Tuesdays with TMAC – High Plains Drifter!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
by Bill W– Word on the street has sprint car driver Terry McCarl quitting his day job to join the actor’s guild. He would not deny or confirm anything after an opportunity presented itself in Dodge City. “They’re talking about redoing the TV show ‘Gunsmoke’,” says TMAC. “I’m hoping to get a job as Festus Haggen. I’d like to be Marshal Dillon, but I don’t think that would go over too well. I’ll have to see who plays Miss Kitty before any announcements will be made.” The Altoona, Iowa driver has taken to the ESPN2 cameras as of late, but his results on the track with the World of Outlaws are putting his move to Hollywood on hold…at least for now.
The racing started last Wednesday at the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia. TMAC took to the ½ mile knowing that the motor under the hood had seen its better days. “The motor we had in was a little bit tired,” he says. “We were going to try to squeak one more night out of it. We qualified 16th, which normally is about perfect, but we were one car shy of four heats, so instead of being on the front row of the heat, we were in row three.”
Managing a transfer to the main event by finishing fifth in his heat, TMAC knew his car was getting better. “We had a good car. I like when we do smart things mechanically. The motor was running alright, but not that great early. All night long, we got the car and motor better.” Starting outside of row eight for the big show, he managed to surge forward on a track that isn’t always conducive to passing. “We had a good car for the feature, and to go from 16th to 10th was a good finish for us. To get a top ten there was respectable,” says TMAC.
Pointing all tow vehicles West towards the High Plains, the WoO held a two-day stop at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas on Friday and Saturday. The track has always been a challenge to get a grip on for TMAC. “We’ve always run well at Dodge City, but I’ve never been real super-comfortable with the car and I don’t know why. I guess it’s kind of a strange track for me. We were solid all weekend at Dodge. I think if we would have drawn a little better (he drew a six) for the dash on Friday, we would have run a little better.”
Track prep for the 3/8 mile oval was a challenge, as it usually is this time of year. “It’s hot right now,” says TMAC. “It was around 100 degrees and windy. It’s really tough to do track preparation with those conditions. They redid the track after the heats on Friday, which was great, and they did such a good job…we didn’t touch the tires or anything.”
McCarl timed in 8th quick, putting him on the front of a heat race in which he won. A seventh place finish in the dash set him up inside row four for a main event in which he would finish where he started. “Come feature time, it was a bit difficult to pass, because it was fast. I’d rather have that any day over a tire-eating track. We were respectable again, the car was good,” he says.
Saturday was even better. “The track was perfect for the feature on Saturday night,” says TMAC. “There was a huge storm coming in before time trials so they didn’t water it much. They did the right thing. We got through time trials with it a little dry. The guys who went out late were at a bit of a disadvantage, but Daryn (Pittman) went out late and was eighth quick, so if you had your car right, you could still get through there. We managed fourth quick, which is good.”
A fourth place heat run, and a sixth place finish in the dash put TMAC outside row three for the feature. From the start, he was on his game. When the green flag fell at the outset, McCarl immediately jumped into third, and that’s where he would finish. “Come feature time, the track had a good bottom and a good top up to the fence,” he remembers. “If a guy had his car right, it was a great track to race on. We had a great start. I think we were a bit better than (second place) Joey (Saldana) at the beginning, and on some of the yellows I tried to get by him. With where we are in the points, we’re going to try and go for wins and not worry where we finish after that. I almost lost third to Tim Shaffer when he slid me on one of the restarts…but we got back by him.”
Overall, the results were pleasing to the driver of the Big Game Treestands #24. “We had a good car. I thought we could get Joey a time or two, but he was a little better than me. Daryn was gone from the word go. Unfortunately, for the fans it may have been a better race if he didn’t start on the front row. He definitely had the better car, and blew us away on every restart. Late in the race, I found a little something on the bottom of three and four, and I think we would have had second with another half lap. Unfortunately, it was 30 laps instead of 31!”
Things have been going in the right direction for TMAC Motorsports. “My car was working the best it had all weekend in the Saturday night feature, and that’s definitely what you want. I feel like if I drive well, we mechanic the car right, and we do our best, we have to feel good about that weekend!”
