SATURDAY STRETCH IN IOWA: ANOTHER “UP HILL” NIGHT ENDS WITH A 16TH PLACE FINISH IN THE FINALE OF THE PREMIER CHEVY DEALERS CLASH AT THE SPRINT CAR CAPITAL OF THE WORLD – KNOXVILLE RACEWAY

KNOXVILLE, IOWA (June 15, 2024) – After breaking a left front brake fitting and limping home to finish 21st on Friday night during the opening night of the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash, Carson Macedo along with Philip Dietz, Robby McQuinn, and Adam Zimmerman were hard at work preparing the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 for night two at Knoxville Raceway. The crew was busy doing their maintenance routine covering their Maxim Racing machine from the tip of the front nerf bar all the way to the back of the rear nerf bar and everything in between. It is certainly not the most glamorous part of the business, but this kind of attention to detail is absolutely mission critical if you want to be consistent and perform at the highest level. Adversity is part of the sport that everyone experiences in sprint car racing. It is not the adversity that defines your character, but rather how you respond to it that determines if the challenge will create more strength or develop into a weakness. Carson and the JJR #41 are a determined bunch of competitors, so the latter is never even up for consideration. There were 61 entries back on Saturday night ready to race at The Sprint Car Capital of the World – Knoxville Raceway – with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series!

It would be two cars out on the track at a time again to test their speed skills in two separate groups for time trials in Sea Foam Qualifying. After a few practices laps in session two, the Lemoore, California athlete jumped aboard the Albaugh – Your Alternative/BMRS/Greber Racing Components (GRC) #41 Maxim as the man and machine were preparing to work together to create speed. Carson would be the twelfth driver to roll out onto the big half mile oval as he flipped the shield down on his Bell Helmet. He would be out on the track with fellow California Central Valley star Giovanni Scelzi as they both used the time before taking the green flag to get their horsepower cranked up. Carson was digging off turn four as he raced by the flagstand to start the clock. He motored through the first set of turns and was running like the wind down the back straightaway. He maneuvered through the last set of turns and on the exit of turn four saw the white flag coming out. The clock timed him in 16.139 seconds the first time around as he was busily at work trying to improve his speed throughout lap two. This time when he raced down the frontstretch, Carson saw the black and white checkered cloth waving to end his time trial session. His second lap was recorded in 16.162 seconds, which was consistent but slightly slower lap of his two attempts. Carson’s best lap positioned him tenth quick overall in Flight A with Daryn Pittman, piloting the famous Kreitz #69k out of Pennsylvania, topping the speed charts in that group at 15.676 seconds. Daryn Pittman also earned the Simpson Quick Time Award on this Saturday night in Knoxville.

When the lineups for the four 8-lap heat races were posted, Carson Macedo would line up on the inside of row three in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/High Performance Lubricants/RaceDiecast.com #41 with Brock Zearfoss to his outside in the Moose’s LZ Bar & Grill #3z. Emerson Axsom and Logan Schuchart were rolling on the front row with James McFadden and Carson McCarl in row two. Rico Abreu and A.J, Moeller were in row four behind Macedo and Zearfoss with Buddy Kofoid and Kraig Kinser sitting in row five.

The engines were purring quietly as they paced side-by-side down the backstretch. When they reached the chalk stripe in turn four it was hammer down time. The green flag flew with Schuchart racing into the lead ahead of Axsom and McFadden.

Carson was running in the fifth position, but was sniffing around trying to get by McCarl in the running order. Just after the halfway signals were displayed, the driver from Lemoore, California used the inside line to drive underneath McCarl off turn two and into the fourth spot.

The field had fanned out with Logan Schuchart building an impressive lead. He would go on to take the win by 3.651 seconds over Emerson Axsom with James McFadden coming home third. Carson brought the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 home fourth with Carson McCarl claiming the fifth position and final transfer spot.

Not qualifying for the Toyota Dash for the second night in a row, Carson and the team were forced to watch and wait until it was feature time. When the checkered flag flew over the Last Chance Showdown (LCS) it was time for the 25-lap Premier Chevy Dealers Clash feature finale at Knoxville Raceway. Race officials were keeping the program moving along as there was precipitation headed Knoxville’s way and they wanted to get the show in.

Philip, Robby and Adam made all of their last minute adjustments as Carson slipped on his K1 Race Gear gloves ready to get to work in the high speed affair in central Iowa. The Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 would get started from the 15th starting spot, which positioned Carson on the inside of Lynton Jeffrey in row eight for the start of the race.

It was now time for The Greatest Show on Dirt to let the stars shine to deliver a show to the fans in the stands and watching on DIRTVision. There were 28 cars, including the four provisional starters, and each driver was hoping to end the race first. The green flag was out and the sound of the roaring engines filled the air. Carson wasted no time as he quickly hopped on the loud pedal and raced up into the fourteenth position by the end of lap one. Logan Schuchart led the first circuit with Corey Day and David Gravel stalking him from behind for the top spot.

On lap 4, the first race slow down occurred when Lynton Jeffrey slowed after making contact with the outside wall in turn two making his way to the work area before retiring for the night. The running order when they came back up to speed way Schuchart, Day and Gravel with Donny Schatz and Brian Brown right behind.

Carson restarted from the outside of row seven and when they went back under green flag racing conditions he picked up one spot on the scoreboard. Logan Schuchart maintained the lead with the duo of Day and Gravel in hot pursuit. The driver of the Shark Racing #1s was fast, but the action was soon about to heat up. Day would take the lead on lap 16, but Schuchart was take it back on lap 21. The next time around though Schuchart would bring out the caution as he made contact with the outside wall in the second turn and had extensive front end damage.

It would be a three lap dash for the cash with Corey Day leading Donny Schatz, David Gravel, Kyle Larson and Scott Bogucki. Corey Day would not be denied as he earned the win racing across the finish line ahead of Schatz and Larson with Gravel and Bogucki completing the top five.

Carson came home with a 16th place finish to end two tough days of competition at Knoxville Raceway. Racing is never easy, but the team will take the lessons learned here at Knoxville Raceway and apply them when they return in August planning for better results.

Making the Most of the Challenging Time in Iowa with a 16th Place Run in the JJR #41 at Knoxville Raceway! Photo Credit: Trent Gower Photography

JJR’s Valued Sponsorship Partners: Albaugh, LLC; Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Border International; Scott Boyd Family; Saich Family; Tarlton and Son Inc.; Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions; Durst Inc.; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Kistler Racing Engines; Maxim Racing; Sander Engineering; Bandy & Associates Accountancy Corporation; Boltz Family; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); RaceDiecast.com; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Xtreme Body and Paint; All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads; AutoMeter; Bell Helmets; Ben Cook Race Car Products; BlackBeard LTD; BMRS (Brown & Miller Racing Solutions); BR Motorsports; Buckwalter Trucking; CASM Safety Products; C&R Racing; ChalkStix; Crow Enterprizes; CS Productions; Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne (FK Shocks); Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Fuel Safe Racing Cells; Greber Racing Components; Hoosier Racing Tire; Indy Performance Composites (IPC); ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; K1 Race Gear; KSE Racing Products; LogoDaddy; Motor State Distributing; Mr. Jim’s Racing; Premium Coach Group; Saldana Racing Products; Sam I Am; Schoenfeld Headers; Smith TI; Vortex Racing Products; Walker Performance Filtration; Wilwood Racing; and Winters Performance Products.

To stay connected with Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) and Carson Macedo go to www.jasonjohnsonracing.com.

Check out ShopJJR.com to buy all your new Carson Macedo and JJR gear and merchandise.