REALLY SPECIAL NIGHT AT HANFORD: CARSON MACEDO CELEBRATES WITH ALL HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN VICTORY LANE AFTER WINNING THE SECOND ANNUAL TOM TARLTON CLASSIC AT KELLER AUTO SPEEDWAY
HANFORD, CALIFORNIA (September 18, 2021) – Between traveling out to the Pacific Time zone for the first time in two years to a hectic racing schedule that started in Washington a few weeks ago, then turning south to race in California last weekend, it was nice to take a much needed break throughout this past week to enjoy The Golden State. California is the 31st state that came into statehood back in 1850 and has always been home for Carson Macedo and his family. The state stretches 900 miles from the Mexico border on the southern end to the Oregon border on the northern edge and is filled with beautiful coastline, scenery, and a lot of simply incredible people. One of those amazing individuals is Tom Tarlton! On Saturday night, Carson Macedo and his fellow World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series competitors were at Keller Auto Speedway, just down the road from his hometown of Lemoore, to honor and compete in the Second Annual Tom Tarlton Classic. Carson one the inaugural event last season, which was not sanctioned by the World of Outlaws, so he was eager to put on a great show and defend this special event. This highly anticipated event attracted 24 teams to the racetrack to put it all on the line for the $21,000 winner’s check and trophy at the end of the evening and the grandstands were absolutely packed.
As the teams and competitors were preparing for the individual speed portion of the show in Slick Woody’s Qualifying at Keller Auto Speedway, which is located inside Kings County Fairgrounds, the fans eagerly anticipated seeing some of the best in the business do their thing under the wing. Carson Macedo would be scheduled to be the 16th driver to enter the surface at his hometown track on the 3/8-mile clay oval for his two laps at speed. But he and his Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) team were working feverishly to get a new rear end in the car after they encountered issues in their set of hot laps. The work was done just in time and the California speedster jumped on the accelerator and came roaring towards the waving green flag in the Tarlton and Son/Jonestown KOA/Walker Performance Filtration #41 displaying his Kistler Engines power. He was hard at work inside the cockpit of his forty-one Maxim Racing machine and when he completed his first of two laps the clock read 13.639 seconds. He kept his elbows up and eyes focused as he maneuvered around this racy joint and turned in an even better lap his second time around with a lap of 13.400 seconds. His second lap catapulted him to the top of the speed charts and no one was able to displace him on this night. Carson collected his fourth quick time of the season, and third in the last six races, as he collected the Slick Woody’s Quick Time Award at the Tom Tarlton Classic event to start the night. As an added bonus, Carson collected an addition $210, on top of the normal $100 that is paid, for his efforts thanks to the generosity and support of David Muncy.
The results of time trials established the starting lineups for each of the three 8-lap Drydene Heat Races, where the finishing order secured each drivers starting spot in the Second Annual Tom Tarlton Classic feature event at the end of the night. As an added incentive, the top two finishers would get a chance to race for their starting position in the first three rows later in the dash that also had a special $2,000 pay day for the winner, which is atypical, courtesy of A&M Livestock. Carson’s quick time to start the night positioned him on the pole beside Logan Schuchart in heat race number one. Behind the two talented youngsters was the formidable tandem of Donny Schatz and Kasey Kahne, with two additional young guns in row three made up of Jacob Allen and Sheldon Haudenschild, as Kyle Hirst and Mitchell Faccinto made up row four. When the green flag waved, it was Macedo and Schuchart racing down the frontstretch to see who could get the upper hand coming off the first set of turns. It was the Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/Meyers Constructors/Bandy and Associates #41 Maxim in the lead with the Shark Racing #1s close behind. Donny Schatz was now chomping at Schuchart using the low side of the track as he was battling Logan for the runner-up position. This battle enabled Carson to build his lead as he raced to the heat race victory by 1.920 seconds over Schuchart, holding off Schatz who came home third, as Kasey Kahne and Sheldon Haudenschild rounded out the top five. Mitchell Faccinto came home sixth with Kyle Hirst and Jacob Allen completing the finishing order.
For the 44th time this season, Carson put the JJR #41 in the 6-lap DirtVision Fast Pass Dash where he would start on the inside of row three after drawing the ‘5’ pill on the frontstretch. Brad Sweet and Logan Schuchart paced the field from the front row with James McFadden and Jason Sides in row two. Carson shared row three with David Gravel. When the green flag waved, Sweet drove into the lead over Schuchart and McFadden with Carson wheeling the Liquid Trucking/ High Performance Lubricants/Wilwood Racing #41 into the fourth position with Gravel and Sides right behind. Brad Sweet would not be contested for the win as he beat Logan Schuchart to the finish line with Carson Macedo coming home third after racing by James McFadden mid-race. McFadden came home fourth as David Gravel and Jason Sides rounded out the running order at the finish.
