AUTUMN AT THE GROVE: THE FRIENDLY BATTLE WITH THE PA POSSE PICKS UP STEAM AGAIN AS CARSON MACEDO LEADS A LOT OF LAPS BEFORE SLIPPING LATE TO A FOURTH PLACE FINISH TO OPEN THE 63RD ANNUAL J&S CLASSICS NATIONAL OPEN WEEKEND

MECHANICSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA (October 3, 2025) – The team arrived back in the Keystone State of Pennsylvania looking to compete in one of the Crown Jewel events in sprint car racing. The team’s strong run at Williams Grove back in early May at the Morgan Cup came to an abrupt halt while charging forward and running in the fourth spot when a spinning T.J. Stutts collected Carson sending him into a series of hard flips in the middle of turns three and four ending the JJR team’s strong run that night. Then back in July the team returned looking for redemption at the two-day C&D Rigging Summer Nationals before Mother Nature came through and washed both nights out. Now with the calendar page now flipped to October with the leaves beginning to turn all shades of autumnal colors as Carson Macedo and the JJR team were back at Williams Grove Speedway eager to reclaim their footing at this famous half mile oval with its iconic bridge over the backstretch. The Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) team’s hauler parked in the infield pit area near their usual spot down towards turn four as Philip Dietz, Robby McQuinn, and Adam Zimmerman were busy preparing the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 entry for the opening night of the 63rd Annual J&S Classics National Open.

Williams Grove is unique in so many ways, presenting challenges for all the drivers and teams alike. From its unique paperclipped shaped layout featuring long straightaways leading into tight turns at both ends of the track to the rapidly changing racing surface which sometimes erodes the usable passing lanes, so every team in competition must adapt here to be successful. The variables are the same for every driver who elect to participate, so the teams must focus and be willing to continually reassess and alter their setups and race strategies. Carson Macedo has grown to like this place throughout his career collecting four career victories so far including wins in the prestigious Williams Grove National Open in 2021 and most recently in 2024. The Lemoore, California driver was one of the 56 drivers and teams signed in and ready to race on the preliminary night of the for the 63rd Annual J&S Classics National Open. It was time to go racing at “The Grove” with the World of Outlaws and Pennsylvania Posse!

When the final set of WEDG High Performance Karts Hot Laps concluded, time trials began in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. With 38 cars or more entered, the field of competitors divided into two equal groups based on the random pill draw. Carson would be the 14th driver to push off for his two laps around Williams Grove in Flight B where his speed and performance would be measured down to the hundredths of a second. He would be joined out on the famous half mile oval by Pennsylvania born and raised Brent Marks in his McGrew Bid.com/M&< Painting & Construction #19. Philip Dietz, Robby McQuinn, with Chase Young and Cole Young filling in for Adam Zimmerman who was sick, did their best to give Carson a good setup to make speed during his two timed attempts. It was now Carson’s turn to use his talents and skills from inside his high-speed office. No pressure of course. He got the Winters Performance Products/Factory Kahne Shocks/BMRS #41 Maxim up to speed quickly. With his elbows up, Carson ran a good first lap in 16.968 seconds and was looking for improvement throughout his second lap. He sure looked fast but only the numbers on the stopwatch would tell if he was as fast as he appeared to be to the human eye. When the Lemoore, California native crossed the timing and scoring line the numbers on the stopwatch that popped up for lap two read 16.921 seconds. The second of his two qualifying attempts was Carson’s fastest lap which was good enough to position the forty-one seventh quick overall in Flight B. Sitting at the top of the speed charts for Flight B was the legend Lance Dewease in the Barry Shearer Welding/Glenville Station Pub & Grub #12 who laid down a good lap in 16.760 seconds. The always fast David Gravel in the Big Game Motorsports #2 was the quickest driver out of Flight A to earn the Simpson Quick Time Award with a lap of 16.409 seconds.

This was the first point of the night where multi-car racing was about to happen, and each driver would have to be at the top of their game with only five coveted transfer positions up for grabs in each of the four 8-lap Heat races. Based on his quickest lap time in time trials, Carson driving the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Boltz Family/Schoenfeld Headers #41 was ready to duel in WIX Filters Heat #3 where he would get his fight started from the fourth spot pacing alongside North Pole, Alaska’s Bill Balog #17B in the second row. They were pacing behind the front row starters that featured Lance Dewease #12 and Kerry Madsen #15s and directly in front of Sheldon Haudenschild #17 and Brent Marks #19 who were together in row three. Skylar Gee #99 and Ashton Torgerson #1A shared row four with Zach Hampton #6 and Jordan Thomas #79 in row five.

The cars were moving at what seemed like a snail’s pace as the front row starters entered turn three. When the two talented speed chauffeurs in that row arrived at the chalk stripe poured across turn four, the pace changed quickly as their 410 cubic inch engines came to life and roared. The cars were now moving like cheetahs chasing prey down the long front straightaway heading towards the first set of turns at Williams Grove. Lance Dewease was in the lead as Carson looked low and then went around Kerry Madsen into the second spot through the first set of corners.

