EARNING THE “W” AT VOLUSIA: DRIVING AT THE FRONT OF THE PACK ABOARD THE MESILLA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION #41 LEADS TO FIRST WIN OF THE 2023 SEASON FOR JJR TEAM AT THE 52ND ANNUAL DIRTCAR NATIONALS

BARBERVILLE, FLORIDA (February 8, 2023) – After finishing with a fifth place finish to open the 52 Annual DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park on Tuesday night, Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) team were back and ready for round two of the Classic Ink USA Southern Swing on Wednesday night. Throughout the day Philip Dietz and the JJR #41 team went through their daily maintenance routine with an eye on improvement when Carson climbed into the cockpit of the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 on Wednesday night. There were 34 staunch team lining the pit area ready to compete for the prized gator and $6,000 winner’s check that awaited the first driver across the finish line at the end of the night.

Following the pill draw, Carson Macedo in the Liquid Trucking/Meyers Constructors/FK Rod Ends #41 would be in Group B and be the 15th car out on the track, fourth in Group B, for his two laps against the clicking stopwatch in Dixie Vodka Time Trials. After the team made some adjustments when hot laps concluded, Clyde Knipp pushed the Lemoore, California speed chauffeur to the staging area as he waited for his turn to mash the loud pedal. Alex Bowman, owner and driver of the Ally sponsored #55, would be his tandem partner in the chase for speed. Carson flipped the shield down on his Shifty Illusions custom painted Bell Helmet with his Kistler Racing Engines power coming to life. He hustled his way to the green flag and used his KSE Racing Products to steer his way smoothly through the first set of turns. When he exited turn four he saw the white flag waving as he powered his way by the flagstand. At 13.619 seconds, his first lap was a good one which catapulted him to the top of the speed charts overtaking Anthony Macri’s fastest lap up until that point in time trials. Not satisfied he stayed on the hammer and had the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 moving again. This time he turned in an even better lap at 15.589 seconds which kept him in the number one slot on the board with nine more sets of cars to take time. When the checkered flag flew over time trials, Carson’s two laps withstood the test of time as he collected his fourth career All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) quick time.

The time trial drivers in Group B would be slated to race in the second heat race with the fastest four drivers being inverted. That positioned Carson Macedo’s Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Bandy & Associates/Weld Racing Maxim on the outside of the second row with Brent Marks to his inside. Those two talented racers followed the front row of Sheldon Haudenschild and James McFadden with Giovanni Scelzi, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Jacob Allen, Alex Bowman and Kraig Kinser filling rows three through five. Securing quick time meant that Carson just needed to qualify in his heat race in order to transfer to the dash later in the evening. When the yellow lights were shutoff and the green flag waved, James McFadden drover the Roth Motorsports #83 into the lead ahead of Sheldon Haudenschild and Carson Macedo who moved into the show position ahead of Brent Marks. The talented Australian was in command at the front of the pack building a 1.2 second lead at the halfway point of the race over the NOS Energy Drink #17. Carson was holding down the third position keeping pace in the Albaugh #41. James McFadden would not look back as he raced to victory in Competition Suspensions Inc. Heat #2 crossing the finish line ahead Sheldon Haudenschild and Carson Macedo, with Brent Marks and Jacob Allen rounding out the top five. Those five drivers all advanced to the feature with McFadden and Macedo earning a spot in the dash to determine their starting position.

In the Sugar Street Bar & Grill Dash Redraw, Carson selected the ‘2’ ball to position himself on the outside of the front row beside polesitter Justin Peck. Donny Schatz and Brian Brown would make up row two with Brock Zearfoss and James McFadden in row three and Anthony Macri starting from the seventh spot for the 6-lap dash. What were the drivers racing for? Their finish in this race would determine where they start in the feature. The cars all rolled onto the track with their engines fired as they slowly paced around the half-mile oval. The flagman reached back for the green flag and was waving it when they exited turn four. Justin Peck jumped into the lead on lap one with Macedo right there aboard the Tarlton and Son/High Performance Lubricants/Schoenfeld Headers #41 Maxim. Carson would hustle by Peck on lap two as he allowed all the horses in his Kistler Racing Engines power loose. He would not look back as he took the win in the Elliott’s Custom Trailers Dash over Justin Peck, Donny Schatz, and Anthony Macri who advanced 3 spots, with McFadden, Brown and Zearfoss completing the finishing order.

The 24 cars who earned a spot to race for the win in the 25-Lap Mobil-1 feature made their way onto the track surface in preparation to do battle on the fast half-mile oval at Volusia Speedway Park. When all the engines were fired, Carson led the field from the pole for the traditional four-wide salute to the fans. Carson pulled the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Factory Kahne (FK Shocks)/Tiger Towing #41 into the pole position in the two-by-two starting formation.

When they exited turn four he stomped the accelerator and drive off the bottom as he drag raced Justin Peck down the frontstretch and into turn one. It was the forty-one that exited turn two with a slight edge over Peck. He maintained that advantage to lead lap one as he began to get into sync at speed. The leaders were moving fast and by the third lap they started to to see the cars at the back of the pack.

When Carson caught lap traffic he navigated through them with speed and precision. Behind him though it was all-out chaos as Donny Schatz, James McFadden and Justin Peck were racing three-wide for the second position. Donny Schatz would eventually take control of that spot and bent front wing and all, after contact with Anthony Macri on the opening lap, started to track down Macedo who was still in the lead.

On lap 20, Schatz not only caught Carson after the leader stumbled with his line through turns one and two with the 10-time WoO Champion taking the lead.

Carson was not about to give up and battled back around Donny Schatz the next time around to retake the lead. The determined Lemoore, California driver was not about to relinquish the top spot again and raced to the win over Donny Schatz and James McFadden to capture JJR’s first win of the 2023 season and his 8th career ASCoC win. Anthony Macri and Justin Peck competed the top five in round two of the 52nd Annual DIRTcar Nationals.

After exiting his car to celebrate with his JJR teammates, the grateful and talented driver explained that he lost the lead after making a mistake, but learned from it and recovered. He began by stating, “I knew why I lost the lead. I tried to be too creative in lapped traffic. I could see Donny start to show his nose and I ended up missing the bottom there in one to let him get by on the backstretch. I knew I had a good shot at getting back by him. I am not sure if he got tight or what, but it all worked out.” Carson continued as he referenced the JJR team, “Hats off to all these guys standing behind me. I am proud to be associated with such an incredible team and now we have the confidence we need to get the Outlaw season started off right tomorrow night.” He concluded by explaining, “There are a lot of highs and lows in this sport, more lows than highs for sure, so you have to be thankful for the highs.” A high indeed for Carson Macedo, Philip Dietz, Clyde Knipp, and Nathan Repetz along with all of the JJR sponsors and unwavering fans as they celebrated the first win of the 2023 season!

Celebrating the Victory in Round Two of the DIRTcar Nationals in ASCoC Competition!

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; 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.