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Tuesdays with TMAC – Bring the Noise!

(Bill W) September 9, 2008 – Last weekend, the Gold Cup turned into "Fool's Gold" for World of Outlaws driver Terry McCarl. The Altoona, Iowa native turned the quick time of the night in qualifications on Friday, but was DQed for breaking the 95 decibel sound mark. Irked by not only that, but upon further inspection, finding out every other driver in qualifying was above the legal mark, he elected to sit Saturday night's program out. This week, the Big Game Treestands #24 will come back east, take the big mufflers off and hit four races in Midwest action.

Last Tuesday night, the WoO hit Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon. A late pill draw would be a disadvantage for TMAC in time trials. "It's a fun little track that usually gets pretty racy," he says of Cottage Grove. "We've run well there in the past. The fans are really great up that way, all through the Northwest really. We drew dead last to go out, and we did pretty well to be 19^th quick actually."

After running one spot out of a transfer in the heat, the car ran better in the B. "It really slicked off by the time we went out for our (third) heat," says TMAC. "We were a little loose in the heat and had to run the B. We were good there, got beside (Jac) Haudenschild and almost got him at the checkers (finishing second). The feature was tough. It was really slick and laid rubber. We kind of did the best that they could (15^th)."

The 55^th Annual Gold Cup of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California was up next. TMAC again drew a late number for qualifying. "We went out at the end of qualifying, but that was an advantage at Chico Friday. The car was perfect. You know as a driver when your motors are running good. I was a little concerned about the setup, because turns three and four were choppy. The car ended up being awesome, and I knew that if we weren't fast time, we would be solid. Jason Meyers went a couple cars ahead of us, and Brent Kaeding was a car ahead of us…a top Outlaw guy and a top local guy. We out-qualified both of them, and that was a barometer on how good we were."

When TMAC returned, he was informed he was over the sound limit and would have to come back out to time again. "Brent Kaeding offered to lend me some mufflers, but we didn't have time to change them," he says. "We went right back out with everything the same. We ended up turning a faster time than the first one, and guess what…we were fine sound-wise! We were too loud, then not too loud with the same car and we changed nothing!"

TMAC was relegated to 17^th quick by rule for having to come back out to time. The car was lightning again in the heat race as he chased Jason Solwold and Jason Meyers. "We were third (from fifth), and we were fast," says TMAC. "I was catching him (Meyers) early on, and when we checked the times later, we had a faster time than he did. Normally, that doesn't happen, but we were fast. The car was awesome. That was the bad part of the whole deal. If we had quick time, kicked ass in the heat and so on, who knows?"

The feature turned into demolition derby and didn't go as well. "We started 14^th in the feature and got up to ninth or tenth and got under Paul McMahan. He came from the top to the bottom and got into me and spun me out. Tim Kaeding had nowhere to go, and got into me too. It was nobody's fault, just a racing thing that can happen at Chico. Because we started further back than we should have, that gives you a greater chance of crashing. By the end, my crew was making pit stops like a NASCAR team before we were done (finishing 18th)!"

TMAC was disgruntled with the rulings surrounding the decibel level that have plagued several WoO drivers at the Gold Cup the last few years. "It's a shame that the Outlaws and the promoter of the event, John Padjen, could ever let things like this happen on a race that is supposed to be one of the 'big' events," he says. "John races 410 sprint cars there every week. He should know what it takes to be under whatever their noise level above the actual legal limit is. The World of Outlaws should be protecting their drivers by letting us know what we need to do, and contact John ahead of time. It should be like Knoxville. You run this muffler and this muffler only. If it's from a '58 Cadillac, we'll do it. Then, if it's super loud, they would know there were alterations. Three cars were supposedly too loud this year, and they were all Outlaw cars (Kerry Madsen and Sam Hafertepe Jr. were the others)."

Another frustrating point came when Sonny Kratzer and crew chief Dave Lawrence went to check the decibel levels of the cars who qualified. "The rule says you have to be 95 decibels at 100 feet," says TMAC. "Not one single car out of the 54 that qualified on Friday was under that level. The guy running it showed us his decibel readings. Not one car was legal. How can you pinpoint this guy or that guy and disqualify them? I think he's (sound guy) a little power-hungry and likes to bust a couple cars every night."

