A Serious Injury Was Just a Bump In The Road For Sprint Car Racer Terry McCarl

Sustaining a serious injury on July 31 of 2010, Terry McCarl was sidelined for several months in order to allow his broken leg to mend. Although, still not at one hundred percent, Terry McCarl finally reached a point where he could get back in his car and return to competing in the sport of racing.
#55 Sprint Car Driver Terry McCarl
#55 Sprint Car Driver Terry McCarl
With a handful of races already under his belt in 2011, Terry scored his first victory of the season on May 20, at the Jacksonville Speedway, in Jacksonville, Illinois with the Monster Energy Sprint Car Series.

Although the draw was not a good one, three cars were eliminated prior to the lap's completion, moving McCarl from 7th to fourth, and giving him enough passing points to qualify for the dash. McCarl drew last for the dash and had a fifth place finish, setting him up inside row three in the feature. After the waving of the green flag deemed the race underway, Terry found himself in fourth place early, and began working his way to the front.

The driver made the winning pass in lap 16 and held the lead throughout the remainder of the race, deeming him victorious.

"It felt great," explained Terry Mccarl. "It's a fun little race track, and M.O.W.A. is a new organization. There were some real tough cars there that night, and that was our first win together, me and the 55 car, so it was pretty special for us."

As one might suspect, Terry McCarl's first win since coming back from his injury was a memorable moment, but the driver has since earned two more victories, both at Knoxville, one of which is equally as memorable if not more so. On July 12, at Knoxville, Terry McCarl found himself in a heated race to the very finish in the 410 Feature with another driver. That said, who would the driver be? It was Austin, his son. As excitement grew throughout the stands, Terry eventually worked his way onto the lead with two laps to go, and when the dust had finally settled was victorious.

"It was kind of a bitter sweet win," shared Terry. "I hated to beat Austin, because he had the thing won," he continued, "but I'm sure he didn't want me to let him win. I won and he came in second. That's a pretty good night for any family."

Of course, Terry McCarl has anticipations of getting back to 100 percent and finishing the remainder of the season strong.

When asked about his team, Terry McCarl was quick to dish out a heaping helping of credit. "Your not going to be a good driver without a good team," he said. "Everybody works hard for us and we definitely appreciate them, and without them, we definitely couldn't do what we do. That's for sure."

According to Terry, his car has been performing very well throughout the season. As one might suspect, McCarl is also acutely aware that his continued success depends a great deal on properly maintaining his engine.

Referring to K&N Filters, he said, "We really stress keeping the motor clean and wouldn't run anything else." When asked how long he had been using K&N Filters, Terry responded, "Wow. I'd say my entire career. That's one thing I remember, as a young boy, cleaning my dad's filters. We've been running K&N for as long as I can remember, and I've been around this my whole life. We run their oil filter and their air filter, and they're the best out there. They're name says it all."

When asked about his sponsors and fans, Terry McCarl said, "I'm glad they're all aboard and they all mean a lot to us. Regardless of how big or small, all of our sponsors are important to us, and we're going to work hard to represent them well."

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