Tuesdays with TMAC – Another WoO Victory
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
by Bill W – World of Outlaws sprint car pilot, Terry McCarl, struck gold last Saturday night at the K-C Raceway near Chillicothe, Ohio! The high-banks of K-C are to TMAC’s liking, as he scored another win in front of the ESPN2 cameras, with a late race pass of WoO point leader, Donny Schatz.
“Rolling out of the box, it was one of those nights that I felt really comfortable,” says TMAC of his winning night. “The motor was really running for me. We went out to hot lap, and I was just having fun all night long. I was in a great mood and so was the crew!”
Registering the 5th quick time of the night put him inside row two in the first heat. “We were able to win the heat race from the second row,” he says. “In the dash, we were trying some stuff, got back to tenth, and by the end of it, we went to the top and got by (Paul) McMahan and Tim Shaffer. We learned a lot in the dash about what we could do, and what we shouldn’t do, and that really helped us for the feature.”
The eighth place dash finish lined him up outside row four for the 40-lap feature. “Right off the bat, we had a great car in the feature. To me, K-C is kind of like a mini-Eldora or maybe a bit like Huset’s (Speedway in South Dakota). I ran second to Donny there a couple years ago and I won a local show there in 1999. I don’t know how much that helped us, but the confidence was there.”
A series of caution flags slowed the event considerably, and TMAC’s progress forward was slowed every time. Around lap 30, he moved by Steve Kinser for second, and set his sights on Schatz, who was leading. On lap 33, he headed to the middle of the high-banked surface to loop around the leader for good. Despite leading the rest of the way, he was under constant pressure from Schatz.
The TV cameras caught TMAC waving at Schatz while passing him. Most sprint car fans are aware that the cameras need not be on for TMAC to make gestures at another driver. For him, it is just being TMAC and he jokes about the exchange with Schatz caught on camera, including a post-race kiss of the defending WoO champion. “He’s just so damn serious all the time…it’s not that I’m not in the car, but I like to get wound up and mess with some of these guys sometimes. It’s just like I said on the air, he and I are friends and he’s darn hard to beat right now!”
Crossing the Border and Back
For the first time in over 25 years, the WoO visited our neighbor to the north, Canada, last Wednesday. The Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario and owner, Glenn Styres, were the hosts. For TMAC and the rest of the drivers, just getting across the border was not easy, but once they did, it was a good experience.
“It was a fun atmosphere,” says TMAC. “I was really excited about being there. I wish it would have been two days rather than having to go up there for one and come right back, especially with the customs hassles. We had some problems getting across, but the customs guys were nice enough to let us through because there were so many of us. It wasn’t just a walk in the park, though.”
Racing-wise, the TMAC Motorsports team had a rough night. “We kind of missed the boat in qualifying (25th). We actually had a great run going in the feature. We started 23rd and got up to about 14th. We were run into, and we spun out,” says TMAC. Finishing one spot out of a transfer in the heat race had sent the Biggame Treestands #24 to the B main. After running third, the early charge was negated, but TMAC recovered for a 17th place finish.
A return across the border saw the WoO in action Friday night at the I-96 Speedway near Lake Odessa, Michigan. Bad luck struck again come feature-time, but TMAC felt comfortable in the car. “We were fast there. (Crew Chief) Tyler (Swank) and I are starting to really gel. The bottom-line is, people are just looking at the way you finish. Everybody has an excuse why they lose, but no one really cares why.”
“We were really good at I-96. We started 14th, and on a restart, I tried to go between (Jac) Haudenschild and Rob Chaney, and hooked a rut a little bit, and flattened the left front tire and bent the drive link. So we had to go in and fix that. I still thought we had a shot at a top ten, but we got a hole in the right rear tire, so that was that.” The incident with Chaney happened in a battle for eighth and later in the event. Despite the tire troubles, he did recover for a 16th place finish.
FRC/UC
Maybe TMAC should give Steve Kinser or Tony Stewart a kiss…on Monday, Terry received a call from Schatz that he would be a part of the Front Row Challenge on Monday, August 6 at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa. “This is shaping up to be the best year ever, talent-wise, for both nights (FRC and UC). To have Kasey Kahne and now Donny signed on, is big for us. It’s also the best year from a sponsor standpoint as we’re giving away a lot of stuff too!” Indeed, the heat winners alone will receive and American-made chassis from either J&J, JEI, Schnee or Eagle. Click on www.TerryMcCarl.com for updates on contingencies and who might be showing up both nights!
The FRC can be a test and tune session for the Knoxville Nationals. “A lot of guys have a new car coming into the Nationals and they like to test it at Osky,” says TMAC. “I know Craig Dollansky did that last year, and they found some problems, so they were glad they did it. They went on to be strong on their qualifying night at Knoxville. Test sessions are tough on the dirt track when you’re running by yourself. You really can’t get a whole lot out of it. Some of these guys can come and compete and test at the same time. It’s a win-win for them and for the fans!”
See the information below to get your tickets today!
In"Terry"gation
Keith “JuneBug” Offill from California asks: Hey Terry, speaking of Craig Smith (subject of In”Terry”gation a couple of weeks ago), I know your boys are racing and doing great but I hear that you and Craig Smith's company are sponsoring a young quarter midget driver in CA? How's he doing and what's the driver’s name? I hope you and your boys keep up the great racing!!
TMAC answers: Yes, we are currently sponsoring a young man in CA. We feel he is the next Sprint Cup star. The young fast phenom goes by the name of Kyle Offill. Look for that name in the future!
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?
Ten drivers have taken the Front Row Challenge. The average finish of those drivers is sixth. Four drivers have finished in the top three, with “The Wild Child” Jac Haudenschild winning $50,000 from the rear of the field in 1999! Haudenschild made the most of his opportunity, but it has been the only one afforded him. Danny Lasoski has taken the challenge three times for various amounts, while Daryn Pittman has taken it twice. One time challengers have included Leonard Lee, Don Droud Jr., Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Campbell.
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