The problem was not with TMAC's equipment. "We've had to run these mufflers the whole West Coast trip," he says. "The other tracks aren't quite as strict as Chico, but there are two kinds of mufflers that guys are using. There are smaller ones and the bigger ones that are quieter. I have run the biggest muffler the whole trip. It's more muffler than we need, and we even used the 'turn-downs'. We've been qualifying with the quickest cars the whole trip, so it doesn't affect your speed too much."

TMAC has been called many things, but despises the thought of being labeled a cheater. "Obviously, we're not trying to cheat," he says. "We don't have a big tire, or nitro, or our frame is too light from illegal tubing like some. We put on what we were told by Outlaw officials was the recommended muffler. I offered to have them confiscate my mufflers and cut them open to make sure we weren't doing anything funny. Kick me out if we're doing something like that."

There has been a precedent with loud cars at the Gold Cup. "The most unbelievable part about this whole thing is what happened last year," says TMAC. "Joey Saldana went out in Kasey Kahne's car, and it was too loud. They told him it was too loud. I've heard different stories, as to what transpired and who talked to whom, but the bottom line is…they decided the meter might not be totally correct, and he got his time back. The inconsistency with the Outlaw officials' calls is getting really hard to take for not only Terry McCarl, but anybody up and down the pits."

TMAC insists things should be rectified differently at events like the Gold Cup. "I don't even believe they should have sent Joey back last year," he says. "This is supposed to be a big event. You ruin a guys' weekend. You take guys like Kerry and me out of contention, and a chance to possibly win the thing. It's infuriating mostly, because it is not a fair playing ground for everyone, and it's not right. It's not just going back to 17^th, it's a points thing that cripples you for the whole weekend."

Some fans wondered why TMAC left early on Saturday. His intention was never to tow to the track, but his hands were tied by officials. "We wanted to make a statement (by not racing)," he explains. "It seems all protests fall on deaf ears with the Outlaws. There are not enough people who want to stand up and make a decision, and if they do, they don't know what they're talking about. It's times like that that you really miss (former WoO competition director) Bobby Jackson. You don't know what you've got until it's gone."

TMAC would have liked to send his crew on their way early. "I knew we were way back in the (Gold Cup) points, and I wanted to send my guys home Friday night," he says. "They haven't been home since the Nationals. I wanted to make sure and ask if we'd get our (show-up) points if we didn't tow in on Saturday. Tom Deery told me he thought it would be o.k., but checked with Brian Carter and Carlton (Reimers), and they wanted us show up on Saturday, unload the car and load it back up. So that's what we did. That was silly, maybe they thought we would race anyway. It was a small protest, and probably nobody really cares, but (car owner) Tod Quiring (Big Game Treestands) and I were not going to patronize a situation like that. It was a financial decision as well. Outside of first or second, it's like any of the other big shows. It doesn't pay anymore down through the line, and your chances of going home in one piece at Chico are less. The Knoxville Nationals stands alone with that (payout). There's only one Nationals, and nothing else is close."

The WoO teams welcome the chance to get back to the Midwest. They'll be roaring full boar around the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer, Iowa on Wednesday night, the US36 Raceway near Cameron, Missouri on Friday, Heartland Park near Topeka, Kansas on Saturday, and the Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri on Sunday!

Crazee Combos Continue!

TMAC and Daryn Pittman are continuing their "Crazee Combo" deals at the merchandise trailer! For $25, you can purchase a t-shirt, hat, sticker and coozie from TMAC! Take advantage of the "Crazee Combo" this weekend!

In"Terry"gation

Shaun Hulbert from Everett, WA asks:What is your favorite thing about being a part of the World of Outlaws? What's your biggest dislike being a part of the World of Outlaws?

TMAC Answers: The best part is racing with the best drivers in the world. Racing at different tracks every night is a challenge too. The thing I dislike the most is being away from the family. The other thing I dislike is the hierarchy involved.

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.

Today in TMAC History!

On this day in history, TMAC won at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa in 1995. TMAC also won in July of that year at 34, besting Dennis Moore Jr., Skip Jackson, Johnny Herrera and Brent Antill. In 2004 he beat the Sprint Invaders on the same 3/8 mile oval, driving Mark Burch's #1m to finish ahead of Ryan Jamison, John Schulz, Bobby Hawks and Bobby Mincer.

Website Updates

Photos from Edmonton and Skagit haven been added to the "Terry McCarl" and "At the Races" gallery compliments of Perry Nelson and Brian Simonseth of H2H Photo.

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 [email protected] with "TMAC" in the subject line.

TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, AmeriCashAdvance.com, DeBerg Concrete and Remington Treestands.

TMAC at the Cottage Grove Speedway (John's Racing Photos)

Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IAUSA
[email protected]

I was told that T-Mac taped up his hood before going back out and that others were doing that as noise from the engine compartment made a slight difference in the readings.

i do not know if this has been done but why not have the track put another db meter up right next to the state meter and have some one do the same thing the state does? i thought i have heard at times that there were 2 sets of meters but i do not know exactly what goes on out there in the infield. it is true that at times the local shows at chico and GSC shows as well have the same sound issues. one thing that was not said is just what were the db numbers that everyone was puting out and what was terry's? i have heard that t-mac was a couple of db's louder than the rest of the cars. so if most everyone was say 100 db's, terry might have been 102 for example. the person reading the meter might have just thought that since there were maybe 3 cars that were the loudest above what everyone else was, that those were the ones DQ'd. the thing is, i have been told in the past, that the sound meter can be very fickle at times and the wind direction and other things can have an effect on it. also how you point and turn down the exhaust outlet, how the driver works the gas and how the meter operator reads the thing from car to car can make a difference. i do not know if they use a digital read out that stores and reads the highest level or if they use an anolog meter.

Tuesdays with TMAC – Bring the Noise!

(Bill W) September 9, 2008 – Last weekend, the Gold Cup turned into "Fool's Gold" for World of Outlaws driver Terry McCarl. The Altoona, Iowa native turned the quick time of the night in qualifications on Friday, but was DQed for breaking the 95 decibel sound mark. Irked by not only that, but upon further inspection, finding out every other driver in qualifying was above the legal mark, he elected to sit Saturday night's program out. This week, the Big Game Treestands #24 will come back east, take the big mufflers off and hit four races in Midwest action.

Last Tuesday night, the WoO hit Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon. A late pill draw would be a disadvantage for TMAC in time trials. "It's a fun little track that usually gets pretty racy," he says of Cottage Grove. "We've run well there in the past. The fans are really great up that way, all through the Northwest really. We drew dead last to go out, and we did pretty well to be 19^th quick actually."

After running one spot out of a transfer in the heat, the car ran better in the B. "It really slicked off by the time we went out for our (third) heat," says TMAC. "We were a little loose in the heat and had to run the B. We were good there, got beside (Jac) Haudenschild and almost got him at the checkers (finishing second). The feature was tough. It was really slick and laid rubber. We kind of did the best that they could (15^th)."

The 55^th Annual Gold Cup of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California was up next. TMAC again drew a late number for qualifying. "We went out at the end of qualifying, but that was an advantage at Chico Friday. The car was perfect. You know as a driver when your motors are running good. I was a little concerned about the setup, because turns three and four were choppy. The car ended up being awesome, and I knew that if we weren't fast time, we would be solid. Jason Meyers went a couple cars ahead of us, and Brent Kaeding was a car ahead of us…a top Outlaw guy and a top local guy. We out-qualified both of them, and that was a barometer on how good we were."

When TMAC returned, he was informed he was over the sound limit and would have to come back out to time again. "Brent Kaeding offered to lend me some mufflers, but we didn't have time to change them," he says. "We went right back out with everything the same. We ended up turning a faster time than the first one, and guess what…we were fine sound-wise! We were too loud, then not too loud with the same car and we changed nothing!"

TMAC was relegated to 17^th quick by rule for having to come back out to time. The car was lightning again in the heat race as he chased Jason Solwold and Jason Meyers. "We were third (from fifth), and we were fast," says TMAC. "I was catching him (Meyers) early on, and when we checked the times later, we had a faster time than he did. Normally, that doesn't happen, but we were fast. The car was awesome. That was the bad part of the whole deal. If we had quick time, kicked ass in the heat and so on, who knows?"

The feature turned into demolition derby and didn't go as well. "We started 14^th in the feature and got up to ninth or tenth and got under Paul McMahan. He came from the top to the bottom and got into me and spun me out. Tim Kaeding had nowhere to go, and got into me too. It was nobody's fault, just a racing thing that can happen at Chico. Because we started further back than we should have, that gives you a greater chance of crashing. By the end, my crew was making pit stops like a NASCAR team before we were done (finishing 18th)!"

