Austin at Knoxville (Chuck Stowe Images)
(Bill W) May 16, 2017 – The TKS Motorsports #2KS team and driver Austin McCarl continued to gain momentum at the Knoxville Raceway Saturday night. After timing in fourth quick, the Altoona, Iowa driver battled with the leaders in the feature and registered a third-place finish. The team returns to Knoxville this Saturday night.
The team went to the Spring Nationals on Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota, driving from row eight to finish 15th. “Friday wasn’t the greatest of nights for us,” says TKS Motorsports owner and crew chief, Troy Renfro. “But we’ll get things figured out at Jackson and we’ll be back when the World of Outlaws come in June. We really have to thank Simplot Grower Solutions and Rens Trucking for making that trip possible for us. We’ll learn from that and move forward.”
Austin would time in fourth quick at Knoxville Saturday. “We tried some things with the car this week, and obviously, it didn’t hurt us in qualifying,” he says. “The more we learned about it, we could have been even a little better. Maybe we can climb another spot or two on the board this week, but anytime you’re on the board (top five), it’s a good start to the night. It’s important with the format and with the points to qualify well.”
A fourth place run in the heat put Austin fourth in points, and with an invert of four for the feature, he was on the pole. “Austin and I talked one night last week and we had a good conversation,” says Troy. “We’d been qualifying well, but we’d been a little off in the heats. On Saturday, Austin did a great job. I really enjoy working with him. He’s a great communicator and a great kid. He’s showing what he’s always been capable of doing.”
The track was different again. “There really wasn’t a bottom, so starting on the inside was going to be tough,” says Troy. “You had Ian (Madsen) starting outside him, and Brian (Brown) on the outside behind him. The top was just too fast. Austin did what he had to do and stayed right with them. I felt we were better than Ian and Brian in traffic, but the yellow came out.”
Austin agrees. “I felt like before the yellow, we were chasing Ian and Brown down. We got a clean restart, but we didn’t have anything for either one of them and we ended up third. Watching the video, I made a couple of mistakes. We were a touch loose too.”
“I’m proud of the fact that we had a restart with Kerry Madsen behind us, and Austin did just what he had to do on that restart,” says Troy. “He did exactly what we talked about after our heat. He ran a great line getting into one and hit his marks. We’re really happy with the way things are going.”
Austin is confident as well. “This is the best I’ve felt since 2011,” he says. “It’s the best we’ve qualified since then too, which also helps. Al Parker’s engines are running well, and Troy has everything set up. The more we race, the better we’ll get.”
Sponsor the Front Wing with TKS Motorsports!
TKS Motorsports is always open to new perspective partners! Looking for an affordable way to be a part of a sprint car team? Whether you’d like to partner with the team for the full season, or put your company’s name on the nose wing for a night of your choice, contact Troy at tsrenfro8725@gmail.com!
TKS Motorsports would like to thank Casey's General Stores, Des Moines Industrial Products (DMIP), 1 Way Technologies, AL Driveline, AO Designs, All Star Performance, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Fibreworks Composites, Hoosier, Indy Race Parts, KSE Racing Products, Mag Tech Ignition, Maxim Racing Chassis, Schoenfeld Headers, Tony Moro Collision Center, Tony Moro Powdercoating & Sandblasting, Butlerbuilt, Aurora Rod Ends, HRP, Volcano Joe’s Coffee, Walker Filtration Systems, Snyder Landscaping & Lawn Care, Justice Brothers, Webb Family Farms, Wilwood, Winters Performance Products and Gail Dielman.
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Photo: Austin at Knoxville (Chuck Stowe Images)
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