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Tuesdays with TMAC – Quest for First Iowa Title!
(Bill W) August 5, 2008 – 47 Knoxville Nationals have come and gone, but a native of the "Hawkeye State" has captured none. Terry McCarl from Altoona is the best chance for that statistic to be a memory, and he'll start his quest with qualifying on Thursday. Last week, three tilts with the World of Outlaws surrounded a 360 Nationals run with Mark Burch Motorsports.
Last Wednesday, the biggest crowd in 34 Raceway gathered in West Burlington, Iowa to witness its first ever WoO tilt. TMAC had a hand in promotion, a strong qualifying effort was nullified when he was unable to take the green in his heat race. "As a promoter the race went off well," he says. "It's fun going to 34. The rain probably kept the track heavier than we wanted it to be, but that's the way it is. As a driver, it was tough, because we hurt a motor hot lapping, and we had some electrical problems and couldn't run the heat race. We just did our best from the back and moved on."
A 14th place finish wouldn't damper the event for TMAC. "All in all, the fans loved it," he says. "We had a rainstorm on Tuesday night right before our party at Heartland Harley Davidson but the turnout was still tremendous. The area is starved a bit for 410 sprint car racing, and I hope we'll be back!"
A brief foray at the 360 Nationals at Knoxville Raceway on Thursday saw TMAC finish 6th in the feature event and lock Mark Burch's #1m in Saturday night's championship. "It's always fun to race with Mark and Mari," says TMAC. "I have so much on my plate and I shouldn't be running off and doing something like that, but Mark makes it so much fun that I can't turn it down. We were off just a little bit, but we put it in the show for Saturday, and Skip Jackson got to make a little money (Skip drove from 24th to 11th in the 360 Nationals).
Friday night at Wilmot Speedway in Wisconsin was the first time in a new chassis for TMAC. A bit of test and tune saw the team bring home a respectable 12th place finish. "We were good all night," he says. "We put a Maxim together for the first time, and we're trying to learn that. We missed it a little bit, but got it going late in the feature. We were lagging in the middle stages in spots, and I screwed up a little bit too. We found out what the car liked and didn't like, and I think that showed the next night at Beaver Dam."
In Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, things went well, resulting in a sixth place finish and some momentum heading into the "Granddaddy of them all". "We qualified well and won the heat race," says TMAC of his run at Charter Raceway Park. "We ran well in the feature, and I'm just excited to get back with Chuck Merrill from Maxim. We got into Paul McMahan a bit there, and I felt bad about it. I got the car a little loose off the corner. Hopefully, we can turn this sixth place run into some top fives. It was good to get this before the Nationals."
Crazee Combos Continue!
TMAC and Daryn Pittman are continuing their "Crazee Combo" deals at the merchandise trailer! For $25, you can purchase a t-shirt, hat, sticker and coozie from TMAC! Take advantage of the "Crazee Combo" this weekend!
In"Terry"gation
Bill W asks: What are your favorite memories of Nationals as a kid?
TMAC Answers: When I was a kid, there was gambling all over the fairgrounds. My brother Tommy and I would climb in the top of the rafters in the Arizona Barn (at the site of the Dyer-Hudson Hall) and watch guys like Karl Kinser shoot craps and play cards. When I was young, I loaned some money to Billy Robison…that's how demented he is…he gambled it for me and won around $300. He probably took half of it, but we had a ball!
Got a question for TMAC? Send it to us at [email protected], and we may answer it in this section! Put "? for TMAC" in your subject line.
Today in TMAC History!
Wins on August 5 have eluded TMAC, but there was an impressive 2nd place finish in 2005 at the Eldora Speedway. After Danny Lasoski led much of the way, TMAC followed Jac Haudenschild by him and finished in the runner-up spot ahead of Lasoski, Joey Saldana and Tim Kaeding. It was his best finish there, besting a 4th place run with the All Stars in 1997. Since then, he has run second the Knight Before the King's Royal in both 2006 and 2007.
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 [email protected] with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, AmeriCashAdvance.com, DeBerg Concrete and Remington Treestands.
TMAC at the 360 Nationals (Dennis Krieger Imagery)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IAUSA
[email protected]
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