The fan turnout was outstanding. “Dodge City is a real nice facility. The fans are awesome out there! They don’t get to see the 410 Outlaw sprint cars very often. Some of the people out there use the word Outlaws to describe the 360s around there. I’m sorry, but the name Outlaws to me is synonymous with the World of Outlaws.”
Last night turned long after a couple of delays for track prep at Rapid Speedway in Rapid City, South Dakota. The results were again good for TMAC, as he turned in the 7th quick time of the night (“no-man’s land” according to Terry), and charged from 15th to 9th in windy feature conditions to register his sixth consecutive top ten finish on the 3/8 mile oval.
TV Time
Joining Tony Bruce Jr. and Jason Martin, who are both natives of Liberal, Kansas, TMAC participated in a couple of skits for the ESPN2 broadcast. The first took place on Front Street where a sheriff warned the Outlaws about coming to town. Taking note of McCarl and his shotgun, the sheriff eyed him sternly and said, “You’re already on probation McCarl!!”
The second skit involved a stagecoach ride and ended in Terry asking the driver if he wanted to drive Martin’s #36 a little later at the raceway. Promoting the sport is always important to TMAC, and this was no different. “It’s one of those deals that’s kind of corny to go do, but it’s fun. We did a lot of stuff for that, but they obviously only use a little bit of it. If it makes for a better show, or more fun for the fans, then it’s well worth it,” he says.
Another Busy Week
Two North Dakota tracks await the WoO on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, they will take on the locals led by Mark Dobmeier at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. Dobmeier has won six of the eight events he’s entered on the 4/10 high-banked oval this season, and he scored a win in the Rush Racing #8 against the WoO last October at Wilmot Speedway. Saturday, the Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo will host the traveling band. The race on the ½ mile banked oval will be televised Sunday at 12:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2.
On Sunday, the WoO will travel to Cedar Lake Speedway near the Apple River in Somerset, Wisconsin to tackle the 3/8 mile high-banked oval.
In"Terry"gation
Randy in Tampa, FL asks: Is it true you used to be a disco duck at the skating rink, spinning records at the sock hops before you got into racing?
TMAC answers: Mr. Randy Burnett really shows his age and not mine with this question about sock hops. There is some truth and some fiction in this question. I worked at a skating rink (Skate East in Des Moines) for about five years. Skate East was one of my first uniform sponsors. Skating was my form of racing back in the days. We went to Florida, California, Michigan and all over the place. My four-man relay team could have won Nationals easy, but I broke my shoulder racing go-karts. Needless to say, my teammates were not happy with me! If duck means “DJ” then that’s what I was, and how I met my wife.
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.
Did you know?
TMAC is a 2-time winner of the Jerry Richert Memorial held annually in September at the Cedar Lake Speedway. On September 6, 2003, he won ahead of Kerry Madsen, Ricky Logan, Brooke Tatnell and Danny Smith. On September 11, 2004 he bested Tatnell, Jason Solwold, Travis Whitney and Mike Reinke.
TMAC also has two wins at the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. On June 3, 1999 he beat Jim Lambert Jr., Jason Sides, Lou Kennedy Jr. and Shane Carson in NCRA action. A NOSA race on August 22, 2003 saw him best Wade Nygaard, Brad Pake, Logan and Mark Dobmeier.
Website
Some behind the scenes photos, including TMAC testing ESPN2 “Jackslash” Sean Buckley’s professionalism can be found here by clicking on “Dodge City Raceway Park”: http://www.luvracin.com/03states/Kansas.htm
Keep up to date with McCarl Motorsports at www.TerryMcCarl.com. We keep it fresh for TMAC fans!
Front Row/Ultimate Challenge Update
Order your tickets for the Musco Lighting Front Row Challenge and Searsboro Telephone Ultimate Challenge today! Call McTwo Promotions Tuesday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 515 957-0020 to order!
Infield Party Passes are $20 in advance or $25 the day of the race!
For more information on the Challenges or on TMAC Motorsports, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com.
"Tuesdays with TMAC"
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TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, Bosma Poultry, Inc., AmeriCash Advance, and Ground Max Hunting Blinds.
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