HIGH BANKED SPEED: KICKING OFF THE IRONMAN WEEKEND AT I–55 FEDERATED AUTO PARTS RACEWAY PARK WITH A SIXTH PLACE RUN IN THE DURST INC. #41 AS CARSON MACEDO HUSTLES AROUND THE MISSOURI BULLRING
PEVELY, MISSOURI (August 7, 2026) – After “follow the leader” type racing at Williams Grove Speedway during the C&D Rigging Summer Nationals finale last Saturday, Philip Dietz and the Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) team made the long haul back to the shop in Rocky Mount, Missouri for a busy week of preparation. Directly ahead on the competition schedule were two nights of strength testing in Pevely, Missouri on Friday and Saturday night before hauling overnight up to Knoxville, Iowa for seven straight days of intense competition starting with the 14th Annual AVANTI Windows & Doors Capitani Classic on Sunday night. The team spent the week with their heads down working long hours preparing for success during this important stretch of racing. On Friday morning they woke up and headed across Missouri to the eastern side of the state arriving at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park for the Night Before the Ironman.
Before heading to the track, Carson Macedo along with Cole Macedo, Garet Williamson, Buddy Kofoid, and Spencer Bayston made a special stop at the Shriners Children’s Hospital in St. Louis as part of the World of Outlaws Fan Experience to the delight of some very happy kids. These types of gestures are what make these athletes living breathing superheroes. After this important stop though they continued onto the one-third mile bullring that in one word is incredible. High speed. An abundance of passing. Great racing. And it always delivers top notch value for the race fans. The track just produces terrific wheel-to-wheel action and delivers a high entertainment value every time the cars hit the track. It was race day in the “Show Me State” of Missouri and there were 32 powerful 410 sprint cars parked throughout the pit area ready to compete. Joining them were the talented Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series competitors as the engines began to fire to start the night.
As is usual and customary with the World of Outlaws (WoO) touring series, the night always begins with Race//Ready Hot Laps to give the drivers time out on the track at speed. They use these brief test sessions to tweak their setup as they prepared for the first official test of the night in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. Each driver gets two timed laps to attempt to get around I-55 Raceway Park in the lowest amount of time. Sound easy? It is not, but these speed athletes are always up for a challenge. Carson climbed behind the wheel of the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/LogoDaddy/Schoenfeld Headers #41 Maxim awaiting his turn on the track. He would be the third speedster out for time trials. The infield race official gave him the ‘go ahead’ signal to head out onto the high banks. The Kistler Engines Ford Power under the hood woke up, and Carson took the horses for an early evening run. He galloped by the flagstand as the numbers began to move in full motion on the clock measuring his work. He circles the racing venue on lap one in 10.753 seconds and followed it up on lap two with a consistent but slightly slower time at 10.774 seconds. The quicker of his two excursions was sixth quick overall on the night in qualifying with Bill “The North Pole Nightmare” Balog #17B turning a lap in 10.664 seconds to earn the Simpson Quick Time Award at the Night Before the Ironman race.
The starting lineups posted for the four ten lap Heat races where the top five finishers earn starting positions in the A-Main feature depending on where they finish. Everyone is hungry and wants one of these coveted spots. The racing action here at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park is fast and furious . . . as well as relatively tight at these speeds. So, balancing the need for speed with courage is a fine line. Carson would get the Scott Boyd Family/Durst Inc./FK Rod Ends #41 started from the second starting spot sharing the front row with David Gravel in the Bog Game Motorsports #2 in Knoxville Bound Heat Race #2. Kasey Jedrzejek #6, returning after some time off to heal up, and Garet Williamson #23 would be in row two for the qualifying race with Steven Snyder Jr. on his first night behind the wheel of the Three Stooges Racing #51 and Joe B. Miller #51B tucked in behind in row three. Fort Collins, Colorado’s Scotty Milan #97 and Canada’s Paul Solomon #7 buckled in tight and pulled into their starting position in row four.
The engines all came to life as the driver’s flipped down their shields of their helmets. Ready to go, Carson stomped on the accelerator immediately when the green flag waved as he raced side-by-side down the front stretch with Gravel looking for the lead. He followed the black and orange car out of turn two in the second spot aboard the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 with Jedrzejek, Williamson, and Snyder Jr. right behind.
Garet Williamson would move his Fischer Motorsports #23 into the show position on the third lap with the top two, Gravel and Macedo, racing quite a bit ahead of him. The track was filled with moisture from the rain the previous three days in the area, so it was fast.
David Gravel was showing off his Morrison Engines speed with Carson showcasing his Ford Racing power. They extended the gap on the field with each completed lap with Gravel taking the win by 1.055 seconds over Carson who finished second and earned a trip to the Toyota Dash. Garet Williamson raced home third with Kasey Jedrzejek and Steven Snyder Jr. completing the top five all earning transfer spots to the A-Main.
