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Tuesdays with TMAC – King’s Royal Week!

Tuesdays with TMAC – King’s Royal Week!

(Bill W) July 14, 2009 – A busy weekend of racing saw three podium finishes in four tries for Terry McCarl and the Big Game Treestands #24 team. A third place run with the Outlaws and two charges from the back of the pack on Knoxville’s Twin Features night were the highlights. This weekend, the Altoona, Iowa driver aims for one of sprint car racing’s biggest prizes, the $50,000 King’s Royal at the Eldora Speedway.

The week started last Wednesday when the World of Outlaws visited the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. TMAC established quick time of the night, then transferred through his heat race to the feature. “I was happy with quick time,” he says. “People were asking me if I was upset about Austin crashing (in the same heat). It’s hard to be upset when you didn’t see it. I was just happy to hear he was o.k. He just made a ‘young guy’ mistake and got over the cushion.”

A second place run in the dash set TMAC up on the first row, but he would settle for third behind Donny Schatz and Joey Saldana at the checkers. “To win an Outlaw show, you have to be on in every aspect from the beginning to the end,” he explains. “We were almost there, but we were just the slightest bit loose. That was the difference in being up front and being third. I felt we did the best for where our car was. Schatz and Saldana are really on right now.”

Another quick time came on Saturday night during Twin Features Night at Knoxville. “We went for quick time because it really meant something (heads up start in the feature),” says TMAC. “We had the motor we used at the Outlaw show, so we were ready to go. We’re always thinking towards the Nationals, and we came out later and did a good job.”

Unfortunately, TMAC let his pole starting spot get away, by running sixth and out of a transfer in his heat. “I screwed up by not getting out on the track before the heat, and the car was way loose,” he says. “We were just hanging onto the last transfer, but after the restart we were messing around with Calvin (Landis) and Kaley Gharst did a good job and got by us. It was a shame, because the car was great the rest of the night.”

After winning the B, TMAC charged from 16th all the way up to second in the first feature. “I think we were definitely the fastest car on the racetrack,” he says. “I’m just having a heck of a time trying to win one of these local shows at Knoxville. Winning the Outlaw show makes it a little easier to take, but it’s tough to come from the back, and I have to blame myself for the heat race.”

With most of the field inverted, he would start 13th in the second event. By the end, he was third. “The track was gone for most of the race,” he says. “We got going pretty good and I got to battling with Scott Winters. I was in front of Johnny (Herrera), and then the track started laying rubber and he got by us. He ended up getting us by an inch or two. It was good to see Kerry (Madsen) win. He’s had so much bad luck lately. He’s a good racecar driver, and he deserves better than how things have been going. I have a ton of respect for his brother and the whole gang. They bleed sprint car racing and remind me of myself and a lot of the guys I grew up around.”

The WoO raced at Cedar Lake Speedway near New Richmond, Wisconsin on Sunday night. “We were second quick by an eyelash,” says TMAC of the night. “I really like Cedar Lake, and we still hold the track record there. The car was fabulous through the heat (3rd) and the dash (2nd). I hit the wall hard in the dash with about three to go and had to block to hold second. Up until then, I thought we had a shot to win. That bent the rear-end and the right rear wheel. All our time was used to change the driveline from the motor plate back, and I don’t think we totally got everything set square after that.”

Excitement is building for this weekend. TMAC will hit the Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio for the first time since his win there during Ohio Speedweek in June. $50,000 is on the line for the King’s Royal. He will compete both Friday and Saturday at Eldora, and then head to the Lernerville Speedway near Sarver, Pennsylvania for the Silver Cup on Tuesday night. “I believe that I have the best ride in sprint car racing, and we’re going to Eldora to win it,” he says. “I think we have a good shot. We’re doing some motor work this week to get ready.”

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!

Front Row Challenge/Ultimate Challenge Tickets On Sale!

Order your tickets now for the $10,000 to win Front Row Challenge, and $15,000 to win Ultimate Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. 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 10 and 11 events will be $25!

For more information on the Challenges, visit www.OskyChallenges.com!

In"Terry"gation

Howard Meyer from Indianapolis, IN asks: What has been the key to your recent successes at Eldora?

TMAC Answers: Brian Kemenah helped me there a few years ago with a basic setup, and I have finessed it a bit from there to match my driving style. We were really out to lunch when we first went Outlaw racing there. I hadn’t raced there much. I love running up on the fence where you have to keep it straight. It just suits my driving style so much. It was great that we got our first win there in June.

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 Week in TMAC History!

TMAC has no wins on July 14, but July 16, 2004, he picked up two in one night at Jackson Speedway. He won the NMRA 410 feature that evening, besting Jake Peters, Mark Dobmeier, Gregg Bakker and Mike Moore. He drove the Mark Burch #1m Banana Wagon to a 360 NMRA win over Peters for a second time, Dusty Zomer, Gordy Vogelaar and Travis Whitney.

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

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