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Tuesdays with TMAC – Podium Party!
(Bill W) August 14, 2007 – A sprint car driver wants to peak in August for the Knoxville Nationals. Terry McCarl of Altoona, Iowa is near that point, finishing a strong third, and on the podium for the first time in his storied career on the sprint car world's biggest stage.
TMAC's confidence was on a roll entering Nationals week. "We came in on a high," says the driver of the Big Game Treestands #24. "We've been really fast. Psychologically, I was in a really good mood coming in. We had started 11th in the King's Royal (at Eldora Speedway in July) and ran third. I wasn't stressed out, or anything…not like when we were starting in front a few years ago (2004). I attribute that to my crew and how hard they've been working for me. It's awesome to show up at the track and know that we're going to be fast."
Things started well enough on Thursday night, as TMAC timed in 8th quick out of 50 cars to attempt a time. With a total inversion by time in the heats, a good qualifying time makes you work hard just to make the show. "We kind of got screwed up in that heat race," says TMAC. "Starting on the bottom (9th) is kind of difficult, because you can't make that outside move around everybody in one and two. You used to be able to do that a lot with the soft tires we used to run. With the new tire construction that makes it harder, and starting on the bottom is a tough place to be. I got to the top in turns one and two, got past three cars no problem and someone (Neil Shepherd) washed out in front of me. That's the one thing you can't have happen, because you have to be patient in that situation or crash trying to do something desperate."
TMAC thought a caution displayed for Shepherd should have come sooner, but recovered for a fifth place finish, one spot out of a transfer to the A main. "We were basically last coming off of turn two, and I wasn't worried because that guy was stopping, and I knew there would be a yellow. The problem was, they didn't throw it until a lap was completed, and that put us restarting at the tail. I didn't agree with that call, because you don't know, a guy could be sitting there with a broken ankle or something. I just thought it was way late. That really set us back, and with some fast guys in front of us, fifth was as high as we could climb. I guess if you're not in the top four, points-wise, fifth is where you want to finish."
With eight of the top ten qualifiers relegated to the B main, Terry was slotted outside row three, and had to make the top four to get in the show. "I was a little nervous about the B, because if you don't make it out of there, you're done (for Saturday night)," he says. "You're in deep trouble. I was a little aggressive on the start there. Once I got to third, I knew I had a little cushion, so I could move around and see if we could get better on the bottom."
The track was still heavy from a week that saw over six inches of rain dumped on the famous half-mile, and the 25-lap event went non-stop. Despite tough conditions to move forward from the back of the pack, TMAC performed well. "We came from 23rd to 10th in the feature, and passed some good cars on a track that was really fast. No yellows and a fast track make it difficult to pass, so I knew we were really fast."
Terry finished seventh in the point standings after his qualifying night, but only three drivers garnered more points than him in Friday night's program. This development qualified him for the pole-position in the $7,000 to win A Scramble on Saturday afternoon, and he made the most of it. "Things really went our way to get into the A Scramble," he says. "Obviously, we were on the pole, but I think we also showed that we were really fast right away. The car ran great and the motor ran great. Those things pay good money. It had been a few years since we were in one. You don't want to race those during the day, and it's unfortunate that the weather got the Ultimate Challenge, and the start of Nationals, but I commend Knoxville Raceway and the Dunkin family for the job they did this week."
Terry's Scramble win set him up outside row three for the "Big Enchilada", and 30 laps of fun. "We started sixth there, and thought we had a shot, but when I went by a few of those cars early I knew we had a shot," says Terry. "Early in the race, I pulled the wing back a little bit and got the car too tight from the center of the corner out. Later on, I was a little scared to pull the wing back too much and make it too tight."
TMAC passed Steve Kinser on a lap two restart for fourth and had slid under Craig Dollansky for third before a lap eight caution. He used that opportunity to slide under Paul McMahan for second, and began to set his sights on leader, Donny Schatz. A lap 13 caution restart gave McCarl a shot at the leader, and he performed a "slide for life". "He (Schatz) got up on the berm a little bit there on the restart, and when I dove him, I almost got him," he says. "He did and awesome job to even go on and not crash us both."
After making adjustments one last time under open red flag conditions a lap later, TMAC may have been premature in another attempt at the point. "On the last restart, I shouldn't have tried to slide him in one and two. The one time I thought I could have had him, was in three and four. It was a lot slicker through the middle of one and two than three and four. But you always think back about what you could have done differently. Going back in time, we could have run second, but we didn't come there to run second. You learn every year. Donny ran second four times before he won it. Every year, our goal gets higher, and we'll be back to try to win it next year!"
Later in the race, Joey Saldana and Dollansky moved by him. "When Craig (Dollansky) passed me (for third), I thought I better do something to get on the podium," says Terry. "I pulled the wing back, and the car got good again. I made some mistakes in traffic with some lapped cars when Joey got by me, and I kind of got off my rhythm for awhile there. The car was getting loose, and I hadn't done my job of getting the wing back. Once I did that, we were able to get back by Craig and weren't that far from Joey at the end."
TMAC does not regret being aggressive in going for the win. "I wasn't trying to run second. In retrospect, I feel that I could have easily run second, we were faster than Joey. As everyone knows, they don't put second on the plaques above the entrance to the track along with the winners' names."
All in all, the veteran was pleased with the week. "We were happy," he says. "It wasn't like the year when we led and backed up. We passed a lot of good cars. We had a great car. I made a few mistakes, but a lot less than I did the year I led the Nationals. Ever since (crew chief) Tyler (Swank) has joined us, it has given the team some real continuity. I think we're definitely one of the top teams now that we have everything put together. I'm really excited about the rest of the season, and our possibilities going into next year!"
Looking Ahead
Tonight (Tuesday) the World of Outlaws will head to the Nodak Speedway in Minot, North Dakota where TMAC won one year ago. Friday and Saturday, they will again cross the Canadian border to Castrol Raceway near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
In"Terry"gation
Logen Wright asks: What would your perfect racetrack be? Distance, Banking, Type of dirt, and Width?
TMAC Answers: If I was building a track, it would be a 3/8 mile. I like tracks like Huset's (SD), Eagle (NE) and Pevely (MO). They are not identical, they have some different banking, but they are the most exciting racing for the fans, I think. All three of those tracks bring great crowds back every year, because the fans enjoy the racing there.
Got a question for TMAC? Send it to us at [email protected], and we may answer it in this section! Put "? for TMAC" in your subject line.
Did you know?
Terry's win at Nodak Speedway last year was his first ever visit to the track. After battling for the top spot with Donny Schatz and Craig Dollansky, Terry beat Brooke Tatnell and Joey Saldana to the line for his 11th win of 2006.
Website
Tons of Photos from the Nationals are up and still on the way from Doug Johnson and "Skinner Photos"!
Keep up to date with McCarl Motorsports at www.TerryMcCarl.com. We keep it fresh for TMAC fans!
Ultimate Challenge Tickets (Refund/Exchange)
Unfortunately, severe weather cancelled Tuesday night's 6th Annual Ultimate Challenge.
A refund or ticket exchange (for your same seats) for 2008 can be requested at:
McTwo Promotions
Box 185
Altoona, IA 50009
(Please include your tickets with your request)
"Tuesdays with TMAC"
To receive "Tuesdays with TMAC", send an e-mail to [email protected] with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, Bosma Poultry, Inc., AmeriCash Advance, and Ground Max Hunting Blinds.
TMAC on the Podium with Joey Saldana (L) and Donny Schatz (C) (Doug Johnson)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
[email protected]
If this post isn't results, stories or something c
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