DIGGING IN NORTH CAROLINA: MACEDO BATTLES BACK TO THE TOP SPOT ON NIGHT TWO OF THE WORLD FINALS TO COLLECT THE JJR TEAM’S 12TH WIN OF THE SEASON ABOARD THE MESILLA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION (MVT) #41 MAXIM

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA (November 8, 2024) – After hustling and fighting back to a solid sixth place finish on the opening night for the sprint cars at the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Thursday night after starting fourteenth, Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) #41 team were back at the track ready to dig in again on night two of action. This beautiful racing facility is situated adjacent to zMAX Dragway. The difference between the NHRA style cars and these sprint cars, it the latter goes fast down both of the straightaways as well as carrying their speed through the high banked turns at each end of their track . . . in dust, while the drag cars just go straight at incredible speeds. Nonetheless, both take a tremendous amount of courage in order to be successful. There were 45 sprint car teams back at the track with their rear trailer door down in the pit area as they prepared for another night of high speed action – World of Outlaws style! 

As is usual and customary in the World of Outlaws race format, each of the drivers are given the opportunity to speed for two laps looking to lay down their fastest laps in Sea Foam Qualifying. For this event that all occurred on Wednesday night. The order each driver went out is determined by random draw. For Carson that meant he would be the eleventh athlete to hit the track in Group B. He rolled onto the racing surface in turn three off the backstretch staging lane and mashed the gas pedal to build up his speed as digging towards the flagstand on the frontstretch. When he arrived the seconds on the clock began ticking away as he was doing his work from the comfort of his Fibreworks Composites carbon fiber seat. Carson powered the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Border International/Scott Boyd Family #41 Maxim turn four as he raced under the waving white flag. He completed his first lap in 13.175 seconds. Still on the hammer he was making tracks and not looking back. With his Kistler Engines power continue to work hard he continued to hustle as he tried to find a faster way around. When the clock stopped with the waving of the checkered flag to end lap two, it read 13.144 seconds. The better of his two attempts against the clock ended the night at the top of the speed charts in Group B as he was quickest overall. David Gravel aboard the Big Game Motorsports #2 sat alone at the top of the speed charts out of Group A to earn the Simpson Quick Time Award circling The Dirt Track at Charlotte in 12.983 seconds.

Each of the drivers were then assigned to one of the lineups for each of the four 8-lap heat races based on their best time trial lap earlier in the evening. That meant the driver of the Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/FK Rod Ends/Xtreme Body and Paint #41 Maxim would pull into the pole position on the front row beside Daison Pursley in the Pella/Avanti Windows and Doors #13. Landon Crawley #7s and Kyle Reinhardt #91 paced directly behind them in row two with Bill Balog #17B and Greg Wilson #W20 in row three. Brock Zearfoss #3z and Kraig Kinser #70 were side-by-side in row four with Gage Pulkrabek #G5 and Emerson Axsom #27 in row five. Last but not least, Glenn Styres pulled alone into row six to start the race.

The drivers were all pacing slowly in their starting positions, but that was all about to change when they arrived to the chalk stripe laid down across turn four. When the front row starters arrived the calm turned into a high speed storm as the field raced down the front straightaway and into turn one. Carson led the opening lap in the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 as he raced by the flagstand ahead of Pursley and Reinhardt early. He was on a mission and started to pull away from the field with each completed circuit. When the white flag flew, Carson was in firm control of the top spot as he circled one last time before taking the checkers 1.489 seconds ahead of Daison Pursley who raced home second. Kyle Reinhardt, Landon Crawley, and Bill Balog completed the top five and secured the final transfer positions out of the heat race.

