8/28/2018
Terry McCarl
Tuesdays with TMAC – Plenty to Celebrate after Knoxville Season Championship!
Des Moines, IA (August 28, 2018) – Wrapping up the Knoxville Raceway season with a 6th in the A-main and a runner-up finish to son Austin in the 410 point standings, TMAC and the McCarl family had much to celebrate last Saturday night! As an encore, Terry and the TMAC Motorsports team will head north to Jackson Motorplex for three nights of action at the Jackson 360 Nationals, joined by his son Carson, who just wrapped up the Rookie of the Year title at Knoxville in his first full season of 410 competition.
Saturday night got started with something new for the veteran driver from Altoona, Iowa. “The power outage on Saturday was a first for me at Knoxville,” said TMAC. “I’m sure it’s happened before, but how long it lasted was definitely something new.”
The delay stemming from the power outage caused the Knoxville Raceway crew to make the decision to line the heats up based off the pill draw that normally sets the qualifying order. Starting his heat from the outside of the second row, McCarl put on a dominant performance. “We used our new car on Saturday that I hadn’t been able to quite get comfortable in, but after some changes it felt great in our heat,” said Terry. “The track was wide and great for racing all night, which allowed us to get to the front and win our heat by a straightaway.”
Mirroring his heat, Terry would again start from the outside of row two and get a great jump on the opening start, only to have it brought back. “The initial start we had in the A-main was great,” said McCarl. “We were battling for the lead through the first turns, but the caution came out for some guys getting together back in the pack.”
The second start went quite differently, as McCarl and the SnowPlow Snow Pushers #24 lost a spot before he even drove under the waving green flag. Knowing where he needed to finish to maintain second in the point standings, TMAC ran a conservative race after a close-call early. “There was pretty big hole entering turn one, closer to a mogul actually, that was pretty treacherous,” said McCarl. “I hit it on the third lap and almost flipped; Austin was right behind me at that point and he was pretty surprised I didn’t get upside down.”
“The car was pretty loose; between that and the near miss early, I decided to go pretty conservative. I knew that I had to finish within three spots of Brooke [Tatnell] to finish second in the points and that’s what we did.”
Taking the checkered flag in 6th secured TMAC the runner-up spot in the point standings, but it was the one driver scoring more points that caused quite the celebration for the McCarl clan. “Austin winning the championship was great and we had a big celebration after the races,” said Terry. “Lori had a cake to celebrate Austin’s championship and Carson finishing the year in the top ten in points and earning Rookie of the Year!”
Caught in a “proud father” moment, TMAC talked about how great it was to have Austin get his Knoxville Raceway championship to add to his and Carson’s. “Carson won the 305 championship a few years back, so with Austin winning this year, all three of us have won a track championship at Knoxville,” said Terry. “My dad nearly had one too, finishing second one year to Roger Rager, though he did build the cars of the top three drivers; we’ll claim that as a manufacturer’s championship!”
With a lot of family on-hand to take in the festivities, the post-race celebrations lasted quite a while. “We had a ton of family there to celebrate with pizza and cake, and we had a blast,” said TMAC. “I told Austin that you really want to take time and enjoy the wins, because you lose way more than you win in this sport.”
With the Knoxville season done and dusted, Terry and Carson will make their way north to Jackson Motorplex this weekend for three nights of action at the Jackson 360 Nationals. “Carson and I are excited to race at Jackson this weekend and to have 3 straight nights close to a handful of our sponsors,” said Terry. “Bosma Poultry, Simplot Grower Solutions, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, Rens Trucking, DeBerg Concrete, and 212 are all up in that area; to run a few nights up near them will be fun!”
Don’t miss one of your last chances of the year to grab some McCarl merchandise, as the TMAC Motorsports t-shirt trailer will be at the track all weekend in Jackson. “We’ll have deals on shirts from all three of us; nothing better than a fresh race shirt for the school year!” said Terry.
Sponsorship Opportunity
While the Knoxville Raceway season is now complete, the TMAC Motorsports team is far from finished with their year and there are still sponsorship opportunities available; secure your spot on the top wing for a night or for the remainder of the season beginning with this weekend’s Jackson 360 Nationals!
McCarl Family 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!
"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 broegracewriting@gmail.com with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank their great list of partners for the 2018 season: SnowPlow Snow Pushers – www.TheSnowPlow.com, KC Breweries, Bosma Poultry, Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises, TW Vance Trucking, Terra Realty, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, Simplot Grower Solutions, Rens Trucking, Hoosier Tire, Don Long’s Searsboro Telephone, Octane Ink, Destiny Motorsports, Country Builders Construction, 212 The Boiling Point, DeBerg Concrete, AL Drive Line, All Pro Cylinder Heads, All Star Performance, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Aurora Rod Ends, Bell Helmets, Berryhill Racing, Bob and Beulah Elder, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Burnett's Rock and Landscaping, Butlerbuilt, CM Rock, Crow Safety, DriverWebsites.com, Dynasty Stucco, Engler Injection, HRP, JLT Ent., Kilani Fender, Inc., KSE Steering, Mote Fasteners, NutriShop – Maple Grove, MN, Phil and Vivian, Pro Shocks, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Scribner Plastics, Silva Chassis, Snap On Tools, Snyder Lawn & Landscaping, Sposato Paint, Strange Performance, and Winters.
Photo Credit: Chuck Stowe
Morgan Broeg
West Des Moines, IA USA
broegracewriting@gmail.com
Twitter: @BroegW
