Austin McCarl – Strong Early Showings!
(Bill W) May 20, 2015 – It has been a good start to the season for Austin McCarl in his #17A. He has three events in the books the last two weeks and has failed to finish outside the top fourteen. In a pair of NSL races and a Knoxville weekly show, he has also qualified in the top nine each time. This Memorial Day weekend will be a busy one that sees him in Jackson, Minnesota for the Folkens Bros. Trucking Spring Nationals on Friday with the FVP National Sprint League, in Knoxville on Saturday, and with the NSL again Sunday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota.
Things started on May 8 at the Eagle Raceway in Nebraska. “Eagle was the first night in my own racecar,” says Austin. “Technically, it was the first feature I ran. I ran Jimmy Davies car for a couple nights, but unfortunately, we ran into a bit of bad luck. I started one feature, but only got a couple of laps in.”
Coming out second to last in the 30-car NSL field for qualifying, he knew he was in contention. “We ended up ninth quick, which was good for us,” says Austin. “We learned a little bit in the heat race, and the racetrack was tricky. I was definitely rusty to say the least out there racing with a lot of Outlaw caliber drivers.”
Still, his fourth place finish earned him a starting spot outside row five for the feature. “I just went out there and did my best,” says Austin. “I tried to hit my marks and make as many perfect laps as I could. We ended up 11th, which was disappointing for me, but the guys who beat me have all been racing a lot lately, and racing well. It wasn’t too much to get down on. That turned out pretty well.”
The next night saw the NSL at Knoxville Raceway for the track’s opener. “Qualifying is so important these days with how close these cars are. Going out early helped us a little. My first lap was actually the better lap, but in the racecar, I felt I made a big mistake in one and two. That shows how important running the bottom can be.”
The result was the third quick time of the night in the 38-car field. He would go from sixth to fourth in his heat to qualify for the redraw for the main event. “I tried to learn as much as I could in the heat, and learn more about my car,” says Austin. “I hadn’t raced at Knoxville since 2013. It was fun to be in the redraw with those guys, and that was a confidence booster. You need to be in that redraw to win races.”
Austin drew the five for the feature. He would checker 14th after a strange set of circumstances saw his father, Terry, leave in an ambulance with a fractured vertebrae. “Not to make excuses, but my Dad getting hurt on the first lap didn’t help things,” he says. “We overcompensated for the racetrack too. I was way too loose, and my head wasn’t where it should have been.”
Last Saturday night in weekly action at Knoxville, Austin was eighth quick. “We went out in the middle,” he says of the qualifying order. “We turned a good lap, again we were trying some stuff. We’re always trying to get better and better. I thought eighth quick was great.”
Things didn’t go well in the heat though. “Unfortunately, we had a bleeder issue in the heat and blew two left rear tires,” says Austin. “That was a bit of a debacle, but we made it through and won the B. It was a confidence booster getting out and running in clean air.”
Getting his time spot back, Austin would start ninth and bring home his first top ten finish of the year. “I had a little bit of a brake issue early on,” he says. “Unfortunately, some guys got in some tangles early, but it was fortunate for me that we got things fixed. As the race went on, I thought the left rear was going flat. I may have been a little paranoid from the heat race, but once I realized it was o.k., I could start driving the car the way I wanted to. A top ten was good considering it was my third feature.”
Austin would like to thank: Simplot Grower Solutions, Bargain Barn Tire Center, Terra Realty, CM Rock, $20,000 to win Front Row Challenge, Berryhill Racing, Sweeter Construction, Hepfner Racing Products, Rossie Feed & Grain, Vortex Wings, Hoosier Tire, Phil & Vivian, Maxim Chassis, Hinchman Racewear, 212 Bar & Grill, Octane Ink, Schoenfeld Headers, Engler Injection, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bell Helmets, Aurora Rod Ends, Butlerbuilt and Crow Safety for all their help.
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