Tuesdays with TMAC – Fun on Friday at Price Chopper!
(Bill W) September 27, 2016 – Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team will be having some fun at the Price Chopper at 4343 Merle Hay Road this Friday from 2 to 6 p.m.! Come on out for fifty cent hot dogs, chips and more! The Altoona, Iowa driver has returned from central Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Speedway, where he competed at last Saturday’s Dirt Classic. This Saturday night, he’ll be competing at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska in the “Fall Brawl”.
This Friday, the team will have not only the Price Chopper/Hiland Dairy #24 sprint car on display, but also their Knoxville Nationals #7x Lenard McCarl tribute car. “We want the families to come out,” says TMAC. “We want the kids to be able to sit in the cars, and we have free checkered flags for them as well. We’ll have our souvenir trailer there as well with our apparel. We really want to thank Price Chopper and Hiland Dairy. Price Chopper has four locations in Des Moines now.”
TMAC enjoyed his trip to Lincoln for the Kasey Kahne Dirt Classic. “We really wanted to go out last year as well,” he says. “We would have liked to hit a few more races out there, but we’re just short on engines right now. I appreciate how hard Jared Adams, his sister Juel, Justin and everyone work on this event. There is a lot of work that goes into this event. Very few people really realize that.”
The race only drew a handful of travelers. “I’m just not seeing the support that should be at these events,” says TMAC. “I don’t know if they’re getting complacent with these $20,000 to win shows. $20,000 is a lot of money! That can really help a season out for somebody. There were very few drivers there Saturday who had won $20,000 in a night ever. Those races need to be supported. The reality is we own our own team. We had to line things up just right to make it happen. We wanted to be there. It has a big event feel. The crowd was massive. I think it was neat for them to have Tim Kaeding, Lynton Jeffrey, Bill Balog and Terry McCarl there to either get beat up on, or win it.”
It has been awhile since TMAC has run at Lincoln. “I like the track,” he says. “I remember a win we had there in 1993 (for Bob Weikert), and I don’t think I’ve been back there since 1997 in Holbrook’s car at an All Star show. I love the Pennsylvania fans too. They are serious about their sprint car racing. They are hardcore. Every year, you see them plow the snow off the racetrack, and the place is packed. That doesn’t happen where we are.”
Unfortunately, the end of the night saw a DNF in the feature. “I hope we can go again next year,” says TMAC. “I missed it qualifying. When you have that many cars, you are in trouble. I could have a line of excuses, but it was what we expected. There were tough competitors. It was nice to win our second heat. I tightened the car up starting in the back of the feature, and that didn’t work. We couldn’t really do anything back there. So we exited stage left. Falling out of the race, I have to say it was a fun one to watch. The track was great.”
TMAC also ran into some old friends in PA. “Kevin Griffe helped us out,” he says. “He’s from Pennsylvania and has helped us in Florida before. Chubby from CnB Mushroom Farms has supported us in Florida, and we got to see him. My old buddy Donny Eisenhower was the team manager when I drove for Bob Weikert. It was fun to hang out with him. It was a lot of fun.”
He is also excited about this weekend’s “Fall Brawl”. “I-80 has really turned into one of my favorite tracks in the country,” says TMAC. “The Kosiski’s do a great job there. They have struggled with their crowd there at times, which I don’t understand. The tracing there is awesome! They’ve figured out their sprint car track prep.”
Price Chopper/Hiland Dairy Join the Team!
Price Chopper and Hiland Dairy on the newest partners of the TMAC Motorsports #24 team. They were also the title sponsor for the 21st Annual Front Row Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. Terry and the team will be doing some car shows for the Des Moines area Price Chopper stores in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!
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 won the Jerry Richert Memorial on September 11, 2004 at the Cedar Lake Speedway near New Richmond, Wisconsin. In addition to the win coming over Brooke Tatnell, Jason Solwold, Travis Whitney and Mike Reinke, TMAC set a new track record that still stands in time trials with a lap of 10.775 seconds on the 3/8-mile banked oval.
"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, Price Chopper, Hiland Dairy, 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.
Photos: (Vulpe Photography)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
Website: www.OpenWheel101.com