Dallas, TX (August 1, 2019) – The TKS Motorsports team and driver Austin McCarl rounded out their weekend triple-header with the All Stars Circuit of Champions by racking up two top tens and a 12th-place finish. Now the Tammy & Troy Renfro-owned team turn their attention to the two weeks of the Knoxville Nationals, with Jason Solwold in the Casey’s General Stores/Midwest Basement Systems #2KS for this weekend’s 360 Nationals, before Austin hops back in the car on Sunday for the Capitani Classic and the big show next week!
Kicking off the weekend with the All Stars at the Jackson Motorplex, one thousandth of a second would make a huge difference to the team’s night. “With the All Stars, your group in qualifying are the cars in your heat with a 4-car invert and the top two finishers make the dashes,” said Austin. “We ended up 5th in our group, missing fourth by one thousandth of a second… so that took us from starting on the pole of our heat to fifth.”
After moving up a spot to finish 4th in their heat, Austin would fall back early in the night’s main event before making up some ground late. “I didn’t get off to a very good start after starting on the seventh row,” said McCarl. “I was able to get into a groove after a bit and started moving forward, feeling more comfortable than I ever have at Jackson and got back 12th. It wasn’t exactly the night we should have had, but we rolled the car back into the hauler in one piece.”
Saturday saw the TKS team heading back to their home track of Knoxville Raceway to take on a stacked field of 48 cars. “We qualified pretty well on Saturday and started our heat on the outside of the front row,” said Troy Renfro. “[James] McFadden got the jump on us at the start, but Austin did a great job of driving back around him and we were gone, but then the red came out.”
The restart would not treat McCarl too kindly, as he would fall back to third and miss out on advancing to one of the night’s dashes. “I got an okay restart, but didn’t pick the right line going into one and ended up 3rd in the heat,” said Austin. “It was frustrating to fall back like that when making the dash is so important to give yourself a chance in the A.”
Working out the kinks in a brand new car, Troy and Austin would share some notes before the feature and make their way into the top ten by the time the checkered flag flew on the A-main. “We were running brand new everything on Saturday,” said Renfro. “We made some changes throughout the night and were moving well in the feature to finish 9th after starting on the eighth row.”
The All Stars format worked to the advantage of Austin on Sunday night at 34 Raceway, as the invert would put him on the front row of their heat race. “Burlington is one of my favorite places to race and I was able to use our front row starting spot to finish second and make a dash,” said McCarl. “The car was great all night and we ran well in the dash to earn a starting spot on the second row of the A-main.”
While the team had a great starting spot, an ever-changing racetrack would cause them to miss the setup a bit for main event. “The track changed a ton between the dashes and when we took the track for the A-main,” said Austin. “We were just a bit too tight and I missed the line a few too many times. We were able to hold on to a top ten, but, more importantly, I think we hit on a good package and built a lot of momentum for the Capitani and the Nationals!”
Jason Solwold will jump in the TKS Motorsports #2KS this Friday and Saturday night for the team’s first 360 Nationals, before Austin jumps back in the seat on Sunday for the Capitani Classic and their last tune-up for the Knoxville Nationals!
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