CHASING THE PENNSYLVANIA POSSE: ON THE OPENING NIGHT OF THE NITTANY SHOWDOWN AT PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY, CARSON MACEDO DRIVES THE BOLTZ FAMILY #41 TO A TOP TEN FINISH IN JUNIATA COUNTY

PORT ROYAL, PENNSYLVANIA (October 7, 2022) – When the remnants of Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc on the National Open scheduled races last weekend at Williams Grove, postponing the $75,000-to-win finale to Saturday, October 22nd, the JJR #41 team stuck around the Keystone State as they waited and prepared for the two nights of racing in the Nittany Showdown at Port Royal Speedway. The glow and warmth from the sun was welcomed during the day as the autumn season certainly could be felt when darkness set in overhead with cool, crisp air and the temperatures dropping into the 50 degrees. Coming off their podium finish in the abbreviated 10-lap preliminary night feature at Williams Grove last Friday night, Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing team were looking to continue their recent string of strong performances when they arrived at The Speed Palace, which has been challenging for the team in the past. There were 40 sprint car teams lining the pit area off turn four on the outside of the half-mile oval in Juniata County on Friday night. It was time to go racing at Port Royal Speedway!

With the number of cars in the pit area being greater than 38, the field of competitors were split into two separate groups for My Place Hotels Qualifying following the World of Outlaws format. Carson Macedo would be the 12th driver out in Group B for his two laps at speed around Port Royal. There would be two cars out on the track at the same time racing against the clock. When Carson rolled the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Tiger Towing/Winters Performance Products #41 Maxim onto the speedway he would share the track with Brock Zearfoss in the Moose’s LZ Bar & Grill #3z. He hopped on the accelerator and powered his way towards the waving green flag to start the second hand moving on the stopwatch. He raced through the first set of turns and down the backstretch at this high speed joint. Exiting turn four he saw the white flag waving. When the Californian raced under it to complete his first lap, the clock read 16.022 seconds. Hammer down he kept his Kistler Engines power working to make speed and he used his KSE Racing Products to steer his way around the fast half-mile. When he took the checkers to complete his time trial effort the second lap was recorded at 16.119 seconds. The faster of his two laps was seventh quick in Group B with Spencer Bayston establishing the quickest lap of the night out of Group A at 15.597 seconds.

The 8-lap heat race lineups were drawn up using each of the drivers quickest time trial lap. For Carson, that meant he would start fourth aboard the Tarlton and Son/Border International/C&R Racing #41 from the outside of row two with Jacob Allen. Lance Dewease and Justin Whittall were rolling in row one with Brian Brown, Lucas Wolfe, Sheldon Haudenschild, Austin Bishop, Cameron Smith, and Kraig Kinser getting into their positions behind the row two starters. The field paced slowly around the fairgrounds track as they were patiently waiting to pound the loud pedal when they crossed the chalk stripe in turn four. When they arrive the green flag waved and the sweet sound of 410 engines filled the air in Juniata County. Carson raced the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 into third through the first set of turns, but Allen worked his way back by. Lance Dewease was leading Justin Whittall through the first two circuits before the yellow was thrown for Sheldon Haudenschild who made contact with the way in the first turn. Sheldon would head to the work area and rejoin the field at the rear. They aligned two-by-two and when they got back up to speed it was Dewease leading Whittall with Macedo working his way around the around the outside to claim the third position ahead of Allen. The driver of the famous #69k never looked back as he cruised to the heat race win over Justin Whittall by 0.336 seconds with Carson bringing the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41 home in third as Jacob Allen and Lucas Wolfe secured the last two transfer positions.

The starting lineup for the 25-lap opening night feature in the Nittany Showdown at Port Royal Speedway was set. Carson Macedo would get started from the outside of row five aboard the Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/Team Jack Foundation/BMRS (Brown & Miller Racing Solutions) #41 Maxim. Philp Dietz, Clyde Knipp and Nate Repetz finished their work as the Lemoore, California speed chauffeur rolled on the track to be pushed off. Pennsylvania Posse members Anthony Macri in the J&S Classics #39M and Justin Whittall in the #67 would lead the field to the green flag in a race for the checkers and the $10,000 winner’s share of the purse. Port Royal has a beautiful facility that is fast and very technical, which demands the best out of these talented athletes. Macri wasted little time setting the pace with Whittall, Lance Dewease and Donny Schatz chasing. Carson would relinquish two positions at the start of the race in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Schoenfeld Headers/Indy Performance Components (IPC) #41 Maxim. He was working the low side and exiting the turns high and found his rhythm. The laps were clicking by with Macri at the front and stretching his lead. Carson was just outside the top ten running in twelfth battling for a position in the top ten with Brent Marks, Ryan Smith, Brad Sweet and Danny Dietrich. With 16 laps in the books, a yellow flag slowed the field as Brent Marks came to a stop on the frontstretch after contact with Sye Lynch. Anthony Macri was still leading with Lance Dewease who moved into contention. Carson got a good restart and moved into the ninth position when the field was scored after lap 17. He moved by Ryan Smith, but Smith was keeping the pressure on throughout the last 9 laps. Carson was chasing down eighth running Sye Lynch and closing the gap. Dewease was doing the same to Macri for the top spot, but the 23 year old speedster wasn’t about to give up the lead. Anthony Macri would be the first driver to race under the waving checkered flag to earn his first career World of Outlaws victory over Lance Dewease with eighth starting Logan Wagner finishing third it make it an all-Pennsylvania Posse podium with Justin Whittall and David Gravel rounding out the top five. On the last lap Carson was within striking distance of Sye Lynch and let it all hang out through the first set of turns making contact with the wall in turn two. His momentum and speed were interrupted after the contact just enough to allow Ryan Smith back by with Macedo holding on for a tenth place finish. A good run for the forty-one!

A Top Ten Finish at The Speed Palace on the Opening Night of the Nittany Showdown! Photo Credit: Cameron Saich

Albaugh, LLC; Border International; Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Saich Family; Tarlton and Son Inc.; Boltz Family; Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions; Durst Inc.; Liquid Trucking; Bandy & Associates Accountancy Corporation; Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution; Jansen Transportation; Larry Davis Farms; Meyers Constructors Inc.; Mr. Jim’s Racing; RaceDiecast.com; Sam I Am; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Tiger Towing; All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads; AutoMeter; Bell Helmets; BMRS (Brown & Miller Racing Solutions); BR Motorsports; C&R Racing; Crow Enterprizes; Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne (FK Shocks); Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Greber Racing Components; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Hoosier Racing Tire; Indy Performance Composites (IPC); ISC Racers Tape; K1 Race Gear; Kistler Racing Engines; KSE Racing Products; Maxim Racing; Motor State Distributing; Premium Coach Group; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); Saldana Racing Products; Schoenfeld Headers; Smith Titanium; Vortex Racing Products; Walker Performance Filtration; Weld Racing; Wilwood Racing; Winters Performance Products; and Xtreme Body and Paint.

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

To stay up-to-date with Carson Macedo and his success journey on and off the track, as well as to purchase his gear and merchandise directly, visit www.carsonmacedoracing.com.