TMAC was disgruntled with the rulings surrounding the decibel level that have plagued several WoO drivers at the Gold Cup the last few years. "It's a shame that the Outlaws and the promoter of the event, John Padjen, could ever let things like this happen on a race that is supposed to be one of the 'big' events," he says. "John races 410 sprint cars there every week. He should know what it takes to be under whatever their noise level above the actual legal limit is. The World of Outlaws should be protecting their drivers by letting us know what we need to do, and contact John ahead of time. It should be like Knoxville. You run this muffler and this muffler only. If it's from a '58 Cadillac, we'll do it. Then, if it's super loud, they would know there were alterations. Three cars were supposedly too loud this year, and they were all Outlaw cars (Kerry Madsen and Sam Hafertepe Jr. were the others)."

Another frustrating point came when Sonny Kratzer and crew chief Dave Lawrence went to check the decibel levels of the cars who qualified. "The rule says you have to be 95 decibels at 100 feet," says TMAC. "Not one single car out of the 54 that qualified on Friday was under that level. The guy running it showed us his decibel readings. Not one car was legal. How can you pinpoint this guy or that guy and disqualify them? I think he's (sound guy) a little power-hungry and likes to bust a couple cars every night."

The problem was not with TMAC's equipment. "We've had to run these mufflers the whole West Coast trip," he says. "The other tracks aren't quite as strict as Chico, but there are two kinds of mufflers that guys are using. There are smaller ones and the bigger ones that are quieter. I have run the biggest muffler the whole trip. It's more muffler than we need, and we even used the 'turn-downs'. We've been qualifying with the quickest cars the whole trip, so it doesn't affect your speed too much."

TMAC has been called many things, but despises the thought of being labeled a cheater. "Obviously, we're not trying to cheat," he says. "We don't have a big tire, or nitro, or our frame is too light from illegal tubing like some. We put on what we were told by Outlaw officials was the recommended muffler. I offered to have them confiscate my mufflers and cut them open to make sure we weren't doing anything funny. Kick me out if we're doing something like that."

There has been a precedent with loud cars at the Gold Cup. "The most unbelievable part about this whole thing is what happened last year," says TMAC. "Joey Saldana went out in Kasey Kahne's car, and it was too loud. They told him it was too loud. I've heard different stories, as to what transpired and who talked to whom, but the bottom line is…they decided the meter might not be totally correct, and he got his time back. The inconsistency with the Outlaw officials' calls is getting really hard to take for not only Terry McCarl, but anybody up and down the pits."

TMAC insists things should be rectified differently at events like the Gold Cup. "I don't even believe they should have sent Joey back last year," he says. "This is supposed to be a big event. You ruin a guys' weekend. You take guys like Kerry and me out of contention, and a chance to possibly win the thing. It's infuriating mostly, because it is not a fair playing ground for everyone, and it's not right. It's not just going back to 17^th, it's a points thing that cripples you for the whole weekend."

Some fans wondered why TMAC left early on Saturday. His intention was never to tow to the track, but his hands were tied by officials. "We wanted to make a statement (by not racing)," he explains. "It seems all protests fall on deaf ears with the Outlaws. There are not enough people who want to stand up and make a decision, and if they do, they don't know what they're talking about. It's times like that that you really miss (former WoO competition director) Bobby Jackson. You don't know what you've got until it's gone."

TMAC would have liked to send his crew on their way early. "I knew we were way back in the (Gold Cup) points, and I wanted to send my guys home Friday night," he says. "They haven't been home since the Nationals. I wanted to make sure and ask if we'd get our (show-up) points if we didn't tow in on Saturday. Tom Deery told me he thought it would be o.k., but checked with Brian Carter and Carlton (Reimers), and they wanted us show up on Saturday, unload the car and load it back up. So that's what we did. That was silly, maybe they thought we would race anyway. It was a small protest, and probably nobody really cares, but (car owner) Tod Quiring (Big Game Treestands) and I were not going to patronize a situation like that. It was a financial decision as well. Outside of first or second, it's like any of the other big shows. It doesn't pay anymore down through the line, and your chances of going home in one piece at Chico are less. The Knoxville Nationals stands alone with that (payout). There's only one Nationals, and nothing else is close."

The WoO teams welcome the chance to get back to the Midwest. They'll be roaring full boar around the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer, Iowa on Wednesday night, the US36 Raceway near Cameron, Missouri on Friday, Heartland Park near Topeka, Kansas on Saturday, and the Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri on Sunday!

Crazee Combos Continue!

