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Tuesdays with TMAC – Another Win at EastBay!
(Bill W) February 5, 2008 – East Bay Raceway has been delivering a cure for the Winter Blues for sprint car fans and drivers across the country for many a year now. One driver who has taken a liking to the fast oval is Altoona, Iowa driver Terry McCarl. He posted his tenth career victory at the facility located near Tampa, Florida last Friday night. The win gave him six there in the past three years.
The Ronald Laney "King of the 360's" always draws a strong contingent of players, and this year was no different. TMAC again teamed up with Nebraska car owner Mark Burch to tackle the tacky 1/3 mile oval. Burch has been campaigning his yellow "Bananawagon" for several seasons now. Everything seemed status quo for 2008, until the owner had a little surprise for the driver. "Mark tricked me on that one," says TMAC. "Instead of the usual yellow, he came with a chocolate covered 'Bananawagon'."
The change in color didn't help the heat draw for either the Thursday or Friday prelims. "We didn't draw the best heat races either night," says McCarl. "We didn't get the car exactly right for the heats, but we had plenty of competition too. The second night (Friday) we had Kenny Adams and Jason Johnson in our heat, so right there you had the three nights' feature winners in one heat."
Thursday saw the #1m start outside row four of the sixth heat. Tim Crawley and Chuck Swenson drove away in row one, while TMAC climbed to fifth. A second place finish in the B from row three slotted him outside row eleven for the main event. The tough starting spot didn't deter the World of Outlaws veteran and he surged 14 spots to finish eighth. "We were really good (Thursday)," he says. "We started way back and moved up well. That showed us that we were stacking up pretty good going into Friday."
After tailing Adams and Johnson in his heat race on Friday, TMAC lined up inside row six for a feature that he would dominate. "Obviously, we were really good on Friday," he remembers. "East Bay is really a fun track, because it is tricky. It seemed like both ends (turns) were different every night, so you really have to drive and pay attention. Those are the kind of tracks I like!"
TMAC passed four cars on the first lap, went by Jason Johnson and Don Droud Jr. on the second lap, and was by Wayne Johnson and Garry Lee Maier for third at the conclusion of the fourth circuit. On the sixth lap, he disposed of second place Travis Rilat. Two laps later, he would cruise around Gary Wright and pull away from the field. "I think we took the lead in about eight laps," he says. "That's funny, because in the eight lap heat race, I started sixth and could only get to third. But in the feature, we got to the lead from 11th in eight laps. That shows you how good the car was. Mark Burch and Marvin Brees had that thing hooked up. It was fun to drive!"
The win locked TMAC into a fifth place starting spot for Saturday's $10,000 to win finale. The 2006 winner of the race battled with the leaders, but in the end, settled for a third place run behind Jason Johnson and Wright. "We were able to move forward again on Saturday," he says. "At one point, we got by Gary Wright and up into second for about seven laps. We were just a tick off on the car for being able to win the race, but it was still a good run in third. We can't complain!"
TMAC is thankful for the extra help he receives in Florida. "I'd like to thank Burnett Rock and Landscaping, Morgan Strawberry Farms and also Bob and Beulah Elder, who came down from Terre Haute and helped us out last weekend," he says. "We couldn't do it without the support of those people. A lot of the fun we have with sponsors is with those who might just want to sponsor a race or two during the season. I'm fortunate in that we have fans or businesses that want to put their name on the front wing for a show or two. We welcome anyone who would like to do that! There's always room for more if we're coming to your area!" He adds, "Of course, I'd also like to thank Mark and Marvin for another fun week, as well!"
The focus turns toward Volusia Speedway now. The Big Game Treestands #24 is ready for six straight nights of racing on the ½ mile, starting tonight! Tuesday through Thursday will fly under the banner of the All Star Circuit of Champions, while Friday through Sunday will open the season for the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws. The team is ready according to McCarl. "Glen Saville has arrived from Australia to join (co-Crew Leaders) Tyler (Swank) and Troy (Renfro). He's helping us to get things ready to go! We're excited to get going here! I'm sure it'll be a great show for the fans at Volusia!"
2008 FRC/UC Tickets!
Advanced ticket holders to the Front Row Challenge and/or Ultimate Challenge can order their tickets beginning February 19. All other seats become available April 1. Call McTwo Promotions Tuesday-Thursday beginning from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 515 957-0020 to renew your seats!
Infield Party Passes for the August 4 and 5 events will be $20 in advance or $25 the day of the race!
For more information on the Challenges or on TMAC Motorsports, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com.
In"Terry"gation
CarwashMike from San Jose asks: Will you have Can Koozies that fit Coors Light this year? I'm not switching to Bud just so I can drink out of a TMAC Koozie. Bonus question...Are there any other fans who have TMAC license plates on their car (CarwashMike has a "TMAC24" plate)?
TMAC Answers: Perhaps you need to "man up" and drink a real beer. Maybe we'll have to get a couple of "one-off" Koozies for you! As far as the license plate, I don't know of anyone else outside of the family who has one. I don't know what KingMcCarl24 is waiting for down there in Missouri!
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!
TMAC has two career wins on February 5, and both are in Florida. The first came in 1994 with the All Star Circuit of Champions at JAX Raceways in Jacksonville. He took legendary Pennsylvania car owner Bob Weikert's #29 to victory lane ahead of Frankie Kerr, Kelly Kinser, Joey Saldana and Brian Tyler. In 1997, he won an All Star race at Volusia driving Junior Holbrook's #8h. Finishing behind him were Jim Nace (Weikert 29), Todd Shaffer, John Bankston and Kerr.
Website Updates
There are plenty of pictures from East Bay in the "Photos" gallery. Check the "At the Races" gallery for a couple of shots of the new merchandise trailer!
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, Bosma Poultry, Inc., AmeriCashAdvance.com and Remington Treestands.
TMAC and Lori in Victory Lane at East Bay (Allan Holland)
Bill Wright
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