10/21/2015
Terry McCarl
Tuesdays with TMAC (special Wednesday edition) – Saturday Feature Win Caps Trophy Cup!
Tuesdays with TMAC (special Wednesday edition) – Saturday Feature Win Caps Trophy Cup!
(Bill W) October 21, 2015 – Terry McCarl and the Country Builders #88 team capped off another successful trip to the Trophy Cup with a feature win on the final night. The Altoona, Iowa driver ended up third in points for the weekend, adding $8,000 to his $3,500 win. The next action for TMAC will be the Short Track Nationals in Little Rock, Arkansas at I-30 Speedway October 28-31.
Things started well on Thursday night, when TMAC timed in fourth quick in his group. “I really have to thank Don Long from Searsboro Telephone Company and Jaymie Moyle with Moyle engines in Knoxville,” he says. “We have a legal ASCS engine, and a lot of people don’t know that the open headed 360 engines are used out here in California. They make about fifty horsepower more than a legal ASCS motor. We were really happy with our qualifying effort.”
An uncharacteristic rain shower postponed things to Friday afternoon. TMAC would run from sixth to third in his heat. “That was good for us points-wise,” he says. “I was really looking forward to a slick track there for the feature. We started on the bottom (fifth), and we had a decent start. I was passing for fifth, and a guy ran into me and stuck me in the fence. I about dumped it. I recovered somehow.”
TMAC would have another scare. “It broke the right rear shock off the bottom,” he says. “I got in there on the cushion and on the wall. Literally, you can see in the picture that the wing is about four inches off the ground. We were able to save the wings and the car. We ran them the rest of the weekend. Getting out of that was pure luck. We went back out and cruised around. We had a broken jacob’s ladder and we were a lap down. We were just trying to salvage some points (finishing 18th).”
There was work to be done before Friday night’s full program. “DJ Brink was helping us, and Austin and Carson (McCarl) worked hard to get things ready for that night,” says TMAC. “Someone called it the 24 hours of Tulare, and that was about right Friday. The reversed the order of time trials, so we went out late. I just turned a horrible lap (20th quick).”
TMAC would win his heat. “We had a great car in the heat race,” he says. “We started the feature 21st, and worked our way up to eighth. We did a decent job and got by a lot of good cars. At Tulare, you need to be good, aggressive, but you have to survive too. We were able to do that.”
TMAC came into Saturday’s finale 16th overall in points, but started badly in the heat. “I was mad at myself and the situation after the heat,” he says. “Every driver excuse that could happen, happened in that heat. I had no brakes, I ran out of tear-offs, which I never do, and the motor started missing. The night before had messed with the crank trigger on the motor. It started cutting out. Needless to say, we ran last in the heat. I was scared we were going to have to run the B main.”
Instead, he was 19th in points and with the final feature inverted, he would start sixth. “Anything can happen there, and it usually does,” says TMAC. “We’ve had a good record there, and the reason for that is that I feel like it’s a west coast Huset’s. Dusty Zomer looked comfortable too. It may heavy, rough, slick or lay rubber all in one night. You could be on the fence, or down on the berm.”
TMAC would head to the front early. “Early on, we had a good car,” he says. “I was able to get by Dusty there for the lead and we came up on the guys starting at the back. Those guys were the high point guys. When you’re coming up to lap Tim Kaeding and Jason Meyers…guys like that, first of all, they don’t want to be lapped and it’s tough. Sheldon (Haudenschild) was able to get by me there in traffic.”
Great racing ensued. “It was crazy,” says TMAC. “There were cars everywhere. I think I passed Sheldon in turn two and the red came out. I talked to my guys. We thought rubber was starting to show in three and four, so we loosened the car up.”
Not yet. “We took off, and the rubber went away,” says TMAC. “We were so good before, and now we were struggling. Sheldon got away, and Dusty got by me on a restart. We had a lot of restarts. We had another red, and Austin told me to be patient. Sure enough, with about ten to go, I was running third, and it looked like the track was cleaning off down there. We got to Dusty and got by him, and got to Sheldon, and got by him. We were able to win the feature. The car was amazing the last ten laps.”
The feature win was great, and so was the third overall standing in points. It’s always fun to race in California with family and friends. “Of course, it’s always great to come out here and race for the Offill family and Country Builders Construction,” says TMAC. “Matt Wood and Elk Grove Ford were with us for this race as well and we want to thank them. That engine (Moyle) has won a lot for us, and I can’t say enough about it. We’ll head to the Short Track Nationals, and we hope to be lucky enough to win that for Don Long and Jaymie Moyle as well.”
Newly Designed Websites!
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 Month in TMAC History!
TMAC holds two wins on this week in history. Both occurred at Volusia Speedway Park in Volusia, Florida. Both were also 360 USCS shows. In 2000, he won aboard the Mulligan #3 machine ahead of Kenny Adams, Mike Woodring, Sport Allen and Terry Witherspoon. In 2001, he drove the #24 to victory ahead of Terry Gray, Adams, Jim Raptis and Allen.
"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.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Country Builders Construction, Rossie Feed and Grain, Bosma Poultry, SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, DeBerg Concrete, Destiny Motorsports, Searsboro Telephone Company, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Berryhill Racing, Phil and Vivian, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, Vortex Racing, Mastell Brothers Trailer Sales, Hoosier Tire, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, SuperFlow, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Rens Trucking, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, HRP, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Bob and Beulah Elder, Engler Injection, Snap On Tools, Sposato Paint, Winters, Kilani Fender, Inc., DriverWebsites.com, CM Rock, Taco Bravo, Brown and Miller, Pro Shocks, Ben Cook, Bell Helmets, Burnett's Rock and Landscaping, Octane Ink, Morgan Strawberry Farms, Dynasty Stucco, Aurora Rod Ends, Crow Safety, KSE Steering, Snyder Lawn & Landscaping, Strange Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, Waterman Fuel Pumps, Butlerbuilt and Mote Fasteners.
Photo: The Country Builders Construction #88 team celebrates in Victory Lane Saturday at Tulare (M&M Racing Photos)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
