Tuesdays with TMAC – Fun on the Road!
(Bill W) September 1, 2015 – Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team spent much of the weekend on the road with the FVP National Sprint League. On Friday at the Randolph County Raceway near Moberly, Missouri he registered a podium finish. After notching the hard-charger award at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa Saturday, the Altoona, Iowa driver finished eighth at the historic Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on Sunday. This weekend, the team plans on taking a shot at the $25,000 to win Jackson Nationals Friday and Saturday, before heading to Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota with the NSL on Sunday.
TMAC would time in eighth quick at Moberly in his first appearance at the high-banked ½-mile oval in 25 years. “We missed it with the motor a little qualifying,” he says. “The car was perfect, it was a just a little snafu that was our fault. The car felt great in the heat race. The Rider was running great.”
After drawing the pole for the feature, he would lead 13 laps of the main event. “It was nice to get a great draw,” says TMAC. “We had a great car on the bottom of one and two and high in three and four. I started getting a little loose. We’re used to tracks lately having a lot of moisture in them. We got conservative.”
Danny Lasoski was able to get by at the midway point for the lead. “It’s often times easier to be in second,” says TMAC. “I saw on the video that Danny got an amazing run on us off the top of two. When you’re leading, you’re not going to change your line. We needed to be on top in one and two, but I was just too loose to run up there and the tires were blistered. We hung on for third, which was a good run for us here lately. It was a fun racetrack. You could run wherever you wanted to, and I’m really looking forward to going back.”
TMAC would time in an uncharacteristic 20th quick at Knoxville Saturday. “With this NSL deal and Knoxville, the competition is at such a high level, you just cannot give up those spots in qualifying,” he says. “We went out fairly early. We tried to run the bottom like we normally do, and it was greasy. Instead of trying a lap on the top too, I didn’t and it cost me. It was my fault. When it’s a big event like that, it really costs you.”
He would bounce back in the heat race. “We had to start outside the invert (seventh), and the lineup in front of us was incredible,” says TMAC. “The car felt really good and we drove by some really good racecars to get into fifth. The car was really comfortable.”
TMAC would put on a charge in a feature that saw only one caution. “The track was wet,” he says. “It was heavy around the bottom. I had three different guys get sideways in front of me the first five or six laps. That slowed us down a little bit, but I think we did a good job of going from 19th to 11th and getting the KSE hard-charger award.”
It was on to the historic Angell Park Speedway Sunday in an event co-sanctioned by the NSL and IRA. “I had a great car,” says TMAC. “We were fast hot lapping. I really liked the place. It kind of reminded me of an Australian track. It was more round, and the way the seats are built there on the hillside. Our whole family enjoyed it. It was a huge crowd and a lot of fun. I’m into the history of racing, and I was excited to go there. We had a great time, other than Austin destroying his car. Thankfully, he was o.k. The fans in Wisconsin are always great and appreciate all the drivers coming out.”
He would time in tenth quick in the 42-car field. “I was able to get through one and two awesome,” says TMAC. “I got into turn three way too fast and way too hard. The car kind of sat down on the left rear and got me over the cushion. I had to lift and everything. That hurt us in qualifying.”
TMAC’s heat was arguably the most exciting of the night. “We started fourth, and the way we qualified, I had to win that heat to get in the redraw,” he says. “We had a great race with Steve Meyer there. He was running the top and I was trying to diamond the corners and run the bottom. It was a lot of fun.”
A heat win meant he would start tenth in the 30-lap feature. “There was definitely a bottom in one and two,” says TMAC. “We got going there, but we got loose late in the race. I was trying to get around Ian (Madsen) on a late race restart, and that cost me. That caught me in bad air, and Logan (Forler) was able to slide by us. We ended up eighth.”
TMAC enjoyed racing at new venues last weekend. “That’s what’s really fun about the NSL,” he says. “We’re going to places like Moberly where 410’s haven’t been, and Angell Park. Those races had great atmospheres and they were a blast to race at.”
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!
Driving the family #7x, TMAC finished fourth on Knoxville’s Season Championship Night this week in 1989. Rick Ungar posted the quick time of the night in Guy Forbrook’s #5 at 16.350 seconds. TMAC was 8th quick with a lap of 16.812. Jerry Richert Jr., driving the Durst/Smith #1x, passed new Knoxville Raceway Hall of Famer Jeff Tuttle who was in the Jordan Brothers #1 on lap 15 to take the victory. Ray Lipsey was third and Glenn Berkner from Sleepy Eye, Minnesota was fifth. Dean Chadd won the 360 feature after starting 15th.
"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 races with Craig Dollansky (2KS) and Bill Balog (17B) at Knoxville (Rob Kocak Photo)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
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