BATTLE FOR BIG GATOR: THE JASON JOHNSON RACING (JJR) #41 TEAM OVERCOMES A SLOW START EARLY TO RACE FORWARD TO ANOTHER PODIUM FINISH AT VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK DURING CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT AT THE DIRTCAR NATIONALS

DE LEON SPRINGS, FLORIDA (February 7, 2026) – On Friday night, Carson Macedo was the quickest driver in his time trial group (Flight B), won the Heat race, and drove the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 to a third place finish after starting seventh in the feature. The first three nights of scheduled DIRTcar Nationals competition at Volusia Speedway Park flew by like the Blue Angels, with Thursday night’s action rained out, but it was time to battle to see who was going to go home with the coveted Big Gator following Saturday action.

Carson came into the night two points behind Buddy Kofoid who was sitting at the top of the point standings with 292 points with Anthony Macri in third with 286 points. There were 41 teams back at the track to give it their best shot at the track dubbed The World’s Fastest Half Mile. These professional athletes were chasing both the big gator and the biggest share of the purse on the final night of the 55th Annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

All the entrants for the night split into two equal groups for Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. When the final time trial list posted, Carson Macedo would roll onto the track as the 13th car out in Flight B wheeling the Tarlton and Son/KSE Racing Products/Schoenfeld Headers #41 Maxim. When it was his turn, the push truck slowly rolled up and tapped the rear nerf bar of the forty-one assisting the Kistler Racing Engines power to fire under the hood. Chris Windom in the Sides Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink #7s joined Carson out of the track to make speed and battle against the rolling numbers pf the stopwatch. Carson whisked under the fluttering green flag to start the clock as he was hard at work managing the horsepower under the hood. He clocked in at 13.244 seconds on lap one and continued to dig for more the next time around. The clock would tell the official story and read 13.255 seconds when he completed the second lap of his time trial session. The better of his two attempts positioned him 10th quick overall in Flight B. Logan Schuchart, piloting the Shark Racing/Drydene #1s, was the fastest driver in the Flight B with a lap of 10.035 seconds, which also earned him the Simpson Quick Time Award for the night. David Gravel in the Big Game Motorsports/J.R.C. Transportation #2 topped qualifying in the Flight A with a lap of 13.056 seconds.

Race officials at the World of Outlaws (WoO) Command Center completed the lineups for each of the four qualifying races. The drivers who time trialed in Flight A were assigned to one of the first two Heat races with the drivers from Flight B competing in the last two Heat races. The Scott Boyd Family/Walker Performance Filtration/Smiley’s Race Products #41 with Macedo behind the wheel would get his qualifying run started from the fifth position in row three of The Greatest Store on Dirt Heat Race #4 with Scotty Thiel #16C to his outside.

Anthony Macri #39M and Conner Morrell #28M were up front with Brian Brown #21 and Parker Price-Miller #71 close behind in row two. Behind Macedo and Thiel pacing in row four found two talented brothers from Ankeny, Iowa, Chris Martin #44 and Cameron Martin, with Cole Macedo #2C and Danny Sams III #0D in row five.

The track surface was extremely fast, so each driver had to take advantage of every opportunity immediately when the green lights turned on around the track. The starting grid was side-by-side as they entered turn three but off turn four it was pedal down time. Carson stayed low down the frontstretch and drove the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 under Conner Morrell and Parker Price-Miller through the first set of turns to take over the third spot.

Anthony Macri was out front followed by Brian Brown and Carson Macedo. The driver of the J&S Classics #39M was flying making catching him a task versus a reality. Brown and Macedo kept chasing as the laps began to wind down. The Pennsylvania-based driver crossed the finish line first followed by Brian Brown 1.792 seconds later with Carson bringing the forty-one home in third. Conner Morrell and Parker Price-Miller locked down the final two transfer positions out of this qualifying race.

It was Big Gator Championship feature time at the 2026 edition of the DIRTcar Nationals. After falling one spot shy of an opportunity to race for his starting spot in the Toyota Dash, Carson waited patiently as Philip (Dietz), Robby (McQuinn), and Adam (Zimmerman) work to make sure he would have a chance at the big gold gator coming from his 12th starting position in the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 entry.

The Big Gator and the oversized winner’s check worth $20,000 were resting in Victory Lane awaiting the race winner as the engines began to fire around Volusia Speedway Park for the final night at the 55th Annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

There were 28 stars, including four drivers who elected to use provisional starting spots, buckled into their speed machines for their chance to shine under the glimmering Florida nighttime sky. Carson sat comfortably in his Fibreworks Composites seat with his Sharp Advantage custom-fitted insert ready to perform. He rolled the Albaugh – Your Alternative/T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication/Factory Kahne (FK Shocks) #41 Maxim into his starting spot to the outside of “The North Pole Nightmare” Bill Balog #17B in row six.

