By Bill W
September 15, 2015 – A pair of big wins have Terry McCarl and the TMAC Motorsports #24 team heading into this weekend with confidence. The Altoona, Iowa driver picked up his third career win at the Jerry Richert Memorial Saturday at Cedar Lake Speedway near New Richmond, Wisconsin in a race co-sanctioned by the IRA and FVP National Sprint League. On Sunday, he picked up the $10,000 win at the final feature run at Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota (in 2016 the track will be renamed Badlands Motor Speedway).
Things started last Friday with the NSL at Eagle Raceway. “I was third quick on the first lap, which is usually the slower one,” says TMAC. “I hooked the rut in turn one on my second one. I about dumped it, or we may have been quick time. I don’t know why the track conditions were what they were. I felt bad for the fans. The last time we were there was a great race.”
He would run second in his heat before starting eighth in the feature. “We almost got Brian (Brown) at the checkers, but we settled for seventh,” says TMAC. “It was a tough way to start a long weekend for us. It’s too bad, because I rank Eagle right up there with my favorite tracks.”
It was on to Cedar Lake Saturday. “It was a heck of a field of cars,” says TMAC. “We had the IRA guys, the NSL guys and some of the Knoxville guys coming out. You are nervous just making it out of the heat. We were able to time in fifth quick and finish fourth in the heat. After the heat, Doug (Rankin) found that our left front shock was junk, so we did pretty well for that.”
The inversion draw saw TMAC starting third in the main event. “It was old school Cedar Lake,” he says. “They sprinkled the track a little before the feature. A lot of guys were nervous about that, but it packed in really quickly and away we went. It was an excellent racetrack. You could run anywhere on it, especially in three and four. There was a little up top and a little on the bottom and no rubber.”
He spent much of his time stalking the race leader, Brian Brown. “I like to move around early,” says TMAC. “I watched Steve Kinser do that growing up. When everyone’s going around the top, you like to do that. When you get to traffic, you know what your car can do on different parts of the track. I was doing that, and Brian wasn’t getting away from me. I knew we had a good racecar and it was just going to get better as the race went on.”
TMAC remembered the same race a year ago. “We felt we gave it away last year,” he says. “We started eighth and got up to second. I got behind a guy in traffic and couldn’t get around him. I totally screwed up. I really wanted this one to make up for last year. I kept telling myself to wait for traffic on Saturday. He hadn’t really left the top and you don’t when you’re leading. We were able to get him in traffic. I got by him once and left the top open for him. He got around us again in two, but I really stuck the bottom of four the next time around and got the lead back. At that point, I wasn’t going to let it go.”
He became the first driver to win three Jerry Richert Memorial events. “It was so much fun,” says TMAC. “That’s a testament to the track guys. I think they gave us the perfect track. Gillund Enterprises has been around sprint car racing for so long. Justice Brothers has been good to me, and it was good to win it for them and their people. Bob Hop was there I hear, and to win in front of him is pretty cool. I grew up going to North Star Speedway in Blaine, Minnesota with my Dad. I know a lot of those guys and a lot of the fans are friends.”
The final race at Huset’s Speedway would pay $10,000 to win Sunday. “We kind of changed the setup around,” says TMAC. “It seems like lately, if we get it right, the car rolls around so nice. There’s no simple answer to the setup. With these tires, we either nail it or we’re off. We went out late and rolled off second quick, which was good.”
A feature inversion of four, put TMAC inside row two. “Lately, these tracks have been heavy and humid,” he says. “It’s tough to pass. Huset’s had it slick on Sunday and that makes for good racing. You can always add water later, but you can’t take it out. It was ironic, because the last night at Huset’s was a typical awesome Huset’s racetrack from back in the day. It was just fun to drive all night.”
He would race side by side with leader Dusty Zomer early. “Dusty was running the top and we were able to get by Danny (Lasoski) right away,” says TMAC. “The car was rolling around the bottom really well. We had a great race with Dusty. He was on the top and I was on the bottom. Once we cleared him, we pulled away and got through traffic really well. With five to go, I didn’t know where to go. No one would give me a signal. I had been running the bottom and I decided to go up top and make them pass me on the bottom. We were really conservative the last five laps.”
Winning the last race at Huset’s was emotional for TMAC. “It really meant a lot to our family,” he says. “We have had so much history up there at Huset’s. My boys have grown up there. It meant a lot for us to win the last race there. The Rubin’s have been great friends of ours. We’ve had so much happiness and so much pain too. It’s a track that creates a lot of emotion. The fans are passionate too. We’re looking forward to continuing with Chuck Brennan.”
Visit Terry at the Clay County Fair!
The TMAC Motorsports #24 will be on display this Friday afternoon at the Justice Brothers display at the Clay County Fair. Come out and visit with Terry and the team.
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!
Rob Kocak photo
TMAC won the 16th Annual Tom Knowles Memorial at the high-banked 3/8 mile Spoon River Speedway south of Canton, Illinois in 2000. The win came in front of Ryan Jamison, Kevin Doty, Terry Babb and Chris Urish. A win this week in 1995 at the Quincy Raceways came ahead of Tim Montgomery, Todd Taeger, Ron Standridge and Jerrod Hull.
“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.