Tuesdays with TMAC – Curveballs!
(Bill W) June 28, 2016 – Baseball season is approaching the halfway mark, but it’s not the only sport where participants have trouble with the curve. Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team are struggling a bit with their qualifying right now. Curveballs were also thrown at them at a pair of familiar tracks this week, I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska and Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota. Despite all of that, the team finished the weekend strong with a runner-up finish at Badlands Motor Speedway near Brandon, South Dakota. TMAC will be trying to add to his win total with the “Greatest Show on Dirt” as the World of Outlaws will put on a two-day show at Badlands, Saturday and Sunday.
TMAC timed in 17th quick at I-80 last Wednesday with the WoO. “We’re just off on our qualifying right now,” he says. “We’re a bit perplexed by that, because we race so well when the heats and features come along. That was as nice as I’ve seen the track at I-80.”
After running fifth in his heat, he would line up 14th for the feature. “We were just way too tight,” says TMAC. “A lot of people I talked to were. We just about drove out of the ballpark in turn one on the start. We weren’t much better from there on out. We just pulled it in and saved it for another day.”
That day was Friday at Jackson Motorplex as the WoO and the National Sprint League squared off. “It was almost the exact same situation at Jackson as it had been at I-80,” says TMAC who timed in 25th quick before running sixth in his heat and heading for the B. “The bottom stayed really sticky, and we were tight. We kicked some butt in the B. We started sixth and went to the lead in a hurry. The car was really good there.”
That put TMAC in row eleven for the feature. “We just tightened it up a little too much for the A,” he says. “I know I-80 and Jackson really well, but they both threw us curveballs. We were able to go from 21st to 12th in the feature at Jackson, and on the last restart, we just got rolled up in the middle and got passed by a few guys. We ended up 15th. It was disappointing, but we made some mistakes. We’re not perfect.”
On Saturday at Badlands, he would come out 30th in the order and register tenth quick. “The track was still there for us, even late,” says TMAC. “Austin qualified well, and we use the exact same engines. It’s something that Doug (Rankin) and I are doing, and we’re working on it. When it comes to the Knoxville Nationals or the Outlaw shows, you can’t get yourself behind the 8-ball so far.”
After winning his heat, TMAC drew the eighth starting spot for the main event. “All the conspiracy theorists can rest a little easier,” he jokes. “The kids draw for us there, of course, which I like, because I’m not the best drawer in the world. We drew the eight and did our best from there.”
He moved up steadily. “It was a good track,” says TMAC. “I just couldn’t get going. Late in the race, we had a caution with six laps to go. We were running fourth. We went to the middle and then the top and really got going. Before that, I had been stuck in a spot where I was racing the person in front of me. You’re better off to change lanes, but I was racing the car in front of me.”
TMAC raced up to second, where he would finish behind Jody Rosenboom. “It was great to see Jody win,” he says. “He’s had kind of a tough year so far. $5,000 is a big payday for anybody. I was a little disappointed when we took the checker second. Maybe with a couple more laps we could have got him. Maybe, maybe not, but I felt a lot better at the end. We get $2,500 for second, and that’s what we’d been making to win there for years.”
McCarl Family 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 Month in TMAC History!
TMAC has two wins at the Huset’s Speedway on June 30. In 1996, he drove Brad Gray’s #51 to victory over Danny Lasoski, Randy Nygaard, Patrick Bourke and Chad Mellenberndt. A win in 2002 came ahead of Gary DeWall, Justin Henderson, Don Droud Jr. and Gregg Bakker.
"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 SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, Country Builders Construction, Rossie Feed and Grain, Bosma Poultry, Destiny Motorsports, Searsboro Telephone Company, Elk Grove Ford, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, Vortex Racing, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, SuperFlow, Schoenfeld Headers, Rens Trucking, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Maxim Chassis, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, Snap On Tools, Sposato Paint, Winters, Kilani Fender, Inc., DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, 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 at I-80 (Joe Orth Photography)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
Website: www.OpenWheel101.com