TMAC and Daryn Pittman are continuing their "Crazee Combo" deals at the merchandise trailer! For $25, you can purchase a t-shirt, hat, sticker and coozie from TMAC! Take advantage of the "Crazee Combo" this weekend!

In"Terry"gation

Shaun Hulbert from Everett, WA asks:What is your favorite thing about being a part of the World of Outlaws? What's your biggest dislike being a part of the World of Outlaws?

TMAC Answers: The best part is racing with the best drivers in the world. Racing at different tracks every night is a challenge too. The thing I dislike the most is being away from the family. The other thing I dislike is the hierarchy involved.

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.

Today in TMAC History!

On this day in history, TMAC won at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa in 1995. TMAC also won in July of that year at 34, besting Dennis Moore Jr., Skip Jackson, Johnny Herrera and Brent Antill. In 2004 he beat the Sprint Invaders on the same 3/8 mile oval, driving Mark Burch's #1m to finish ahead of Ryan Jamison, John Schulz, Bobby Hawks and Bobby Mincer.

Website Updates

Photos from Edmonton and Skagit haven been added to the "Terry McCarl" and "At the Races" gallery compliments of Perry Nelson and Brian Simonseth of H2H Photo.

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 [email protected] with "TMAC" in the subject line.

TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, AmeriCashAdvance.com, DeBerg Concrete and Remington Treestands.

TMAC at the Cottage Grove Speedway (John's Racing Photos)

Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IAUSA
[email protected]

Wonder what that response would have been if it had been TK or another driver from the left coast.

Hank,

Since you are insistent on getting a rise out of folks (by the way, Obama is going downhill faster than even you right now)...I'm trying to find your "passing and racing" going on comparing the two big shows...but then again you don't go to the races:

Gold Cup: 1. Haudenschild (4) 2. Dollansky (1) 3. Allard (3) 4. BK (6) 5. Swindell (7) 6. McMahan (9) 7. Kinser (19) 8. Pittman (12) 9. Kinser (5) 10. Kemenah (8) 11. Becker (13) 12. Hillier (10) 13. Sweet (23) 14. Madsen (16) 15. Lasoski (14) 16. Saldana (26) 17. Solwold (11) 18. Sides (24) 19. Golobic (17) 20. Meyers (2) 21. Hockett (21) 22. Crockett (20) 23. Croft (15) 24. Farr (18) 25. Schatz (25) 26. Barnes (22)

Knoxville: 1. Donny Schatz 15 (4) 2. Jason Meyers 14 (2) 3. Craig Dollansky 2x (5) 4. Danny Lasoski 33 (1) 5. Steve Kinser 11 (3) 6. Joey Saldana 9E (8) 7. Jac Haudenschild R19 (11) 8. McCarl (23) 9. Dusty Zomer 5z (10) 10. Justin Henderson D1 (9) 11. Sammy Swindell 5 (7) 12. Brooke Tatnell 11AU (17) 13. Paul McMahan 6 (6) 14. Billy Alley 22 (18) 15. Pittman (21) 16. Wayne Johnson 14AJ (14) 17. Jason Sides 7s (12) 18. Kemenah (22) 19. Tony Bruce Jr. 18 (15) 20. Shane Stewart 83 (13) 21. Bronson Maeschen 96 (16) 22. Tyler Walker 24T (20) 23. Jason Solwold 39c (19) 24. Wright (24)

I don't see a big difference...Knoxville hard-charger came farther despite less cars too...Looking at the DNF's, I'm thinking a lot of the moves forward were because guys were dropping out at Chico. I assume with your snide crew chief statement you are saying Schatz can't drive, and Leonard Lee is not a good crew chief. Which do you mean?

Everyone wants the drivers to "speak their minds" like the "old days", but when someone does it, you call them a crybaby. No wonder most of the drivers want to be P.C. and not speak their minds these days to the point we vomit. I'm just a messenger with the P.R. and cashing the checks, but (assuming you even read the release) what are you considering crying? I see an account of the FACTS surrounding the decibel levels. You seem to not be getting it with your "stainless 180 muffler" comments either. EVERYONE was above the legal limit...EVERYONE (I'm guessing at least one driver in there had your "super" muffler?)...TMAC had the biggest muffler used (again that was in the release but you probably missed it)...packing up and leaving? You missed the point there again. I figured with two posts here you care, but why not read the release first and do some homework?

You were right about one thing. The Gold Cup and Nationals should not be compared. Thanks...