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Tuesdays with TMAC – Whistlin' Dixie!
(Bill W) April 3, 2007 – Terry McCarl was "Whistlin' Dixie" at Dixie Speedway near Woodstock, Georgia, last Saturday night. Despite a rough start to the evening, things ended up with another top ten run.
The Big Game Treestands #24 was not 'whistlin' to start the festivities. "We went out to hot lap and had a miss in the motor…a spark plug that wasn't firing right. So I never got to hot lap it. That's kind of a funny racetrack, so you want to get as many laps as you can," relays McCarl. Indeed, the "D-shaped" oval was uncommon ground for most.
Fortunately, McCarl had help from his crew to rectify the problem. "I was fortunate to have Mike Woodring (owner of the #19 car driven by Becca Anderson) helping me for the weekend, along with my crew guy, Greg McCormick. They did a good job of figuring out the problem right away, and getting it fixed. We ended up eighth quick overall, so that was pretty good for not hot lapping and not getting a feel for the racetrack or car."
After starting third in his heat race, TMAC stumbled again. "I screwed up on the start. I tried to get under the guy in front of me, and got into the mud on the bottom. I got sideways and about hit the inside guardrail, and dropped back to about seventh. We got back going, and worked our way back up to fourth, and ran down third place. We had a really good car, but unfortunately, with the format, we needed to get into the top two to make the dash."
The feature saw McCarl starting 14th, with a ton of talent lining up in front of him. "People don't understand. We've got great race drivers and great race cars. To pass several, you really have to have a good car. We had a great car, and I was really happy with Mike's help. I wish he could be with us full-time, but he's got his own team."
McCarl was able to maneuver around several competitors and ended up taking a couple bids for sixth late in the going with Donny Schatz, who was the WoO point leader heading into Georgia. "We ended up seventh…I got up beside Donny a few times for sixth. On that kind of track, there's not a ton of passing, so it was good."
TMAC exited Dixie Speedway in the WoO point standings in the same place he entered, fifth. "We had a really good night for finishing seventh. It was a great crowd, with another great race for the fans. Normally, we're not real happy with seventh, but taking into account the whole night, it wasn't too bad. We had a really good night for finishing seventh."
Back to the Midwest
The WoO will head back to the Midwest, where they will invade Paducah International Raceway near Paducah, Kentucky on Friday, and the I-55 Raceway near Pevely, Missouri on Saturday. Both are high-banked, high speed racetracks, and race fans and drivers alike can anticipate the awesome racing that the WoO has provided this season.
Terry agrees, "They are two of my favorite tracks. Usually, the tracks that the fans like, are the tracks that the drivers like too."
Though Terry hasn't been to Paducah since 2004 when he finished third in an All Star Circuit of Champions event behind Danny Smith and Greg Wilson, Pevely is a different story. McCarl set the standard in time trials a year ago at I-55, but made contact with the inside guardrail in the feature while running second. The July race there saw better results. Shortly after returning from his leg injury, he came home seventh. "(Track co-owner) Ray Marlar did a nice job there last year. He went out and redid the racetrack, and it was great the rest of the night."
TMAC is pumped to get back out on the track! See you at the races!
In"Terry"gation
Eric Arnold from Newton, IA asks: Being a fan, driver, owner, and promoter of sprint car racing you see things from every angle. From a "driver" perspective and from a "fan" perspective, do you think there is a format everyone could agree on that would be fair, take less time, and make it more enjoyable for the fans? Knoxville has occasionally tried qualifying multiple cars at one time, ASCS has no time trials and draws for position, the Sprint Bandits used a draw but ran 2 sets of heats. What do you think is the best format?
TMAC answers: That is a great question but difficult to answer. It really depends on the group that you are running with and the track that you are running at.
First of all, time trialing more than one car at a time is ridiculous. It seems like a good idea on paper but it does not work with sprint cars and can be EASILY manipulated by a driver. We are going so fast now that when the track is wet and you get within four or five car lengths of the car in front of you; you actually get an "aero-push" of sorts. If I want to manipulate the process and mess up the driver behind me all I have to do is slow down a bit and let the guy behind me catch me and that will create bad air for him. In the meantime the car in front of me has pulled away and given me clean air to run my laps in.
Drawing for the heats as ASCS does, works when you don't have a lot of cars. The problem that you run into is that it is very difficult to pass if you are in one of the first heats and the track is heavy. If you are running a 360 it is even more difficult because the engines are so equal. The next problem with drawing is that you get some heats that are stacked with most of the really fast guys. For example, a few years ago at the 360 Nationals, Gary Wright who is the best 360 racer in the country drew an early heat and had a very stacked heat. I think that he started ninth and finished eight. He ended up in the C main that night.
As a fan I really like the two heat format that the Bandits do. I polled quite a few non-wing teams trying to see what they wanted for our $30,000 to win Ultimate Challenge non-wing race. It was nearly unanimous that that they all wanted the Bandit format. As a promoter, I like it because you can know exactly what time the actual races are going to start. As a fan, I like it because you get to see more racing and everyone is giving it their all because every spot means more points. It is better than the ASCS format because if you are in a situation as Gary Wright was, you get a second chance to get points. Here is the problem; if you have a lot of cars it can be very time consuming. Also as a car owner, it can possibly cost you more tires and fuel and more chances to tear something up!
Time trials I feel are the fairest way to set the heats. There are down sides to all of these and as a promoter you need to see which format works best for your track and your class of cars. Thanks for the great question Eric, TMAC
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 has driven for at least seven different owners at I-55 Raceway in Pevely. They are the Beaver Drill & Tool 12x ('87), Lenard McCarl 7x ('89), Country Builders 88 ('92), Brad Gray 51 ('96), McCarl 24 ('98, '02, '05-'06), Jensen Construction 55 ('00) and the Holbrook 8h ('01).
Website
Check out some shots from Dixie Speedway provided by "CTC Photos" in the Photo galleries.
Keep up to date with McCarl Motorsports at www.TerryMcCarl.com. We keep it fresh for TMAC fans!
Front Row/Ultimate Challenge Update
Order your tickets for the Musco Lighting Front Row Challenge and Searsboro Telephone Ultimate Challenge today! Call McTwo Promotions Tuesday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 515 957-0020 to order!
Infield Party Passes are $20 in advance or $25 the day of the race!
For more information on the Challenges or on TMAC Motorsports, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com.
"Tuesdays with TMAC"
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TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, Bosma Poultry, Inc., AmeriCash Advance, and Ground Max Hunting Blinds.
 (CTC Photos)
Bill WrightBill W MediaMonroe, IA USA[email protected]
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