With a large contingent of family and friends in attendance, Carson was certainly looking to perform well in the 35-lap NOS Energy Drink Tom Tarlton Classic feature event at the racetrack situated just off 10th Avenue in Hanford. As Philip, Clyde, and Nate finished up their last minute work, Carson climbed into the office of his racing machine and buckled into his Crow Enterprizes safety belts. They pushed the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Border International/Tiger Towing #41 Maxim out onto the track to stage as Carson gathered his final thoughts and race strategy inside his Shifty Illusions custom painted Bell Racing Helmet. The 24-car field was set as their engines came to life and they moved into their starting positions. The hometown driver from Lemoore, California would get started from the inside of row three beside James McFadden. Californian Brad Sweet, who is a two-time WoO champion and the current points leader, was on the pole with Pennsylvanian Logan Schuchart to his outside. The Greatest Show on Dirt saluted the fans with their four-wide salute before racing back into the side-by-side starting formation. When they came to the green flag it was Sweet to the lead over Schuchart and Macedo in the opening lap. By lap five the leaders had caught up to lap traffic making the race for the lead very interesting. Schuchart would take it, but Sweet would have none of it as he crossed back over to retake the lead. The high speed action was slowed when Sheldon Haudenschild car came to a stop off turn three. Under the yellow flag conditions, Jacob Allen, Kasey Kahne, and JJ Ringo also experienced some issues forcing them to the infield work area.
When the racing resumed it was Sweet again over Schuchart and Macedo, but the yellow came out again and this time it was for Schuchart who had front wing issues. Schuchart’s crew changed his wing as he tagged the rear of the field. Carson Macedo inherited the runner-up position and rolled up beside leader Brad Sweet for the restart. When the engines came back to life, Sweet again led with Macedo and McFadden chasing. A few cautions again slowed the action, but Sweet was in control at the front with Macedo looking for any opportunity to take ownership of the top spot. As the leader approached lap traffic again, Carson was able to close the gap. An opportunity presented itself in turn one and the Lemoore native seized it to take the lead on lap 14 with the two KKR drivers, Sweet and McFadden, battling right behind. McFadden would slide his teammate to take over second and immediately started to set his sights on Macedo who had built a nice lead. A caution for fifth running DJ Netto with 10 laps regrouped the field. Macedo maintained the lead over McFadden and Sweet when they got back to racing, but with 7 laps to go another caution was displayed for Kraig Kinser who spun on the frontstretch with damage to his front end. Carson would get rolling again and build his lead to over a second with 5 laps to go. With 2 laps to go though, Carson made a slight bobble allowing McFadden to close the gap a bit with Sweet right there too. It was going to be exciting, but the defending Tom Tarlton Classic winner would not be denied as he won over Brad Sweet who passed James McFadden who rounded out the podium at the Second Annual Tom Tarlton Classic.
After rolling off the scales, an excited winner came to a stop in the Tarlton and Son #41 on the frontstretch. When he removed his helmet he was smiling from ear-to-ear as he climbed up on the tail tank and had a huge victory celebration with the fans! A special win for Carson Macedo, his family, his friends, and all the fans! He explained, “I am so excited, man. My emotions are so high right now. It means a lot to win back-to-back Tom Tarlton Classics, especially this one being against the World of Outlaws.” The Lemoore, California native continued, “Tom Tarlton is the reason I am a sprint car driver. He literally gave me my first opportunity to drive a sprint car and it was right here at Hanford during a practice day. I am so glad he could be here tonight to watch this win!” His final reflection focused on the talented point leader and two-time WoO champion, “Beating Brad, who is by far the best guy out here right now, for the win is pretty cool!” Pretty cool indeed. A great run and victory for Macedo and the forty-one team!
Macedo Mixes It Up at Keller Auto Speedway and Comes Across the Finish Line First in the Second Annual Tom Tarlton Classic!
Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Tarlton and Son Inc.; Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions; Albaugh – Your Alternative, Saich Family; Border International; Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution; Jonestown KOA; Durst Inc.; Maxim Racing; The Boyd Family; Liquid Trucking; Meyers Constructors Inc.; Tiger Towing; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); Waco Metal; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Kistler Engines; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; All Pro Auto Reconditioning; K1 Race Gear; AutoMeter; Bandy & Associates Accountancy Corporation; Bell Racing USA; Blackbeard LTD; BR Motorsports; Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS); Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; C&R Racing; Chalk Stix Torsion Bars; Crow Enterprizes; Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne (FK Shocks); Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Fuel Safe Racing Cells; Greber Racing Components; Hoosier Racing Tire; ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; KSE Racing Products; Larry Davis Farms; Logo Daddy Graphics; Mr. Jim’s Racing; MSD Performance; RaceDiecast.com; Sam I Am; Schoenfeld Headers; Smith Titanium; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Vortex Racing Products; Walker Performance Filtration; Weld Wheels; Wilwood Racing; and Winters Performance Products.
To stay connected with Jason Johnson Racing (JJR), go to www.jasonjohnsonracing.com.
To stay up-to-date with Carson Macedo and his success journey on and off the track, as well as to purchase his gear and merchandise directly, visit www.carsonmacedoracing.com.