Tuesdays with TMAC – Win #53 at Knoxville!
(Bill W) July 31, 2012 – Terry McCarl racked up win #53 at the Knoxville Raceway Saturday night. For the second week in a row, it was Brian Brown chasing him in the feature. The Altoona, Iowa driver charged from 11th to 4th Sunday night with the All Stars at Huset’s Speedway. This week, he will try to rack up another 360 Nationals title as he teams with the Hammers #94 team out of Mississippi.
With a stout 410 field in the house at Knoxville Saturday night, TMAC timed in fifth quick. “I was testing a new wing for Lynton (Jeffrey) for Vortex,” he says. “I was actually off a bit with my car, so I think we could have had a shot at quick time. Our fresh Rider engine was in that we got back from Tommy Rider. It was really running good all night long.”
TMAC rode most of his heat in the fifth and final transfer spot, but finished fourth. He was awarded third when Kyle Larson was DQed for changing his right rear tire. “That’s happened to me before too,” he says. “Sometimes the outside guys don’t know how Knoxville runs it. It was heavy early on, but they did a great job with the track with the weather conditions like they were.”
For the second week in a row, TMAC started outside row one for the feature. He would lead every lap, holding off Brown. “We got lucky, and they pulled the right invert,” he says. “Both weeks, we’ve had an excellent racecar. Last week, we were a victim of circumstance a little bit, but our car has been great. Brian is on. He has a heck of a team put together. It’s kind of what we had in 2009. He’s on top of his game, so to beat him right now is good. I think we’re getting pretty close.”
TMAC is proud of a young team. “Austin McCarl is my crew chief,” he says. “Alex, Bob and Carson are working really hard. We kind of have a makeshift crew. I call them my ‘band of misfits’. They’ve all been working hard and we’re having a blast.”
Sunday night, TMAC would have to fight through the B after a good qualifying time. “The flat wing did affect my car a bit,” he says. “We don’t usually run that at Huset’s. They had it wet and heavy early. We were second quick. I had a guy trying to kill me the whole eight laps in the heat.”
Starting eleventh in the feature was an advantage. “It worked in our favor, because we missed a big pileup at the start of the feature,” says TMAC. “I kind of missed the setup. The track blew off a little more than I thought and we were loose. We brought it home in fourth place. On a night where you felt you missed your setup, a fourth place finish with the All Stars leaves you pretty content.”
To check out opportunities to partner with TMAC Motorsports on a nightly basis, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com or call 515 957-0020!
Category: Driver Updates, News, Terry McCarl
