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Tuesdays with TMAC – Runnin' on Empty!
(Bill W) April 15, 2008 – Sprint cars don't run on an empty tank. Terry McCarl tested that theory last Friday night at Eldora Speedway. It may have been easier to take, had he not had one of the fastest World of Outlaws sprinters assembled at the high-banked 1/2 mile speedplant. While running third with 1 ½ laps to go, only fumes remained in the Big Game Treestands #24.
When sprinters run out of fuel, the question of playing games with the fuel tank are brought up. TMAC puts those questions to rest. "I'm not mad at anyone," he says. "Just so people know, I always top my fuel off. Always…at every track…especially Eldora. We had a couple things going against us. We were the third car to push off, and the motor was running pretty rich. I was leaning down (fuel) on all the yellows, but we were running close to the front, and the guys out front are really hard on the gas."
Maybe TMAC had the right idea when he first regularly competed at "The Big E". "I remember when I first started going to Eldora a few years ago…I had the big tank on," he remembers. "I was walking through the pits and no one had them on. I saw (Guy) Forbrook and asked him why. He told me as soon as the first guy runs out of fuel, they'll call for a fuel stop. He said the trick was, not to be the first guy to run out of fuel. He was right."
Fuel stops are as evil to TMAC as any fan. "I always seem to have a lot of fuel left," he says. "At some of the fuel stops we've had, we've still had seven or eight gallons of fuel, and that is bull! I hate fuel stops. I don't think there should have been one at Eldora. Let drivers run out of fuel. I can tell you the next time we're there, we'll have the big tank on, and they should make them mandatory. I wish they'd set the bar high as far as laps or time on fuel stops. If there are one or two fuel stops a year, that's plenty. With things like this, guys will police themselves."
After timing in 12th quick and winning his heat from the pole going away, TMAC was ready for the dash. "We started the dash third, and we had a great start," he remembers. "(Crew Chief) Troy Renfro really had the motor taking off great. Eldora is a tough place to do that. I had a really good run on (Jason) Meyers, and tried to go underneath him. I got down in the flat part and lost my momentum and ended up losing a couple of spots."
He was able to recover a spot due to the misfortune of Jason Meyers, and started fourth in a 30-lap event that would be inundated with a number of cautions. TMAC describes his slow start. "Coming through the green flag, I tried to run up and grab the cushion real quick and Kerry Madsen did a great job of shooting through the middle, leaving me hanging going into turn one. That put us back to seventh right away."
Undeterred, TMAC started his run forward from there. "We came back well," he says. "We got by Kerry again, and ran (Craig) Dollansky down. At that point, the car started vibrating pretty bad. I had to back out; I couldn't even go half-throttle. We were in deep trouble, and I wasn't going to finish. Then the yellow came out, I think for Joey (Saldana). It must have been coming from the tires, because when they cooled down, the car was fine."
Restarting fifth, he battled with Craig Dollansky while moving forward. "We kind of followed Craig up through there into third," he says. "On the second to last restart, we were behind Dollansky and (Donny) Schatz. I don't know if Craig's motor stumbled or what, but Donny and I had to swerve to miss him, and I got out of the gas and lost a spot to Shane Stewart. We were able to drive back by him into third after that."
TMAC explains the end of his night. "On the last restart (with two laps to go), thank goodness it didn't stumble at the cone, because we would have piled everyone up. But when we got into turn one the power went down and we were out of fuel (he was officially scored 14th). I was excited because we ran well and Troy and I keep getting better, but it stinks because we lost a lot of money and points in the process. That dropped us out of the top five (6th). We were as fast as anyone, and that's something we can build on."
TMAC's success at Eldora continues. "I think unless we've had a problem, the last three years, we've been in the top five at the end of the night at Eldora. I enjoy that track, and look forward to it. I like to run on the fence, but we've also found a good setup through the middle too. It's about momentum there. Restarts are a real chess game. If you go high you can get slid like Donny did by Dollansky (for the win). You can block, but lose some momentum, there's a lot going on there depending on how your car is working."
Next up for TMAC and the rest of the Outlaws is the Tri-State Speedway near Haubstadt, Indiana. "If you're a fan and can pick a race to go to, it would be Haubstadt," says TMAC. "If you're hungry for a race right now, go to Haubstadt. Tommy Helfrich does as good a job as anyone on track prep. The action is always pretty tight and pretty wild on the quarter-mile there. It's a lot of fun as a driver too. You're banging wheels, banging the fence in close quarters. As a fan, it's definitely one of the places I'd be!"
The McCarl/Pittman merchandise trailer continues to offer "Crazy Combos"! $25 for a t-shirt, hat, sticker and coozie! Be sure to visit them!
Austin's Weekend
Austin McCarl plans on campaigning (weather pending) the Janet Holbrook #17 sprint car at Nebraska Raceway Park near Greenwood on Friday night in ASCS-Midwest vs. ASCS-Northern Plains action. He'll then run the opener for the Sprint Invaders Association on Saturday night at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa.
2008 FRC/UC Tickets!
Order your Front Row Challenge and Ultimate Challenge tickets right now! Call McTwo Promotions Tuesday-Thursday beginning from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 515 957-0020 to secure your seats for these popular events!
Infield Party Passes for the August 4 and 5 events will be $20 in advance or $25 the day of the race!
For more information on the Challenges or on TMAC Motorsports, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com.
In"Terry"gation
KingMcCarl24 asks: Are there any tracks on the WoO schedule that give you more trouble than others, and why?
TMAC Answers: Lebanon Valley Speedway (West Lebanon, NY). It's a really fast track with a lot of bank on it, but it's got paperclip corners. The dirt is really funny, almost like coal dust. It's a really fine and black dirt. It's kind of treacherous because it is so fast, but then you've got to get the thing turned in those paperclip corners. If you get up high, you'll get into the fine powder and smack the fence. Danny Smith, who has been around forever, flipped out of the park during time trials last year. That's how tricky it can be. It seems like one guy can dominate there each year, and the rest of us are left in the dust. I saw Steve Kinser do it, and Schatz do it, and last year it was Jason Meyers.
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!
TMAC won the first ever race in the history of the ASCS-Midwest series at Nebraska Raceway Park on this date in 2005. After having to pass Don Droud Jr. to win the B main, TMAC started the Mark Burch Motorsports #1m in the 16th starting spot, and aided by a caution flag, took the lead from Brian Brown on the 16th go-around. At the finish, he bested Billy Alley, Brown, Mike Chadd and Jason Martin.
Website Updates
Photos have been added. See some from Austin at Eagle in the "Austin and Carson" gallery. Also check out the "Terry McCarl" and "At the Races" galleries for a few more!
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, Bosma Poultry, Inc., AmeriCashAdvance.com and Remington Treestands.
(Funderburk Racing Photos)
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
Monroe, IAUSA
[email protected]
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