7/5/2018
TKS Motorsports – Successful Weekend with the Outlaws!
Des Moines, IA (July 5, 2018) – Two strong finishes with the World of Outlaws at the Knoxville Raceway has Austin McCarl and the TKS Motorsports team feeling good, as we’re just over a month away from the Knoxville Nationals! The Troy & Tammy Renfro-owned team will look to fend off their challengers for the top spot in the Knoxville point standings, in search of their fourth win of the season this Saturday night.
The Outlaws weekend got started with a strong run on Friday night, though both Austin and Troy noted areas for improvement as the Nationals draw closer. “We were really good on Friday night, but I wish we could have qualified just a bit better to put ourselves on the front row of the heat,” said Austin. “Putting it in the dash is huge with the Outlaws and really sets up for a strong run in the A-main.”
“The car was tight at the start of the feature, but really came on about 12 laps into the race,” said Troy. “The car became really maneuverable throughout the course of the race and we were definitely our best at the end.”
While Austin and the TKS team would finish 8th on night number one, the driver felt like he had a car that was worthy of a better ending. “I really wanted a yellow there near the end of the race,” said Austin. “I definitely felt like we had a top-five car.”
A strong top ten with the Outlaws had the team feeling good, but some tweaks on the setup they had made had them looking forward to the month of August. “Being able to race in bad air is such a big deal,” said Troy. “Starting mid-pack on Friday, we tried a couple of things and had the car working really well at the end of 25 laps. We were gauging the whole weekend on how to compete with that level of competition for 50 laps in August and Friday was a positive step in that direction.”
Saturday got off to a bit of a bumpy start in qualifying, but Austin was able to recover and put together a strong run in his heat to get the Casey’s General Stores/Midwest Basement Systems #2KS back towards the front. “We didn’t have the car tight enough in qualifying and that put us a bit behind,” said Troy. “Austin did an awesome job in his heat to go from fifth to 3rd and get us back to a pretty good starting spot for the main event.”
“I was able to get a great start in the heat on Saturday,” said Austin. “Getting up to third helped us a ton, because we went from having to start deep in the A-main to the outside of the fifth row.”
With tricky track conditions on Saturday night, an uncommon advantage was provided to the drivers that had to transfer from the night’s B-main. “I think Saturday was one of the rare occasions where it actually was helpful to run the B,” said Troy. “Turns one and two were pretty crumbly and I missed it with our setup; I based it off what we had done the night before when it should have been closer to what we normally do.”
The TKS team would end the night 12th, though it left them looking forward to getting back to the track this Saturday. “The track was definitely tough, with one set of turns being so different than the other,” said Austin. “However, I got to have a pretty good race there with Daryn Pittman and a couple other guys and I’m excited to get back out there Saturday and see if we can pick up our fourth win!”
“Overall, it was a pretty good weekend for us and we’re going to go into Saturday with the same mentality we’ve had all season,” said Troy. “We want to win, and as long as we do what we can to pull that off, the points will take care of themselves.”
While Austin and the TKS team will be looking for the win on the racetrack Saturday night, the team will also be cheering on the Iowa Barnstormers, who are hosting the United Bowl. “It would be great if both of our teams could take home wins on Saturday night for Don & Charlene Lamberti,” said Troy.
The TKS Motorsports #2KS and Austin McCarl will be back at the Knoxville Raceway this Saturday looking for another win and to maintain their place atop the 410 point standings! Check out the new TKS Motorsports website for the season schedule and more from the TKS team.
TKS Motorsports is thankful for the support from all of their loyal sponsors:
Casey's General Stores, Des Moines Industrial Products (DMIP), Midwest Basement Systems, Neumann Brothers Construction, AFA Wheels, AL Driveline, All Star Performance, AO Designs, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Billy Bell House Moving, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Chalk Stix Torsion Bars, Fibreworks Composites, Gail Dielman, Hoosier, HRP, Indy Race Parts, Justice Brothers, KSE Racing Products, Liberty Ready Mix, Mag Tech Ignition, Maxim Racing Chassis, Parker Performance, PennGrade Motor Oil, Schoenfeld Headers, Slade Shock Technology, Snyder Landscaping & Lawn Care, Tony Moro Collision Center, Tony Moro Powdercoating & Sandblasting, Top Flight Wings, Walker Filtration Systems, Webb Family Farms, Wilwood, and Winters Performance Products.
Photo Credit: Craig Mobley
Morgan Broeg
broegracewriting@gmail.com
West Des Moines, IA USA
Twitter: @BroegW