Tuesdays with TMAC – Foot in the Gas!
(Bill W) July 14, 2015 – Coming off a pair of wins the previous weekend, Terry McCarl had high hopes heading into NSL action at Park Jefferson International Speedway near Jefferson, South Dakota last Friday. Instead, he had a shoe full of fuel and an eighth place finish. A Sunday night podium run at Huset’s Speedway near Brandon, South Dakota has the TMAC Motorsports #24 ready for Twin Features night this Saturday at Knoxville Raceway.
TMAC timed in tenth quick at Park Jefferson. “I hadn’t been there in forever,” he says. “(Guy) Forbrook wouldn’t give me the notes for when I drove there for him either! He remembered what gear we ran, and I didn’t. I was off on the gear a little qualifying. As it turned out, it worked out for us in the heat race.”
He started outside row one, and won the heat. “It was a pretty stacked heat race,” says TMAC. “Having someone like Davey Heskin on the pole, we were fortunate to win it. I got a good start on him. I love the format with the NSL where you get heat points added to the qualifying. It gives you a second chance and promotes passing in the heat. We were tenth quick, but still made the redraw.”
TMAC joked about the redraw for the Dash. Point leader Danny Lasoski has been drawing well. “That was like a ‘one’ for me,” he says of his draw of three. “With Lasoski getting either a one or two every time, that makes the options limited! I offered to take him to Vegas on my expense.”
He would finish the Dash fourth. “We had a great start in the Dash,” says TMAC. “I was able to get by Danny in four and we caught the juice on the bottom. I thought I’d have the lead going into one, but Dusty (Zomer) got around us. We had changed some brake stuff, and I went into three and four, and the pedal went to the floor. I was passed by Danny and Mark (Dobmeier). That really hurt us. I think we had a shot at starting on the front row of that feature.”
As it turned out, TMAC had unwanted company in the cockpit during the feature. “We went out and had a fuel line loose,” he says. “I should have pulled in. If it were my kids, I would have been angry at them for not pulling in. It covered me in fuel on the left side and I think my shoe weighed about ten pounds at the end of the race. I was nervous on the yellows. I didn’t want the car shooting any flames out. It was stupid to be out there driving. It was tough to stay focused. I took the checkered eighth, and knew where Jay (Masur of the Med-Star Rescue Team) was in the infield. I made a beeline for him and had a game plan on getting out of the car if I had to. Fortunately, everything was fine.”
TMAC is thankful for the Med-Star Rescue Team. “Thank goodness those guys are there. It’s such an awesome thing that the NSL does. It’s really a big deal to have Doug Clark flagging the shows and the Med-Star Rescue team there as much as possible. People don’t realize it, but those things are little things that are huge to us as drivers.”
At Huset’s on Sunday, being the last car out for time trials didn’t matter. “I tried a little different setup,” says TMAC. “I rolled one and two, and thought I really had them going down the backstretch. I hooked a little bit of a rut in turn three. I was up on the fence throwing rooster tails, and I was mad. I pulled in the pits and they told me I was quick time. I couldn’t believe it. It’s all about Rider engines and how good an engine they built.”
After getting through the heat, TMAC would start outside row four for the feature. “I made some bad decisions early in the race,” he says. “We were able to get to third. I think I was faster than (second place) Dusty (Zomer) at times. I just picked the wrong line at times. He wasn’t blocking or anything, he was running his own race. I just chose the wrong direction over and over. We both just drove up through there. It was going to be tough to beat Tim (Kaeding). It was a little rough in one and two, and there’s no one better on that type of racetrack than him. We took what was given to us and that was third.”
It was a rough weekend for Austin McCarl. “Unfortunately, he blew his motor in the heat at Park Jefferson,” says TMAC. “He had a 360 at Huset’s and I was proud of him for winning his heat there. He got up to the top five (from tenth) in the feature and hooked a rut and bicycled off a few spots (finishing seventh). I’m not sure what he’s going to do. He doesn’t have any engines so he may have to sit out for a while. I’m pretty concerned about that. If anyone has one to loan him, we’d be happy to use it!”
TMAC is looking forward to Twin Features Night Saturday at Knoxville. “Coming off of a win there, we’re hoping for some decent weather! We’ve run first and second on Twin Features night, but we’ve never been able to win both. This day in age, with the competition there, it’s as tough as ever to do that.”
Newly Designed Websites!
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 Week in TMAC History!
On this day in 2003, Terry drove the TMAC Motorsports #24 to victory over Mark Dobmeier, Ricky Logan, Dusty Ballenger and Lynton Jeffrey at Huset’s Speedway. Nine of his 26 wins that year came at Huset’s. He also won the Jerry Richert Memorial, the Huset’s Gold Cup, the Tournament of Champions, the Pella Classic and an All Star show in Wichita that year.
"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, Destiny Motorsports, 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, Octane Ink, Morgan Strawberry Farms, Dynasty Stucco, Aurora Rod Ends, Crow Safety, KSE Steering, Snyder Lawn & Landscaping, Strange Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, Waterman Fuel Pumps, Butlerbuilt and Mote Fasteners.
Photo: TMAC hits the cushion at Park Jefferson (Jeff Bylsma Photo)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia