it turned out, we broke a driveline a few laps later, so it didn’t really matter. A DNF was unfortunate. Jimmy’s cars are always well maintained. Maybe the rough track had something to do with it.”
The Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer hosted the WoO on Friday. “It’s a really fun event for us,” says TMAC. “The Clay County Fair is bigger than most state fairs. It’s fun to be there with Paul Gillund and their family. Justice Brothers supports racing all over the Midwest. They helped out Bob Hop with his car when I was young. It was fun to represent them all weekend. A lot of our sponsors are from that area, so it’s a lot of fun.”
TMAC would time in 11th quick. “We went out second to last, and I’d thought it may really hurt us,” he says. “In the past, it’s been the kiss of death. We got a second chance by starting on the front of the heat. Unfortunately, the guys on the bottom had some really good juice in the heat races and we finished third.”
He would inherit a starting position outside of row seven for the feature. “I was talking to Doug (Rankin) and Austin (McCarl) about our setup,” says TMAC. “I’ve never been really comfortable at Spencer. We threw some things at it I wanted to try. I went into one and it was great. I got some bad air in turn two and got pushed up the racetrack. I lost four or five spots there.”
After getting shuffled back, TMAC charged back in the non-stop event. “From that point on, it was the best car I’ve ever had at Spencer,” he says. “That put us back in 18th or 19th, and just one by one, I was able to move by some good cars. We were almost able to run by Daryn (Pittman) for eleventh on the last lap. It doesn’t sound impressive going from 14th to 12th, but from where we came, we had an amazing car. We were able to mechanic really well and I was happy with that. We have some good notes for next year.”
He would qualify tenth quick at Deer Creek. “That’s actually the worst I’ve qualified there in a while,” says TMAC. “It did give us an opportunity to start on the top of the track in the heat and that was the place to be. We had the advantage over (Bill) Balog. On the second start, the motor stumbled a bit and I had to squeeze between him and the fence getting over the cushion coming out of two. From there, we set sail.”
The heat win put TMAC in a Dash where he ran from sixth to fifth. Starting fifth in the feature, he would checker eighth. “The track was a little rougher and heavier in the feature than usual,” he says. “I got a good first lap before we had a red flag. I don’t know if the right rear went down a little or what on the next start, but I got a little tight the rest of the race. I wasn’t really super-happy with the car. Track position is big with the World of Outlaws. They are so fun to race with. It really gets you on the edge. They are racing so hard, all the time. There’s no messing around.”
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!
TMAC won the 17th Annual Tom Knowles Memorial on this date in 2000 at the high-banked 3/8 mile Spoon River Speedway near Canton, Illinois. He was followed to the line by Ryan Jamison, the late great Kevin Doty, Terry Babb and Chris Urish. In 1994, he topped a field at Nebraska Raceway Park (I-80 Speedway) near Greenwood, Nebraska that included Vance Peterson, Todd Splain, Patrick Bourke and Chad Mellenberndt.
"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@hotmail.com with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Country Builders Construction, Rossie Feed and Grain, Bosma Poultry, SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, DeBerg Concrete, Colin Bulmer, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, 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, Kilani Fender, Inc., DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, 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, Snyder Lawn & Landscaping, 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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