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Tuesdays with TMAC – Two-MACS and Time Trial Thoughts!
(Bill W) March 25, 2008 – This weekend there will be two "MACs" at the Eagle Raceway near Eagle, Nebraska. Austin "AMAC" McCarl will be joining father, Terry "TMAC" McCarl as the Altoona, Iowa pair races in the Ice Breaker Challenge at the banked 1/3 mile oval. It will be Austin's first career sprint car start. He will be driving the Janet Holbrook owned/Lenard McCarl wrenched #17 Eagle/Kistler.
The Challenge takes place this Saturday and Sunday night, with a practice session slated for Friday. TMAC is more excited about Austin's sprint car start then his own ride in the Mark Burch Motorsports #1m. "I'm just excited about Austin getting things started. No one expects anything from him. We're planning on having a lot of fun, and I hope it brings some more fans out to see us at Eagle! The bottom line with me is having fun and nobody at the track getting hurt!"
Getting scrutiny as part of the McCarl clan is inevitable for Austin. "No matter what he does, unfortunately, he's going to get criticism from some fans," says TMAC. "We're just there to have fun. I'm worried about him taking some crap, but he's pretty thick-skinned. I think we all are. He started a sprint car for the first time the other night, so hopefully they can get their planned practice night (Friday) in, that will be big for him."
TMAC will probably be counted on as one of the favorites to take home the $2000 prize money on Sunday, but that is a small part of his focus. "I'm more concerned about Austin than I am myself," he says. "Whenever one of us (WoO drivers) goes to one of these fun races, if you win some will criticize you for coming and beating the locals…and if you lose, you get criticized for not winning. I'm excited about Austin racing for Janet and my father the most."
OKC
A late decision was made to attend the American Sprint Cars on Tour races last weekend at the State Fair Speedway in Oklahoma City. TMAC drove his own #24, with power supplied by Burch. "Mark loaned us a motor for that show, and his motors are always really good, so we thought we'd go down and have some fun," says TMAC. "That motor had been sitting for awhile. We sorted through some gremlins the first day, but really got it going on Saturday."
A break in the World of Outlaws schedule didn't translate to a letup in the competition, as 50+ drivers showed up. Naturally, TMAC drew the toughest heat of the weekend on Friday night! "We started sixth and ran fourth, and had to be happy with that!" he says. "Daryn (Pittman) was on the pole and Gary Wright was outside the front row, and Jason Johnson was in front of me with Zach Chappell beside us. Throw in Don Droud Jr. and Josh Higday and that's as tough as it gets! Unfortunately, it was also the second heat of the night, and the track was still pretty sticky. Yes, we had to be happy with fourth there."
TMAC's night continued in the consy. "That put us in the front row of the B, and we stayed out of trouble (finishing second and transferring to the A)," he says. "We got up to 13th in the feature (from 19th) just missing some of the accidents and carnage. Then sure enough, I hit a rut and bounced up out of the ballpark. I came back in and got going, and did it again, so at that point I decided it was more important to race another day and pulled it off."
On Saturday things looked good early on in the heat race. "We started outside row two of the heat, and got up to second," says TMAC. "It looked like we had a chance at winning it and that would have put us up towards the front for the feature. Unfortunately, the motor started missing a little bit, and I didn't want to burn it up, so I pulled it in. It just had some stuff in the fuel lines from sitting for awhile, so it was nothing serious and no one's fault."
On Sunday night, the WoO announced a TV settlement with the Speed Channel. The package will televise twelve races on the WoO schedule. "Twelve race nights on TV will be nice," says TMAC. "It's better than zero. Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing…just as drivers we could have used this six months ago or so. That's how we sell sponsors on our product." "TV Terry" will be ready!
2008 FRC/UC Tickets!
Advanced ticket holders to the Front Row Challenge and/or Ultimate Challenge can order their tickets right now! 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
Terry in Missouri asks: How do you feel about doing away with time trials? As a fan, I really like the time trials, however, it seems to drag the shows on too long and create unnecessary wear and tear on the track. Plus, it cuts into the fans' time in the pits afterwards. What are your thoughts about it?
TMAC Answers: I love time trials. To me, they're the only fair way for the drivers and the fans to enjoy a great show. Last weekend when we drew, is a perfect example. Daryn Pittman, Gary Wright, Jason Johnson, Terry McCarl, Zach Chappell, Don Droud Jr. and Josh Higday were all in one heat. Is that fair? It makes for a good heat race, but there are fans there to see the best drivers race in the feature. That's not always going to happen, but the fans deserve an opportunity to see the best at the end of the night. I think back to the 360 Nationals at Knoxville when they were drawing for heat position several years back. Gary Wright was the best there was in a 360 at the time. He had to start 10th in his heat and ended up 7th on a narrow track where everyone can be the same speed. He was done for the weekend. That's not fair to him or the fans. We've tried the group qualifying and it is a joke as far as saving time. That's not a viable option. The key to the whole thing is getting things going on time. If you are a fan that doesn't like time trials, you should know what time to show up, if the weather cooperates, and catch the start of the heat races. The track is responsible for getting things going on time. We used to know that Huset's Speedway (SD) started their heats at 8:00 sharp. They never strayed from that. They would qualify early, and sometimes they'd have a 10 minute lag to wait for 8:00, but the fans who didn't want to see them, knew they would get the heats started right on time and they could arrive then. I would rather take my chance of drawing late in time trials than to draw for heat position any day. Everyone knows at a track like Williams Grove in July, that if you draw late for time trials, you're probably done for the night, but I'd rather take my chances doing that then draw for heat races. People talk about handicapping, which is an unfair process as well. I think of all the races Doug Wolfgang won at Knoxville in 1977. He won them all from the sixth starting spot. That's when the big inversion of 12 came along a lot of places. Think if Donny Schatz had to start back in 12th every night with the WoO. He wouldn't make any money. That's not fair to him. This is his time to shine. The way our format is now (with the WoO) is the fairest. Guys have to work for it in the heats, in the dash and in the feature. They earn their starting spot, and that's the way it should be.
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.
This Week in TMAC History!
TMAC was victorious on March 30, 1991 in weekly action at the San Jose Fairgrounds. Driving the Offill #88, he topped Danny Olmstead, Tim Green, John Golobic and Rick Martin. He raced on a weekly basis in both 1990 and 1991 before hitting the WoO trail as a rookie with Offill in 1992. "San Jose was a real racy 3/8," says TMAC. "It was a great track. I had a great time racing with the Offills' back then."
Website Updates
The "Schedule" page is now updated to WoO specs. There are a handful of new photos in the "Terry McCarl" and "At the Races" galleries.
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 in action at the State Fair Speedway in Oklahoma City (Doug Johnson)
Bill Wright
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