Austin at Knoxville (Ken Berry Photo)
Des Moines, IA (June 27, 2018) – Following another strong night ended with a runner-up finish for Austin McCarl in the Casey’s General Stores/Midwest Basement Systems #2KS, the TKS Motorsports team find themselves back atop the 410 point standings at the Knoxville Raceway. Happy to be leading the points, the Troy and Tammy Renfro-owned team will turn their attention to two big nights of competition this Friday and Saturday, as the World of Outlaws roll into town!
Last Saturday night kicked off with Austin locking in a time good enough for 5th in time trials. “We were just a touch off in qualifying, but Austin was still able to lock in a pretty good time,” said Troy. “The times at the top of the charts were pretty tight, but fifth set us up well for the rest of the night.”
Earning points is the name of the game during Knoxville’s weekly show, and consistency in qualifying and his heat race left Austin in a good position for the night’s feature event. “Our qualifying run felt pretty good,” said Austin. “Then in our heat, I was able to find a line that no one else was running and made my way to 3rd, which was so important points-wise to place us in the invert.”
The night’s A-main invert of four cars worked out very well for the TKS #2KS, as it placed Austin on the pole with Kerry Madsen to his outside. “It was a fortunate draw that landed us on the front row,” said Austin. The sprint into turn one on the first lap saw Madsen get the jump and left Austin running second for much of the early portion of the race. “We talked about as soon as he got out of the car after the race,” said Troy. “He was just a bit too nice going into one and missed taking Kerry’s line away.”
Austin would fall as far as 4th during the first half of the main event. “There was a lot of great racing upfront,” said Austin. “I had to get on the brakes a bit when Brian [Brown] slid up in front of us and [Matt] Juhl really had the bottom working.”
While he fell back momentarily, getting passed by Matt Juhl may have actually been to Austin’s advantage. “Juhl was running really well on the bottom, which still had a lot of juice in it,” said Troy. “He got past us, but Austin was able to work his way back by and took the line away.”
Another driver’s misfortune left Austin and the TKS team with a runner-up finish and another consistent points night, which vaulted them back to the top spot in the point standings. “The cushion was pretty high in turns one and two,” said Austin. “Both Kerry and Gio Scelzi took pretty hard rides in the A, which is too bad, but luckily we were in the position to benefit from Kerry’s hard luck.”
Troy Renfro and the team are looking forward to this weekend with the World of Outlaws with nothing but smiles on their faces. “I really couldn’t be happier with Austin and how things are going this season,” said Troy. “He has a bright future and is definitely one of the best young guys out here. We’re excited to see what we can do this weekend!”
The TKS Motorsports #2KS and Austin McCarl will be back in action with the World of Outlaws this Friday and Saturday at the Knoxville Raceway! Check out the new TKS Motorsports website for the season schedule and more from the TKS team.
TKS Motorsports is thankful for the support from all of their loyal sponsors:
Casey's General Stores, Des Moines Industrial Products (DMIP), Midwest Basement Systems, Neumann Brothers Construction, AFA Wheels, AL Driveline, All Star Performance, AO Designs, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Billy Bell House Moving, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Chalk Stix Torsion Bars, Fibreworks Composites, Gail Dielman, Hoosier, HRP, Indy Race Parts, Justice Brothers, KSE Racing Products, Liberty Ready Mix, Mag Tech Ignition, Maxim Racing Chassis, Parker Performance, PennGrade Motor Oil, Schoenfeld Headers, Slade Shock Technology, Snyder Landscaping & Lawn Care, Tony Moro Collision Center, Tony Moro Powdercoating & Sandblasting, Top Flight Wings, Walker Filtration Systems, Webb Family Farms, Wilwood, and Winters Performance Products.
Photo Credit: Ken Berry
Morgan Broeg
broegracewriting@gmail.com
West Des Moines, IA USA
Twitter: @BroegW