Making his way to the frontstretch to draw for his starting position for the 6-lap Toyota Dash, Carson was hoping to pull a low number so he would start near the front of the race. It was his series leading 47th Dash appearance of the season. When it was his turn, he pulled the ‘2’ pill to earn a front row starting spot beside fellow Californian Buddy Kofoid #83. Just behind the two talented California drivers were Justin Peck #26 and Daison Pursley #13. David Gravel #2 and Kasey Kahne #9 were in row three with Sheldon Haudenschild #17 and Giovanni Scelzi #18 in the last row. The start would be important as the track had evolved throughout the night. Off turn four, Kofoid and Macedo mashed the gas and raced towards turn one. When they exited turn two it was Macedo with the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/FK Rod ends #41 Maxim out front with Kofoid, Gravel, and Peck giving chase. Carson was fast and never looked back as he clicked off six smooth laps to take the win by 1.585 seconds over Buddy Kofoid with David Gravel racing home third, Justin Peck fourth, with Sheldon Haudenschild coming home fifth. Daison Pursley, Giovanni Scelzi, and Kasey Kahne completed the Dash finishing order.

There were 24 cars, plus one provisional starter, locked into the lineup for the second night’s 25-lap World Finals feature at the 4/10-mile red dirt oval nestled on some land just outside of the city of Charlotte. After going four-wide to salute the fans of the sport, the drivers raced back into their proper rows in anticipation of the green flag flying.

Carson, aboard the Tarlton and Son/Durst Inc./Jansen Transportation #41 Maxim, would get his pursuit of the white and black checkered cloth started from the first starting spot located on the front row with Buddy Kofoid right beside him in the Mobil 1/Roth Enterprises #83. David Gravel #2 and Justin Peck #26 were right behind them eager to get rolling at speed.

The track conditions had changed quite a bit after some water and refined prep work before the feature, so the start was going to be crucial. Off turn four the driver of the forty-one was on the hammer and raced to the front with Kofoid and Gravel close behind.

On lap 2, Carson was leading the field when the yellow flag came out for Darin Naida #7N who spun in turn three to slow the action. When they tried to restart the race the green lights came back on but were quickly replaced by the yellow ones when Danny Sams III #24D made contact with Kyle Reinhardt #91 sending Jacob Allen #1a spinning through the infield and Darin Naida #7N spinning to avoid involvement.

It would be a single file restart with Carson Macedo showing the way in the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41. The Lemoore, California racer was able to put some distance between himself and the second running Kofoid who was being still pressed for the runner-up spot by Gravel.

On lap 9, Carson was out front but now navigating through lap traffic. That enabled Kofoid and Gravel to close the gap a bit as they raced through the dust that was being kicked up. Carson was trying to get by the lap car of Darin Naida on the bottom, which was slowing down, as Kofoid and Gravel moved up and were ripping the top.

The leader’s gap was shrinking. In fact, it was shrinking quickly. On lap 16, Buddy Kofoid raced around the forty-one and into the lead. Carson didn’t panic as he moved up top as started to race around the gnarly cushion to carry his speed. He was keeping pace with Kofoid and closing a bit. Off turn two, on lap 19, Kofoid got up over the cushion exiting turn two which allowed Carson to close and attempt a slide job in turn three for the lead. It didn’t stick.

Carson was right there though and when they entered turn one he slid up the track and made it stick this time as he led lap 20. He would not look back as he raced to the win by 1.040 seconds ahead of Kofoid with Justin Peck rounding out the podium. David Gravel came home fourth to secure the season series championship, with Kasey Kahne rounding out the top five.

In victory lane, Carson celebrated with his JJR #41 team and reflect on the race. It was his first win here at the World finals as he shared, “I think it takes time to win a race here. It’s definitely a chess game. As the lines and stuff move around, you’ve got to be able to move around with them. I think your car, obviously, being good helps, too. I felt really confident when Buddy got by me that I could maybe get back by him.”

He continued, “It feels good to win the battle tonight, but obviously we kind of lost the war. That’s a little bittersweet, but congrats to the two team and David on winning the championship. Man, we fought all year. We fought a hard as we could. Someday maybe we can be sitting in that spot.” Indeed, but tonight he and the team could celebrate their 12th win of the season, and Carson’s 47th of his career, as they also secured the runner-up spot in the championship point race.  

An Impressive Run at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Concludes the Second Night of Action at the World Finals Nets Victory! 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.

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