Lance Dewease turned left and was the first driver to make his way through the turns leading the opening lap with Carson closing and only a few car lengths behind when they passed the flagstand under green flag conditions. Carson was firmly in control of the runner-up position on the scoreboard racing with Bill Balog and Kerry Madsen who were looking to gain one spot.

Lance Dewease led wire-to-wire to take the victory by 1.839 seconds ahead of Carson as they both locked down spots in the Dash later in the evening. Bill Balog drove his Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup #17B home third with Kerry Madsen and Brent Marks securing the final two transfer positions.

After drawing their numbers, the eight starting positions were locked in for the start of the 6-lap Toyota Dash with Danny Dietrich #48 and Carson Macedo #41 on the front row. Behind in row two were Chase Dietz #23D and Lance Dewease #12 with Daison Pursley #13 and David Gravel in row three. The fourth and final row found Michael “Buddy” Kofoid #83 and Justin Whittall #67. Carson did not waste any time when the green lights turned on as he hustled off the outside of the track into the lead ahead of three talented Pennsylvania chasers – Danny Dietrich, Lance Dewease, and Chase Dietz. He had the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 scooting out front and was never challenged as he took the Dash win over Dietrich by 2.153 seconds with Dewease, Dietz, and Gravel completing the top five. Buddy Kofoid came home sixth with Pursley and Whittall crossing the line in the last two spots.

With the smoke clearing from the always cool fireworks show put on for the fans at Williams Grove, the 24 eligible drivers along with an additional 4 provisional starters began to climb into their race seats to buckle in for the 25-lap preliminary night feature at the 63rd Annual J&S Classics National Open. There was a sum of a lot of $100 bills with Ben Franklin’s face and torso printed on them waiting in victory lane for the winner. The impressive starting lineup featured nine (9) World of Outlaws (WoO) competitive drivers (32.1%), fourteen (14) Pennsylvania Posse (PA Posse) wheelman (50%), four (4) High Limit Series speed chauffeurs (14.3%), and one (1) independent driver (3.6%) – Ryan Timms #10.

Carson Macedo in the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 and Danny Dietrich in his Weikert’s Livestock, Inc. #29 lined up right beside each other on the front row. Pacing right behind the two experienced Pennsylvania speed athletes in row two was Lance Dewease #12 and Chase Dietz #23D. Carson’s finalized his early race strategy and envisioned his goals. He reached up to flip down the shield on his Bell Helmet as he was ready to get the Scott Boyd Family/High Performance Lubricants/Smith Ti #41 rocking and rolling from the pole position.

After the four-wide salute to the fans in the stands from the Keystone State and surrounding areas, as well as those tuning in around the world on DIRTVision, it was 10:55 PM and time to get down to business in Central Pennsylvania at Williams Grove Speedway. The field of talented drivers paced slowly in formation until the row one starters exited turn four hammer down. Carson Macedo hoped on the hammer and drag raced down the long front straightaway ahead of Danny Dietrich to lead the field.

Carson was cruising out in clean air as Chase Dietz moved by Danny Dietrich into the runner-up position on the second circuit with Carson Macedo still out front. Chase Dietz was fast and immediately began to close the gap between himself and the leader of the race.

On lap 7, the yellow flag came out for a four car tangle in turn three involving Daryn Pittman #69k, Bill Balog #17B, Kody Hartlaub #95, and Daison Pursley #13. When the melee was cleared the field was reset with Macedo and Dietz leading the field from the front row.

Carson was back on the throttle and raced back into the lead with Chase Dietz keeping him within striking distance. Lance Dewease moved by Dietrich to take over the show position David Gravel running in fifth. Carson seemed to be in complete control as he began to make his way towards the back of the field.

With 20 laps in the books, Chase Dietz was hounding the race leader for the top spot. HE was all over the Californian. Dietz was meticulously racing around the bottom in the last set of corners with Carson carrying his speed higher on the track. Chase Dietz was right there when they passed the flagstand to end lap 21, but that would change the next time around.

Chase Dietz got a good run off turn two and used his speed to drive under Carson entering turn three to take the lead exiting turn four. Lance Dewease followed Dietz by the forty-one relegating Macedo back to third in the running order. Chase Dietz would lead the remaining laps to collect his first World of Outlaws victory over Lance Dewease with Danny Dietrich coming home third after passing Carson with two laps to go. Carson Macedo hung on to finish fourth in the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 with Justin Whittall rounding out the top five. Another good run for Macedo and the forty-one!

The Preliminary Night of Action at the 63rd Annual J&S Classics National Open at Williams Grove Speedway! Photo Credit: Cameron Saich – CS Productions

JJR’s Valued Sponsorship Partners for 2025: 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; CASM Safety Products; C&R Racing; 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; ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; K1 Race Gear; KSE Racing Products; LogoDaddy; Motor State Distributing; Mr. Jim’s Racing; Prime Composite Innovations; Saldana Racing Products; Sam I Am; Schoenfeld Headers; Smiley’s Racing Products; 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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