By Bill W
May 10, 2016 – The last couple of years, Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team have picked the big races when it comes to wins. Last Friday was no different, as the Altoona, Iowa driver took $10,000 at the I-80 Speedway Dirt Classic near Greenwood, Nebraska. The win guarantees him a spot in the Dirt Classic finale in September at Lincoln Speedway in Pennsylvania, and he’s planning on making the trip. TMAC also scored his tenth career win with the Sprint Invaders Wednesday at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, and charged from 11th to third in Saturday night’s feature at the Knoxville Raceway. This weekend will be spent with the World of Outlaws in Indiana at the Bob Newton Classic at Plymouth Speedway Friday and the Tri-State Speedway near Haubstadt Saturday.
TMAC had a great night Wednesday in Oskaloosa. “Things went our way all night,” he says. “We had a fast car. It’s good for Don Long of Searsboro Telephone Company to see his engine run. We hadn’t raced much in the last month with Easter, my Dad passing away, rainouts and our truck breaking down. We needed to get some laps for the team.”
He was using a Moyle Racing 360 Engine supplied by Long. “This is a good running Moyle,” says TMAC. “It’s not the same one we had at 360 Nationals, but it runs really well. Things went our way as far as the draw. We got to start up front in the heat, which is big with the Sprint Invaders. The car was working awesome and so was the motor.”
After winning the heat, he would go from sixth to second in the Dash. “We tried some things in the Dash, and we knew we had a good car,” says TMAC. “I was really comfortable in the feature. Unfortunately, Jimmy Davies team had some issues, which moved us up to the front row. You are always good out in clean air, and that’s where we found ourselves. My car would go anywhere, and it was fun in traffic. It was a fun night, and a good chance to get some sprint cars to Oskaloosa before the Front Row Challenge on August 8. Winning always builds your confidence, whether there are five cars or fifty. It’s kind of fun to be getting the trophy for once at Osky, instead of handing them out!”
The I-80 Dirt Classic saw qualifying and a two-heat format to determine the feature lineup. “We’re accustomed to the format we had at I-80,” says TMAC. “We’ve run it in Australia. It gives you a little room if you don’t get qualified in as well. I like different formats and what the Dirt Classic is doing. We want to support what they’re doing, and we’d like to announce that we’ll be at Lincoln Speedway in September for their finale. It will be our first trip out there since 1997. I’d like to also thank Phil Durst, Jet Fitness and the Durst family for all they did for the event last weekend.”
After timing in 11th quick, TMAC finished third and second in his heats. “We’re David vs. Goliath a lot,” he says. “I’m not making excuses; I actually like it. I’ve been the Goliath team before with all the motors and tires. I’m on the other end right now, which is o.k. You just have to work a little harder and manage your money a little smarter. We had some used tires on for the heats and it showed a little bit. It took us a while to get going that second round of heats. Once we did, we got up to second.”
The point breakdown saw a feature starting spot inside row four. It only took three laps for TMAC to get to the front. “Those six guys in front us are tough,” he says. “The NSL is like a miniature Outlaws really. The competition is amazing and so is the pay. Starting seventh, I don’t think anyone thought we were a threat to win, or take the lead in three laps for sure. The car was just like Oskaloosa. I could go anywhere. Before the restart I was on the bottom and got up to third. I knew Brian (Brown) was running low, so I thought I’d take a shot at the top. That thing just rolled around there like a Cadillac! I was able to get around Ian (Madsen) in one and two and Brian in three and four.”
The word decimated isn’t used much in sprint car racing, but it describes Friday night pretty well. “I haven’t had a car working that well in a long time,” says TMAC. “It’s fun, but especially against the competition we had there. You don’t get that very often.”
On Saturday, he would again time in eleventh quick at Knoxville. “We didn’t get qualified well over the weekend, and that’s something we need to work on and get changed around,” says TMAC. “That put us behind the 8-ball. The track was really fast. I think Brian was just a tenth off the track record in hot laps.”
TMAC would start the feature 11th. “I’m a realist,” he says. “Starting in the sixth row with that caliber of cars in front of us…I thought a top five would be a good night. The car was awesome again, just like the previous two nights. Doug Rankin joined up with us again last weekend, and Brad Goebel, Austin and Carson had put that car together earlier in the week. I could just drive it anywhere.”
With five laps to go, he was in second, and reeling in Danny Lasoski fast. A late caution slowed his momentum. “I just really felt like that was our race,” says TMAC. “It was disappointing there at the end. I think without the last caution, we’re able to win it with no problem. We lost a lot of air in the left rear under caution and gained stagger. I was loose after that. Danny took off a little early on me and I got caught with my wing back. Brian was able to get by us. Passing up to that point, was pretty amazing. We got by some badass teams.”
TMAC is looking forward to Indiana. “What a great week we had,” he says. “I’m looking forward to going over and running with the Outlaws in Indiana. Bob Newton and all the guys at Hoosier have been big assets to my family and me over the years. I wanted to be over there for Bob and the Hoosier people at Plymouth, and Haubstadt is one of my favorite tracks.”
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!
On May 13, 2001, TMAC registered quick time of the night (11.16 seconds) and won the feature event at Huset’s Speedway near Brandon, South Dakota. On that night, he topped Wade Nygaard, Jake Peters, Kenny Hansen and Tim Monson. TMAC won his fifth track championship in six years in 2001 by 20 points over Gary DeWall. He won ten features in 18 tries at Huset’s that season.
“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.
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