PODIUM IN THE PUDDLES: CARSON MACEDO KICKS OFF THE 60TH ANNUAL CHAMPION RACING OIL NATIONAL OPEN WEEKEND WITH A THIRD PLACE FINISH IN AN ABBREVIATED FEATURE WHEN THE RAIN STARTED TO FALL

MECHANICSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA (September 30, 2022) – The sun rose up over the famous blue crossing bridge on Friday morning behind some cloud cover as it welcomed the NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series stars to Williams Grove Speedway to race against the always formidable Pennsylvania Posse in the first of two nights of competition at the 60th Annual Champion Racing Oil National Open. Carson Macedo and the JJR #41 team were looking to cap off a strong September and carry that momentum into October. In the 9 races that were contested throughout the month that starts autumn, Carson recorded 2 victories, 2 third place finishes, 2 fourth place finishes, a fifth, and seventh place finish only to be tarnished a bit last Saturday at Sharon when he was scored with a 22nd place finish after experiencing some mechanical issues. They put that most recent experience behind them and were only focused on doing their best at the famous half-mile oval located in Mechanicsburg – Williams Grove Speedway. The National Open is one of the Crown Jewels of the sport and there were 51 teams signed into the pit area ready to put on a show for the fans!

The field of talented racers was split into two separate groups for My Place Hotels Qualifying with the speed chauffeur from Lemoore, California set to be the 14th car out in the first group. Parked in the backstretch pit area, Carson climbed into his office and buckled into his Crow Enterprizes safety belts. The car pushed back from the hauler and headed to the frontstretch pit area to await is turn creating speed in time trials. There would be two cars on the track at a time, When the Kistler Engines power under the hood of the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 fired he would roll onto the track and into turn one. He would share the speedway with Kyle Moody in the Dynatech #99m. Carson built up his speed as he raced to the waving green flag. He was now on the clock and making tracks and not looking back. When he completed his first lap he did it in 16.672 seconds. That put him up to fifth on the speed charts. His second lap came in slightly slower at 16.690 seconds. With 12 cars remaining, he patiently waited after he crossed the scales to see where his fastest lap would end up. When the checkered flag flew at the end of the first time trials group, Carson would maintain his fifth spot on the speed charts with Rico Abreu setting quick time in Group A with a lap of 16.558 seconds. Brent Marks, out of Group B, was the quickest driver overall as he made his way around Williams Grove in 16.520 seconds.

With weather in the area, track officials kept the showing moving along as the air horns sounded calling all of the drivers in the first heat race to the staging area. Rico Abreu and Sheldon Haudenschild would be on the front row with Carson Macedo in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/WELD Racing/Vortex Racing Products #41 Maxim and Dylan Cisney in row two. Freddie Rahmer and Danny Dietrich lined up in row three, James McFadden and Daryn Pittman in row four, Kasey Kahne and Tyler Ross in row five, with Noah Gass, Steve Buckwalter and Bryn Gohn rounding out the starting lineup. The initial green flag waved but was called off when the polesitter, Rico Abreu, jumped too early resulting him being docked two spots. Carson benefitted and moved up to the outside of row one with Sheldon Haudenschild on the front row. When the green lights came on again it was Haudenschild racing into the lead with Macedo and Dietrich close behind. They maneuvered around the paperclip-shaped oval for 8 laps with Haudenschild winning over Macedo and Dietrich with Rico Abreu and James McFadden securing the final two transfer positions.

The normal draw on the frontstretch was ditched to keep the show moving along. The 8 eligible drivers headed to the World of Outlaws (WoO) Timing and Scoring trailer to quickly draw for the 6-lap DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. Sheldon Haudenschild and Lance Dewease paced from the front row with Brent Marks and David Gravel in row two. Carson Macedo shared row three with Anthony Macri with Jacob Allen and Brad Sweet in row four. When the green lights replaced the yellow ones, it was Dewease to the top spot over Haudenschild with Gravel moving into third and Macedo running in fourth in the Tarlton and Son/Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/Buckwalter Trucking #41. By the midpoint of the race, Carson was closing in on David Gravel as Gravel was chasing down Haudenschild. Dewease was in command and led wire-to-wire to take the win by 1.907 seconds to earn the pole position for the preliminary night feature. Sheldon Haudenschild came home second with David Gravel third. Carson Macedo earned a fourth place finish as Brent Marks, Anthony Macri, Brad Sweet and Jacob Allen rounded out the finishing order.

The green blobs on the weather radar were ominous and inching closer to the clay oval sitting in Mechanicsburg. The window of opportunity was short as the cars rolled out onto the track, but World of Outlaws Race Director Mike Hess was trying his best to get the show in so he waived the traditional four-wide salute to the fans to save time. The field was set for the 25-lap preliminary feature at Williams Grove to kick off the National Open weekend. Carson Macedo would get the Border International/Winters Performance Products/Boltz Family #41 Maxim started from the outside of row two with David Gravel’s Big Game Motorsports #2 to his inside. Lance Dewease and Sheldon Haudenschild were in row one and led the field to the green flag with Dewease driving the famous #69k into the lead over Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink #17 and Macedo’s Albaugh – Your Alternative #41. The track was fast and these talented athletes were riding the edge as it began to rain lightly just after the race started. The yellow flag flew on lap 7 as the rain made the racing surface treacherous. They kept the cars rolling around under yellow flag conditions to attempt to keep the surface from getting too saturated. The rain slowed providing the brief respite to try and get the remainder of the show in. They would start in single file formation. On the restart, Dewease led Haudenschild and Macedo with Brent Marks pressuring the forty-one for the third spot. Marks raced under the Albaugh #41 for third as the two drivers started pressuring Haudenschild for position. They were racing hard and on lap 10, when the red flag was displayed when third running Brent Marks bicycled on the cushion and flipped wildly end over end in turn three and four. During the cleanup process the rains began to come down again sending the remainder of the field back to their trailers in the pit area. They would wait patiently and try one last time to no avail as there was just too much rain making the track conditions sketchy and unsafe, so the race was deemed official with Lance Dewease collecting the win, his 110th at Williams Grove, with Sheldon Haudenschild in the runner-up position and Carson Macedo rounding out the podium. Another great run and result for the forty-one!

Macedo Races to Another Podium Finish in the Preliminary Night of the National Open! Photo Credit: Cameron Saich

Albaugh, LLC; Border International; Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Saich Family; Tarlton and Son Inc.; Boltz Family; Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions; Durst Inc.; Liquid Trucking; Bandy & Associates Accountancy Corporation; Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution; Jansen Transportation; Larry Davis Farms; Meyers Constructors Inc.; Mr. Jim’s Racing; RaceDiecast.com; Sam I Am; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Tiger Towing; All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads; AutoMeter; Bell Helmets; BMRS (Brown & Miller Racing Solutions); BR Motorsports; C&R Racing; Crow Enterprizes; Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne (FK Shocks); Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Greber Racing Components; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Hoosier Racing Tire; Indy Performance Composites (IPC); ISC Racers Tape; K1 Race Gear; Kistler Racing Engines; KSE Racing Products; Maxim Racing; Motor State Distributing; Premium Coach Group; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); Saldana Racing Products; Schoenfeld Headers; Smith Titanium; Vortex Racing Products; Walker Performance Filtration; Weld Racing; Wilwood Racing; Winters Performance Products; and Xtreme Body and Paint.

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.