TMAC and the team in Victory Lane at Knoxville (Paul Gray Photo)
(Bill W) July 7, 2015 – Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team scored two big wins over the Independence Day weekend after finding a simple fix with their car. Saturday night, they topped a tough FVP National Sprint League field at the Knoxville Raceway. The Altoona, Iowa driver followed that up with a $5,000 victory at Huset’s Speedway near Brandon, South Dakota on Sunday. The NSL is back in action this Friday night at Park Jefferson International Speedway near Sioux City.
Lately, something has been a little off with the car, and TMAC timed in eighth quick Friday night for the NSL show at Huset’s. “The last two weeks, we’ve been fast, but not as fast as we’ve been in the past,” he says. “The track was still there (he went out 25th), and there were guys who went out after us that did better. Being eighth quick was going to make it tough to pass cars. We were in the first heat and the stock cars had been out there.”
He would pass Bryan Clauson for the fifth and final feature transfer in the heat. “I like the NSL format,” says TMAC. “I like that you can better yourself and still get to the redraw. It just didn’t work for us that night. We missed the redraw by one.”
Starting 11th in the main event, he would checker tenth. “The car was just tight in the feature,” says TMAC. “It came down to the motor not running to its full potential. We just weren’t very good. We knew we had a problem.”
TMAC started Saturday at Knoxville the same way he left off at Huset’s. “We went out and turned what I thought were some good laps in hot laps and we were 17th quick,” he says. “Then we were ninth quick in time trials. We just haven’t been fast. Something has been off. We borrowed a fuel pump from Steve Fitzpatrick (with Dakota Hendrickson’s team), and that was the issue. We took off from there.”
After running third in his heat, TMAC redrew a starting spot inside row two of the feature. “The car felt so much better,” he says. “We obviously had a great car in the feature. It’s one of those things that just slowly drops gradually and you get slower.”
He was able to pass Danny Lasoski on the low side and circle around his son Austin to lead the distance. “We got by Austin there,” says TMAC. “I hated passing him, but I had to get going. The wolves were at my heels! I was really proud of him to put the car on the pole. That was the seventeenth night on his engine. He had a good run (ninth) and gets better every night.”
Lasoski approached in traffic, but never nosed by the leader. “When you are that good at the beginning, you are concerned about the end,” says TMAC. “I could still roll the bottom well. I started missing the bottom, and I thought I might be slowing down a little. I saw Danny was on my bumper on the backstretch. I went to the bottom of three and four, and took his line away going into one. I’ve never done that before, but from that point on, I felt pretty good.”
TMAC’s win was an emotional one for several reasons. “If you told me I was going to break my back on opening night and come back and win races not too much later, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he says. “I say that I’m pretty lucky. Winning at Knoxville is so difficult. I never won a feature all last year. We did well at the Nationals and battled for a championship, but we didn’t win. It’s always been tough to get a win, and when you haven’t done it for a while, you start to think you might not get another one.”
Sunday night’s special at Huset’s got off to a strange start. “We had a hole in the left rear tire during qualifying,” says TMAC. “I thought I had turned better laps than we had, and that was the problem. We ended up qualifying fifth but we had a ton of stagger on. It turned out the draw went our way, so you see how your luck can turn for you.”
After a fifth place finish in his heat, TMAC lined up outside row one for the $5,000 to win feature. “We had a great racecar,” he says. “It was as good as I’ve felt at Huset’s for a long time…since we’ve been on these tires for sure. We got a lead and I felt really good. I knew if anyone passed us, they would have to be a lot better than us. We were able to get through traffic really well, and I could put the car anywhere. Huset’s is such a demanding racetrack and that’s why it’s fun. It changes so much throughout the night. It can throw everything at you in one night. You need to drive hard and drive smart. Thank goodness we found the issue with the fuel pump.”
New Partner!
Destiny Motorsports has come on board as a partner with the team. “I’d like to welcome the family of Rick and Barbara Rogers from Destiny Motorsports to our TMAC Motorsports family,” says TMAC.
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!
Over the 4th of July weekend in 2009, TMAC won two races in three events. He picked up the first at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Wisconsin with the IRA after passing Donny Goeden in his first visit to the track. He capped off the weekend the same way he did this week by winning at Huset’s.
"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.
TMAC and the team in Victory Lane at Knoxville (Paul Gray Photo)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
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