(Bill W) February 2, 2010 – The season in the States is underway for the Big Game Treestands #24 team and its driver, Terry McCarl. The first time out at Ocala Speedway in Florida last Friday night, the Altoona, Iowa driver recorded the quick time with the All Star Circuit of Champions. He went on to finish eighth in the feature event. Plenty of racing gets underway this week, with five nights of All Star and World of Outlaws action at Volusia Speedway Park.
The event in Ocala marked the first time out for many on Goodyear tires (right and left rear). Even though he was coming off a win with the World Series Sprintcars on Australia day in Warrnambool, it wouldn’t get any easier in Florida. With 30 cars assembled, TMAC did set the standard in qualifying at 12.318 seconds. “It was great to roll out there with quick time,” he says. “A lot of these guys have been testing with the new tires, and we hadn’t tested once. I’ve always been a big time Hoosier supporter, so it was a good feeling to get out there and set quick time on a different tire. Our runs in Australia with Rod Matthews and winning the World Series race really got me fired up.”
With a rough and heavy track not lending to much passing in the heat races, TMAC was one of the few to go from row three to a transfer spot (fourth). “We were able to be the only team that qualified from the sixth starting spot through the heat race,” he says. “We were able to get by Jason Meyers and Cale Conley to finish fourth there.”
The team’s eye towards their setup changed with the Goodyear equation. “The track was rough in one and two, and slick in three and four,” TMAC describes. “We went with a 200 compound on the right rear, and siped it like we would our Hoosiers.”
Speed had not been a problem throughout the evening, but it was a different story in the main event. TMAC quickly knew he was in trouble. “We were fast with the car, but I’ve just never run the Goodyears,” he says. “I put on a compound that was too hard, and we were just junk. We were the fastest car all night until the feature. We were just hanging on then.”
TMAC looks forward to running with the All Stars Wednesday and Thursday night at Volusia, before the World of Outlaws commence their season on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. “It’s a ‘live and learn’ situation,” says TMAC of the new tires. “We definitely have some learning to do with these Goodyears. We’re going to do some testing at Volusia tonight, and hopefully, we can learn some more.”
Front Row Challenge/Ultimate Challenge
The 15th Annual Front Row Challenge and the 9th Annual Ultimate Challenge will be held Monday and Tuesday, August 9 and 10, 2010 at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Advance ticket holders from 2009 can purchase the same seats starting Tuesday, February 16 at 10:00 a.m. by calling McTwo Promotions, Inc. at 515 957-0020.
Tickets will be open to the public on March 23. Visa, Mastercard and American Express are welcomed. Visit www.OskyChallenges.com for further details.
Websites for the McCarl Gang!
Driverwebsites.com has developed websites for the McCarl boys. Check out www.TerryMcCarl.com, and check out www.AustinMcCarl.com and www.CarsonMcCarl.com!
In”Terry”gation
Robbie Vetcher asks: It has to be an honor being rated in the top ten drivers of the decade by both the Speed Channel and Sprint Car and Midget. What do those type of things mean to you?
TMAC Answers: People can say what they want, but it does mean something to you. I think the Speed one was a little more accurate than the Sprint Car and Midget, because it was based more on a National level. I’m obviously biased on that, though. I have tons of respect for the Pennsylvania guys, but they have twice as many chances at winning a local show every year than I ever had, and Williams Grove is a very unique track when the Outlaws come in.
Got a question for TMAC? Send it to us at sprntcar@iowatelecom.net, and we may answer it in this section! Put “? for TMAC” in your subject line.
This Day in TMAC History!
Groundhog Day was good to TMAC in 2006. He won the 410 Winternationals Preliminary feature at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa. He followed that up two days later, winning the $10,000 finale. In the prelim, he bested a top five consisting of Danny Lasoski, Greg Wilson, Gary Wright and Bob Felmlee. In the final, Chad Kemenah was second, ahead of Lasoski, Greg Hodnett and Jason Sides.
Website Updates
Keep up to date with McCarl Motorsports at www.TerryMcCarl.com. We keep it fresh for TMAC fans!
“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@iowatelecom.net with “TMAC” in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, AmeriCashAdvance.com, DeBerg Concrete and Remington Treestands.