The track was still narrow and fast, so starting position was key in the 8-lap Toyota Dash. When all the numbers were pulled the starting lineup was set with Chris Windom #7s on the pole as Kelby Watt #1k pulled to his outside on the front row. David Gravel #2 and Buddy Kofoid #83 were together in row two with Carson Macedo #41 and Sheldon Haudenschild #18 in row three. The fourth and final row was comprised of Bill Balog #17B and Emerson Axsom #27. Where they finish is where they would start the feature event. The green flag was out with Windom securing the lead followed by Watt and Gravel. Haudenschild used his outside starting spot to his advantage driving into fourth place with Kofoid, Macedo, Balog, and Axsom all behind. Kofoid would reclaim fourth place with Windom sailing out in front of the field. Chris Windom drove to the win followed by Watt, Gravel, and Kofoid with Haudenschild, Macedo, Balog, and Axsom completing the finishing order
There were 24 cars and stars locked and loaded for the 40-lap Night Before the Ironman A-Main as the eight minute horn sounded throughout the pit area. Race officials opened the gate on the back straightaway as the crew members began to guide their cars and drivers up the hill using their four-wheelers to stage on the track. After winning the Toyota Dash, Chris Windom in the Sides Motorsports #7s was set to start from the pole position with Kelby Watt #1k again to his outside on the front row. Pulling in behind them in row two were David Gravel #2 and Buddy Kofoid #83 with Sheldon Haudenschild #18 and Carson Macedo #41 following in row three as Bill Balog #17B and Emerson Axsom #27 paced side by side in row four.
Eager to get the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Pro Powder Coating (PPC)/Xtreme Body and Paint #41 Maxim up to speed, Carson waited patiently on the track as he finalized his early race strategy. It was going to be tough to pass with a very tight racing groove and moisture still in the race track’s surface to find grip to make speed. Starting his journey from the sixth starting spot in row three alongside Sheldon Haudenschild in the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink #18, the Lemoore, California speed chauffeur locked in. Both drivers were focused and hungry for speed and success.
When the field went four wide to salute the fans in the stands they filled the track’s wide racing surface from the inside barrier all the way up to the outside wall. What a cool sight. The drivers raced back into their starting spots as the yellow lights turned off around the bullring in anticipation of the green flag waving the next time by. Polesitter <> dictated the pace as they crawled towards the chalk stripe in turn four.
When they arrived, the green flag waved, and the powerful engines roared out load. Chris Windom led the opening lap with Kelby Watt running second and Buddy Kofoid dicing from third place. Carson was racing in the fifth position behind Gravel and in front of Haudenschild at the end of the first lap with thirty-nine laps remaining to make more progress and try move the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 forward.
The first ten laps of the race flew by with very little passing at this speed towards the front of the field. On lap 13, Sheldon Haudenschild was the first driver to move out of the dominant low racing lane as he moved up on the track. He found some temporary space and used the free lane to move by Carson for the fifth spot. The Wooster, Ohio driver eventually also made his way by David Gravel to take over fourth in the running order.
Chris Windom was doing a masterful job navigating through slower traffic up front with Kelby Watt and Buddy Kofoid starting to close in slightly. Carson also searched around and on lap 23 passed David Gravel to move back into the top five. By the slower cars, which are not slow, were racing in the same lanes as the faster cars at the front of the pack clogging things up.
The traffic jam enabled Gravel to regain the fifth spot with twelve laps to go as Watt and Kofoid continued to get much closer to the race leader. Windom continued to carry his speed around I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park with the white flag out. The cars directly in front of him were racing for position allowing Watt and Kofoid to be right there entering turn three. Windom exited turn four and raced to the win as Kofoid slid underneath Watt in turn four to finish second relegating Watt back to the show position. David Gravel came home fourth with Sheldon Haudenschild rounding out the top five. Carson finished sixth with Logan Schuchart, Rees Moran, Spencer Bayston, and Skylar Gee #16c finishing in the top ten.
With sweat beading off his brows on this hot night, Carson climbed out of his Maxim Racing machine following his sixth place finish in the feature as the team debrief on lessons learned that could position them better to drive more success on Saturday night in the coveted barbell event known as the Ironman 55. Make plans to join the teams of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series to take in the event live. If you cannot be there in person, be sure to watch every lap on DIRTVision! #Ironman55
Working Around I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park in the Night Before the Ironman! Photo Credit: Cameron Saich – CS Productions
JJR’s Valued Sponsorship Partners for 2026: 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); 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; Crow Enterprizes; CS Productions; Dale “Mickey” Snyder; Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne (FK Shocks); Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Greber Racing Components (GRC); 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; PWR Advanced Cooling Technology; 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.
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