Tuesdays with TMAC – 360 Degrees of Disappointment!
(Bill W) April 14, 2015 – For Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team, it was 360 degrees of disappointment at the FVP NSL opener Saturday night at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. After building a commanding lead, the Altoona, Iowa driver did a 360 spin to avoid a lapped marker. Fortunately, he kept it going and came home second. This Saturday night is the opener in the Knoxville Championship Cup Series at the Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.
With forty cars timing in Saturday night, TMAC’s early pill was a bit of a detriment as the track go better throughout qualifying. He would end up tenth quick. “It was pretty greasy…down the back straightaway especially,” he says. “It made for a great track later. I tried my normal line the first lap and the car was loose all the way through three and four. I had to slow down a little bit and keep the car under me the second lap. Everyone from third and fourth to twelfth was within a tenth of a second. That shows people how close these cars are.”
He would start fourth in his heat race and charge to the win. “We were able to pick up a few points there by winning the heat and that got us in the redraw,” says TMAC. “All the heats were tough. The car was really good. There wasn’t a whole lot Doug (Rankin) or Carson (McCarl) could have done better to the car for qualifying, so we felt good going in. We were able to get by Kaley (Gharst) for the lead early there on the bottom to the middle, so I knew we were good.”
The redraw had TMAC starting outside row two of the 25-lap feature. By lap two, he circled around Bryan Clauson and Wayne Johnson and pulled away to a large advantage. “Burlington is one of my favorites,” he says. “We are always good there, and if anything, sometimes I get a little too aggressive there. I’m too comfortable. My car would go anywhere on Saturday. I made some moves around some lapped cars that were shooting up off the bottom in turn two. I had to go over the cushion and I just stayed in it. That was working, so it was building my confidence.”
Disaster stuck on lap 18. “I came up on one lapped car,” says TMAC. “It didn’t matter if it went either high or low, just one or the other. I could go either way. Unfortunately, the car just kept changing directions. I don’t know if it wasn’t working properly, or if he was trying to change his line, but he was all over. I’m a little ahead of some of these guys in seat-time, because we have been running with the Outlaws for a couple of months. I got in too hot behind him and almost got into him. That sent us into the spin.”
The green light stayed on and TMAC emerged in third. “I have never done a 360 and kept going,” he says. “Usually, it piles up the innocent victims behind you. I got halfway through and there wasn’t hardly anyone around. I stayed on it. Fortunately, Doug Clark was on the flagstand. He’s the best in the business, and he was smart enough to survey the situation, deciding not to throw the yellow.”
A lap later, the caution flew one last time, and TMAC lined up behind Johnson and Clauson with seven laps to go. “We got back going,” he says. “I thought we may have a shot at Wayne, but Bryan was really fast on that restart. He was really running the bottom where I needed to be if I was going to pass Wayne. Bryan was doing a good job. Once we cleared him, we just couldn’t make it happen.”
The second place finish was still a solid one. “It was disappointing, because you want to win any race, but especially the first NSL race,” says TMAC. “We had excellent weather, an excellent crowd and an excellent car count. Although we didn’t win it, I thought the race was very good. I know it had to be pretty exciting for the fans. With my promoter hat on, I think it was a great first event for the NSL and I think the rest will be too.”
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!
In this month in 2001, TMAC claimed the Danny Young Memorial at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. The win came ahead of Tony Norem, Dennis Moore Jr., Randy Martin and Don Droud Jr. The win was the first of 22 that TMAC would win that season including the 360 Nationals and the Shaheen’s Blast from the Past at the Jacksonville Speedway in Illinois.
"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, Vortex Racing, Mastell Brothers Trailer Sales, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, SuperFlow, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Rens Trucking, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, Snap On Tools, Sposato Paint, Winters, Kilani Fender, Inc., DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, Taco Bravo, 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, Dynasty Stucco, Aurora Rod Ends, Crow Safety, KSE Steering, Snyder Lawn & Landscaping, Strange Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, Waterman Fuel Pumps, Butlerbuilt, PBS Bushings and Mote Fasteners.
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia