Tuesdays with TMAC – Rumors of My Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated!
(Bill W) September 29, 2009 – Sprint car driver Terry McCarl would like to make a point that the rumors of his demise are greatly exaggerated. Today, he and car owner Tod Quiring are announcing their plans to compete again in 2010. The Altoona, Iowa driver was victorious on Sunday, picking up his first career win at the Terre Haute Action Track. After leading the World of Outlaws at Eldora on Friday night, a flat tire derailed him, but he plans to head to Pennsylvania this weekend with confidence on his side, knowing he had the fastest car last weekend.
Rumors had been circulating surrounding the successful Big Game Treestands #24 team owned by Tod Quiring. “I’m proud to announce that I’ve signed to drive the Big Game Treestands #24 next year,” says TMAC. “At this point, we’re going to finish our schedule out this year and decide what we will do. We may run the full World of Outlaws tour next year, or we may not. Tod has given us the option. We may run a similar schedule to this year, and we may include some non-wing and 360 stuff as well. We’ll have to take a look at the schedules for next year and see what they offer. It’s exciting. We’ve been together for over twelve years now.”
The team was a bit shorthanded last weekend. “Brandon (Ikenberry) left for the weekend to be with family in Kansas, and Greg (McCormick) had his sister’s wedding in South Dakota,” says TMAC. “That left us a little thin on crew, but we still had one of our crewmen, Adam Slack, and Roger Leesekamp, who was nice enough to help us out.”
Terre Haute, Indiana was rainy on Saturday, necessitating the Sunday show at the Action Track for the All Star Circuit of Champions. It was a good start for TMAC. “It was a difficult racetrack, because it was basically a day show,” he says. “We were quick time early, but ended up third when a couple of cars went late and it was laying some rubber. At least we were in the redraw. We pretty much dominated the heat race. We started in the third row, and ended up winning by about a straightaway.”
TMAC redrew his feature starting spot outside row two. “I was confident we had the fastest racecar, but on that kind of track, the fastest guy doesn’t always win,” he says. “The key for me was getting ahead of Randy Hannagan, who was starting beside me. If he beat me to the spot in turn one, it would have been tough to get around him. There were a couple of young guys up front who were fast with David Gravel and Travis Rutz, but I thought the key would be getting ahead of Randy.”
Able to get by Hannagan for the third spot, TMAC would need a restart to get by Rutz. “We ran down David in traffic, and one time I thought I had a shot at him down in three and four on the high side, but a lapped car washed in front of us,” he says. “David did a really good job getting through traffic. I thought he was going to win the thing, until he started smoking and the motor let go on him.”
A scary crash on the frontstretch involving Rutz would end the event, and handed the win to TMAC, who assumed the lead after Gravel’s misfortune. Rutz was still listed in critical condition, but showing some positive signs at press time. “That’s when the red came out for Travis’s crash on the frontstretch,” he says. “They came around and told us the fence was too damaged to continue, so we were happy we won the race. Then we heard Travis was injured pretty badly, so that definitely took priority. You never want to see anyone hurt, and our thoughts and prayers are with him.”
Friday’s run at Eldora came because of a rainout in Illinois. “Jacksonville raining out gave us the opportunity to go to Eldora,” says TMAC. “It rained all afternoon, so we saw a different Eldora than we ever have. It was heavy and rough, and I’m proud of the way we adapted to it. It was fun. There was a time when I didn’t look forward to going there, but now it’s one of my favorites.”
After qualifying tenth quick, TMAC settled outside row one of his heat. He finished second, but it wasn’t easy. “We had a bad start, and Jason (Sides) and Steve (Kinser) got by us,” he says. “I moved way above the cushion once we got going, and ran Steve down. I was disappointed that he blew his motor, because I think we could have passed him anyway. In any event, that put us in the top two.”
After a third place run in the dash, TMAC was ready for the feature. He showed right away, that he was the car to beat. “We made some changes in the gearing, and the car was awesome,” he says. “It was one of those nights where I was just having fun. We had a great battle early with Tim Shaffer and Sammy (Swindell). We were able to drive by both on the bottom. The car was working down there, or on the wall. It didn’t matter.”
TMAC was in familiar territory this year, out front at Eldora before the luck expired. “We were rolling along there really well in the lead, but we ended up blowing a tire,” he says. “I was disappointed, because we love winning at Eldora. That would have been our third this year, but that’s racing.”
Like last weekend, the team will watch the weather. Plan A is going to the Williams Grove Open at the famous half-mile in central Pennsylvania. Plan B may include Jacksonville and Farmington.
Websites for the McCarl Gang!
Driverwebsites.com has developed websites for the McCarl boys. Check out the new look of www.TerryMcCarl.com, and check out the newly developed www.AustinMcCarl.com and www.CarsonMcCarl.com!
In"Terry"gation
Harry Franklin from Rochester, MN asks: You said you were a Vikings fan growing up. How about now? Are there still teams you follow, or is it tough with the racing?
TMAC Answers: I still follow the Vikings closer than any team. They broke my heart so many times as a kid that I’ve backed off at times. To me, Brett Favre is a huge asset to them now. The thing that’s great about him, is he knows how to win. He’s a winner. He showed that again on Sunday. He’s over 40, but people have to realize with a running back like Adrian Peterson, he doesn’t have to throw but twenty times a game. Tod Quiring and Evan Bosma are huge Vikings fans too, so we’re already making plans to go to the Super Bowl!
Got a question for TMAC? Send it to us at sprntcar@iowatelecom.net, and we may answer it in this section! Put "? for TMAC" in your subject line.
This Day in TMAC History!
On this day in 1990, TMAC was triumphant in the Gary Patterson Classic at the San Jose Fairgrounds in California. The $2,500 win came aboard the Weldon Offill #88 ahead of Tim Green, Jason McMillen, Paul McMahan and Ronnie Day. The win capped off a season that saw three victories in San Jose.
Website Updates
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 sprntcar@iowatelecom.net with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, AmeriCashAdvance.com, DeBerg Concrete and Remington Treestands.
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@iowatelecom.net