Brian Brown driving the Casey’s/FVP #21 and Brent Marks chauffeuring the Fenton Marks Racing Development #19 led the field from row one with David Gravel #2 and Anthony Macri #39M pacing in row two. Kasey Jedrzejek #6 and Sheldon Haudenschild #18 were together in row three with Logan Schuchart #1s and Chase Dietz #23D pacing in row four.

It was now time to throw it down at Volusia Speedway Park. Off turn four, Brian Brown powered up and led the opening night in front of David Gravel and Anthony Macri. Carson moved into the top ten on the opening circuit ahead of Tanner Holmes #13 and Bill Balog #17B. Chase Dietz was in front of him and was the next target for the California competitor.

But the battle for positions nine through fourteen were fierce and Carson got shuffled back as far as thirteenth in the first three laps before locking in again and starting his march forward through the field. That forward progress paused on lap 5, when Brendan Crouch #5 flipped hard after contacting the outside wall exciting turn four to bring the red flag out.

Carson restarted from 12th place when they went back to racing with Brian Brown leading Anthony Macri, David Gravel, Brent Marks, and Kasey Jedrzejek all behind the leader looking to race into a lower numbered position. When the field got back up to speed it was Brown out front with Carson advancing up to ninth place battling with Sheldon Haudenschild and Bill Balog. Behind them though was 21st starting Buddy Kofoid who was all the way up to the eleventh spot looking to push them for their spots.

On lap 7, Anthony Macri moved into the lead taking the top spot from Brian Brown. Carson moved up to ninth as he raced by Sheldon Haudenschild the next time by. He was fast and hustled by Bill Balog to take over the eighth spot on the scoreboard before the yellow flag came out on lap 11 for Brock Zearfoss who slowed to the inside of the track and retired to the pits for the night.

The green flag was back out with Macri now leading Gravel with Brown, Marks, and Jedrzejek still chasing. Carson used the next few laps to move by Logan Schuchart and Garet Williamson and was now sitting just outside the top five running in the sixth position.

At the halfway point of the race, lap 13, Carson drove by Jedrzejek into the top five just before the yellow lights came on for Emerson Axsom #27 who came to a stop in turn one.

Anthony Macri was still out front with an eager and hungry David Gravel looking to get to the clean air first. Brian Brown restarted third followed by Brent Marks, Carson Macedo, and Kasey Jedrzejek. The driver of the J&S Classics #39M maintained the lead ahead of Gravel but Carson was now running in third as he moved by Marks and Brown on the low side as they accelerated back up to speed.

This set up one of the most entertaining parts of the show and weekend of racing as Carson Macedo and Brian Brown were exchanging the show position like chump change at a casino. One lap Macedo had it. The next time by Brown took it back. Carson was low. Brown was high. The battle was on – sprint car style. These two talented drivers and ambassadors of the sport were racing clean and providing entertainment value worth at least twenty times the price of the admission price. The only thing that could slow them down was a yellow flag on lap 16 for Sand Springs, Oklahoma’s Hank Davis #17GP who stopped on the front straightaway.

Carson restarted third behind Anthony Macri and David Gravel in the single file restart order with just eight laps to go. The green flag was back out with Macri controlling the lead with the defending World of Outlaws champion meticulously pressuring him with skill. The battle between Macedo and Brown immediately resumed with Brown moving back into the third spot on lap 17 at the line before Carson reclaimed the position on lap 20 for good.

With five laps remaining, the driver of the forty-one was hoping there was enough time left to get in the mix up front for the lead as David Gravel was all over the race leader. Gravel eventually made the pass for the lead entering turn one on the last lap. But Anthony Macri diamond off the turn at the apex as he turned underneath the lap car of Chase Dietz to take the top spot back down the back straightaway and into turn three. He hugged the inside line and defended the lead as he raced off turn four to the win over Gravel by just 0.455 seconds. Carson raced home third with Buddy Kofoid and Brian Brown rounding out the top five on the final night of sprint car racing at Volusia Speedway Park.

When the dust settled around Volusia Speedway Park, Anthony Macri #39M was the driver who earned the Big Gator Championship trophy at the 55th Annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. Carson and the JJR team performed well each of the three nights as they raced to three podium finishes (second, third, and third) and finished just two points shy of the Big Gator Championship. It was not easy as they gained a cumulative of twenty spots from where they started over the course of the three nights. Carson and the JJR team began to look towards returning to Volusia Speedway Park at the beginning of March for two more nights of racing action at the Bike Week Jamboree event on the first and second.

Be sure to watch the best in the business racing with the World of Outlaws throughout the season on DIRTVision!

A Strong Run Results in Another Podium Run for Carson Macedo and the Forty-One Team! Photo Credit: Tyler Carr

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.

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

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