Tuesdays with TMAC – On the Podium at East Bay!
(Bill W) February 26, 2013 – Terry McCarl completed a great trip to south Florida with a third place finish in last weekend’s Ronald Laney “King of the 360’s” at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa. That followed a win with the World of Outlaws in Volusia. TMAC will next race with the Outlaws in Las Vegas next week. He’s looking for a wing sponsor for Sin City!
The events at East Bay started on Thursday with a heat win. TMAC’s starting position was a factor all weekend after that. “It seemed every single start, we were on the bottom,” he says. “That was never the place to be. The car was good all weekend though.”
Starting seventh in the feature, TMAC would lose a few positions before rebounding to sixth. “We were running tenth before we even got to the flag stand,” he says. “We were able to get back through there and pass some cars. We were able to do that all week.”
After a run from seventh to fourth in Friday’s heat, the story was much the same in the second preliminary feature. TMAC would start inside row six and finish eighth. “We backed up to about fourteenth on the start,” he says. “We actually got back up to about sixth. We had some problems with the left rear that caused us to back up to eighth. That got us locked into the top six for Saturday, which was the goal.”
Finishes the first two nights locked TMAC into a starting spot outside row three. Unfortunately, things didn’t go smoothly in the hot lap session. “I was excited that we were starting on the outside for once,” he says. “That was definitely the place to be. We went out to hot lap and we were really, really fast. We ended up breaking the rear end.”
Quick work by the assembled crew got TMAC ready for the main event. “It’s a funny story,” he says. “I didn’t have a spare rear end. Right before we left, Lynton Jeffrey threw it in the trailer for us. My crew did a great job getting it put in. Glenn Freeland was helping me. RJ Johnson, Austin and Carson, Russ and Roger Hall changed it in less time than it took to run the B main. They had to take the muffler and brakes off and everything. They did a good job.”
The good feeling about starting on the outside of his row changed when TMAC lined up for the main event and Greg Wilson didn’t make the call inside him. “While we were out there already lined up, they decided they were going to crisscross the start,” he says. “That put us on the bottom! I couldn’t believe it. (Jason) Sides went outside me on the start, and he was running third by turn two.”
The inside position set TMAC back, but he rebounded for the podium finish. “We dropped back to seventh or eighth early on,” he says. “We had a great car. They had a yellow early, and it went non-stop after that. I wish we had a few more. We clawed our way back up to third. Danny (Holtgraver) did the best job of getting through the lapped cars. I really think we were fastest at the end.”
All in all, it was a great trip. “The trip to south Florida was a good one,” says TMAC. “We had the win with the Outlaws at Volusia and we had a good car every night down there. I’m pretty happy about that.”
TMAC had two solid wing sponsors in Florida, and is hoping for a partner for Vegas next week, and in other races beyond. “I need to thank Justice Brothers for being with us at Volusia,” he says. “Myers International Midways was with us at East Bay. We’re looking for partners to put on the wing on a nightly basis. It’s kind of what NASCAR is doing. It’s tough sometimes to sponsor a full year, but we can give them a night when we are in the area. Anybody in or around Las Vegas is welcome to be on our wing when we get there!”
To check out opportunities to partner with TMAC Motorsports on a nightly basis, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com or call 515 957-0020!
Websites for the McCarl Gang!
Driverwebsites.com develops the websites for the McCarl boys. Check out www.TerryMcCarl.com, as well as www.AustinMcCarl.com and www.CarsonMcCarl.com!
Leap Year in TMAC History!
Terry’s lone action on a leap year day (February 29) came in his rookie season with the World of Outlaws in 1992 at Bakersfield Speedway. On the track billed as the “West’s fastest 1/3 mile high banked oval”, TMAC finished 14th in the Welden Offill #88. Steve Kinser won the event over Steve Kent, Bobby Davis Jr., Danny Lasoski and Stevie Smith. The speed plant rarely hosts sprints, but TMAC has two top ten finishes in four visits there. “I’d like to go back to that place. It’s fast!” says TMAC.
"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 sprntcar@iowatelecom.net with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Country Builders Construction, Rossie Feed and Grain, “Lord I Apologize BBQ Sauce”, Deanfield Farms, Bosma Poultry, Eagle Motorsports, DeBerg Concrete, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, SCE Gaskets, Justice Brothers, Ryan Yager Trucking, 212 The Boiling Point Bar & Grill, Vortex Racing, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Pick Farms, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, Superflow Technologies, T&P Brothers, Mediacom, Larry Fleck Trucking, Winters, DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, Jocko's Sprint Parts, Sander, Brown and Miller, Pro Shocks, Ben Cook, Bell Helmets, Burnett's Rock and Landscaping, Van Der Brink Designs, Morgan Strawberry Farms, Aurora Rod Ends, Crow Safety, Justice Brothers, KSE Steering, Strange Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, Waterman Fuel Pumps, Weiland Racing, Butlerbuilt, PBS Bushings and Mote Fasteners.
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@iowatelecom.net