Dallas, TX (July 18, 2019) – Last weekend saw some ups and downs for Austin McCarl and the TKS Motorsports team as they competed in the double 410 features at Knoxville Raceway. In the end, the team walked away with a top five and a top ten, leaving them locked in an intense point battle at the top of the 410 standings!
Saturday night started off rough for the Troy & Tammy Renfro-owned team, as they would find themselves in 20th after qualifying came to a close. “We really buried ourselves after qualifying,” said Austin. “On lap one, I tried to run the bottom and completely missed the line, then came back on the second lap and went high like everyone else, but just didn’t hit it quite right, so not a great result.”
While qualifying didn’t go the team’s way, the great car count on-hand aided the team by providing them a good starting position in their heat race. “Having enough cars at the track on Saturday to have four heats helped us out a lot,” said Troy. “On a night with only three heats, we would have found ourselves outside the invert, but luckily we got to start on the outside of the front row Saturday.”
Austin would take advantage of the front row starting spot and race to a win in his heat, earning enough points to comfortably lock the Casey’s General Stores/Midwest Basement Systems #2KS into the night’s first A-main. “After my struggles in time trials, it felt great to go out and run away from a good group of racers, including Rico [Abreu], in the heat,” said McCarl.
Rolling off for A-main number one in 13th, McCarl would find his hands full early on a tricky racetrack and end up climbing into the top ten, finishing 9th. “The track was fast and more like it was much of last season with a treacherous cushion,” said Austin. “I felt like we could have made it farther forward, but I jumped the cushion a few times and with the race going caution-free it’s tough to run down guys that are as tough as those who finished in front of us.”
Things would go a bit better for the TKS team in the second A-main of the night, as they would come home fourth after starting on the third row. “After a bit of a tough outing during the main part of last Saturday’s show, it felt good to grab a top five in the makeup feature,” said Troy. “I think we had a car that definitely could have landed us on the podium, but it was another race that went caution-free after a complete restart.”
With the car performing well, McCarl noted that it was some poor decisions on his part that kept him off the podium in the final race of the night. “The invert was zero, so all the fast guys were in front of us,” said Austin. “With that being the case, I needed to be on top of my game, but I guessed wrong on my line a couple of times and got caught behind the #09 [Matt Juhl] for too long.
Finishing the night with a top ten and a top five left the team feeling good about their night, but knowing that there was still room to improve. “The car was strong all night,” said McCarl. “We’re going to come back next weekend and hopefully put everything together and get our first win of the season.”
The TKS team will be back at the Knoxville Raceway this Saturday night looking for a strong finish and to close the gap at the top of a tight points battle!
Check out the TKS Motorsports website for the season schedule and more from the TKS team.
TKS Motorsports is thankful for the support from all their loyal sponsors:
Casey's General Stores, Des Moines Industrial Products (DMIP), Midwest Basement Systems, TJ Forged, AL Driveline, All Star Performance, AO Designs, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Billy Bell House Moving, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Capitol Renegade, Chalk Stix Torsion Bars, CIS – www.centraliowasheds.com, Fibreworks Composites, Gail Dielman, Hoosier, HRP, Indy Race Parts, Jersey Freeze, Justice Brothers, KSE Racing Products, Liberty Ready Mix, Mag Tech Ignition, Maxim Racing Chassis, Parker Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, Slade Shock Technology, Snyder Landscaping & Lawn Care, Tony Moro Collision Center, Tony Moro Powdercoating & Sandblasting, Top Flight Wings, Tucker Trucking, Webb Family Farms, Wilwood, and Winters Performance Products.
Morgan Broeg
broegracewriting@gmail.com
Dallas, TX USA
Twitter: @BroegW