Tuesdays with TMAC – Month of Money Heats Up!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
by Bill W – The month of money is upon us, and World of Outlaws sprint car driver, Terry McCarl, is fresh off of eight top ten finishes in his last eleven races, including a third place finish at Huset’s last week. The money and prestige kicks it up a notch this week with the Brad Doty Classic at the Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio and the King’s Royal at the Eldora Speedway.
The past week started on a very high note, when the WoO ran at Huset’s Speedway on Tuesday night. Terry, the only six-time track champion in the track’s history got off to a shaky start. “We took the green for hot laps, took it high above the cushion into turn one like we always do, and ran right into the fence!” says TMAC. “I thought I was going to flip. The next thing I thought of was how mad the sponsors would be if I flipped it. We broke the Jacob’s ladder off. We had it fixed by time trials.”
Qualifying also started slow, but despite drawing a late pill, TMAC answered the call. “We went out for the first lap, and were like 20th quick. There’s a lot of pressure there when you know you screwed your first lap up. The second lap we were second quick, so it worked out fine.”
After running second in his heat and fourth in the dash, TMAC started outside row two for the 30-lap feature. He led early, but Donny Schatz was on a roll, taking a lead he would never relinquish. “We were just too tight most of the race,” explains the Altoona, Iowa ace. “We led it for a time, but when we got in traffic, I lost my air and the other guys (Schatz and Craig Dollansky) got by. I think Dollansky was definitely the fastest car there early.”
Despite a number of cautions, TMAC could not make a serious move on the leaders. He was pleased with the track conditions and the car as a whole. “We had a good night. We were in position to win. They did a really good job with the racetrack. It didn’t slick off near as bad as I thought it would. A lot of times, with 24 cars out there, it slicks off bad. Greg Rubin works that track and did a great job.”
A late red in the event allowed the crew of the Biggame Treestands #24 to make some adjustments, but it was too late to improve on a third place finish. “The red actually helped us a bit later on. We made some adjustments. I always feel great when we get to play in front of our sponsors, and a lot are located around Huset’s. To get a great finish there made it a great night!”
Saturday the WoO traveled to the I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri. The night quickly became one that TMAC and the team would like to forget. “We were off,” he says. “We had motor problems early on. We tried to fix it, but we weren’t able to run the heat race and that got us off track.”
Not running the heat put TMAC in the B. A sixth place finish barely got the car in feature event, and after starting last (24th), he coasted to a 19th place finish. “We were just way off in the feature. I can’t put my finger on what was wrong. We just have to move on,” he says.
A Classic/Royal Week Awaits in Ohio
The Brad Doty Classic awaits the WoO at Lima on Wednesday. The event is being run for the second year in a row at the ¼ mile banked oval, and is always full of surprise entries and exciting finishes. TMAC is coming off a strong 2006 showing there. “We were good at the Doty last year, but we were top five at Pevely too last year, so you never know!” he says.
The series will take a day off before heading to Eldora. The high-banked ½ mile will host the “Knight Before the King’s Royal” on Friday, and the $50,000 to win King’s Royal on Saturday. The King’s Royal will be televised Sunday on ESPN2 at noon EST.
Austin On a Roll
Austin McCarl won two Micro-Sprint features at English Creek Speedway south of Knoxville last weekend. That makes three in a row for Austin, and five wins on the season in the #7x. Carson McCarl returned to racing action, after spending some time with dad on the road. Unfortunately, some motor problems kept him sidelined.
In"Terry"gation
Craig “Cowboy” Smith from San Martin, CA asks: Do you remember taking out Craig Smith in a World of Outlaws race at San Jose Speedway in the 90’s? What does it feel like to crash a buddy in a race?
TMAC answers: Craig and I are really good friends. It was the heat race during a WoO show, I was a little wound up, and my dad was in town helping me. He and I got together at the start of the heat race. He got upside down and flipped pretty good. I think we both crashed. When his crew got to him, he said, “I’m o.k., go see how Terry is!” When they came running to me, let’s just say my first reaction was not for Craig’s well-being! We still laugh about that today!
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