Tuesdays with TMAC – “Back” in Action!
(Bill W) May 19, 2015 – Racing at Knoxville Raceway last Saturday night was a game day decision for Terry McCarl. The Altoona, Iowa driver made it through the night with flying colors and a fourth place finish. The week before, of course, saw him fracture his L4 vertebrae in a scary crash. Plans are for the TMAC Motorsports #24 to be back at Knoxville Saturday, and at FVP National Sprint League shows at Jackson Speedway in Minnesota on Friday, and Huset’s Speedway near Brandon, South Dakota on Sunday.
Doctors assured TMAC that he couldn’t worsen his condition, but he would have to deal with the pain. “It’s a different kind of pain than I’ve had with some of my other injuries,” he says. “It’s kind of a dull constant pain that makes you sick. There was some extra soft stuff in the car. I already have the Butlerbuilt insert, and I had another butt pad in there. There’s no workman’s comp and no disability insurance. This is what I do for a living. If I don’t race, I don’t get paid.”
The crash on May 9 came when he felt he was just reaching his stride this season. “I felt like I was getting back to where I was in 2009 when we had such a great year, but this knocked the edge off a little bit,” says TMAC. “I’ll get it back. We have the fracture in the L4 vertebrae, but the good news was when Dr. Scott Neff did the MRI he showed me that I had the spine of a twenty year old. The back was straight with no trace of arthritis. For a normal person, this would take six to eight weeks to heal. But Dr. Neff says knowing that I won’t take care of it like a normal person, it may take a little longer.”
TMAC didn’t necessarily enter Saturday thinking he would race through the night. “I really just had intentions of going out and maybe time trialing and getting some points that way,” he says. “I felt pretty good though. We were fast hot-lapping, which built the confidence a little bit. We were fourth quick time trialing, which felt good. We were right there in the hunt. The track was perfect for what I needed. If it was rough and heavy, I’m sure we would have loaded up after time trials.”
He would start fifth in his heat. “I was trying to stay clear of everyone,” says TMAC. “I wasn’t going to bang wheels or get too aggressive. It worked out well. I was happy they were just having three heats and taking six (to the feature). That took some pressure off. Saying that, behind us, we had Tim Kaeding, Josh Schneiderman and Lynton Jeffrey that didn’t make the heat invert. That put some pressure back on, but we were able to finish fifth.”
There was one anxious moment in the heat. “It got a little scary when (Tasker Phillips) spun in front of us,” says TMAC. “I was hoping he wouldn’t try and save it. If he had, I would have been taking another ride. He did a good job and hit the brakes. The track was perfect for me. They had a nice, wide track where the winners in every heat came from sixth. That’s great for the fans and for us. The Dunkin’s always have their work cut out for them with the number of sprint cars we have every week.”
The redraw saw TMAC starting fifth in the main event as well. “The track was perfect for the feature,” he says. “There was a good top and bottom. That’s what we all hope for. I had a great car. It was definitely good for my back and mental state to have a nice, wide, smooth track. I got a feel for it and got more confident with each lap.”
He would stay in the hunt and checker fourth. “Doug and Brian gave me a good racecar,” says TMAC. “Watching the video, I didn’t hit all of my lines and marks, but I’ll get there. I was really happy to come out of there with a fourth place finish, especially considering everything.”
TMAC is getting ready for a big Memorial Day weekend. “I’m looking forward to seeing the new Jackson Speedway,” he says. “I hear they’ve made it a lot wider, so I imagine it will provide some great racing.”
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!
This Week in TMAC History!
On May 13, 2001, TMAC registered quick time of the night (11.16 seconds) and won the feature event at Huset’s Speedway near Brandon, South Dakota. On that night, he topped Wade Nygaard, Jake Peters, Kenny Hansen and Tim Monson. TMAC won his fifth track championship in six years in 2001 by 20 points over Gary DeWall. He won ten features in 18 tries at Huset’s that season.
"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@hotmail.com with "TMAC" in the subject line.
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Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
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