EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT IN ELMA: AFTER TIMING LATE AT GRAYS HARBOR IN TIME TRIALS, CARSON MACEDO AND THE TEAM DISPLAY A DETERMINED EFFORT ON THE ROAD TO WINNING THEIR 11TH WoO RACE OF THE SEASON

ELMA, WASHINGTON (September 5, 2022) – Philip Dietz, Carson Macedo, Clyde Knipp and Nate Repetz continued to work through the Labor Day holiday weekend with smiles on their faces as they trucked 160 miles down Interstate 5, Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) style, for the scheduled race at Grays Harbor Raceway, located on the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds, on Monday. Their hard work certainly has been paying off lately as they have had single digit finishes in the past seven consecutive races, including two wins – one at the Jackson Motorplex (8/20) and one at Red River Valley Speedway (8/27) to bring their WoO series total to ten on the season. They were looking to continue to carry that consistency and momentum out of The Evergreen State of Washington as they begin to head South to California for next week’s action. With the 7,966 foot Mount Olympus standing tall in the background to the North of the venue in the Olympic National Park, the team rolled the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 Maxim out of the trailer to begin preparing for the competitive night of action. The evening of competition would not be easy as racing with the World of Outlaws in never easy, yet alone dealing with the contingent of tough local competition that brought the field to 30 cars ready to race fast and make a run for the money.

To be successful in sports, as well as in life, you cannot wait to hustle. You have to wake up with a winning mindset and get after it right away. In sprint car racing, that is magnified as these athletes are put to the test immediately in My Place Hotels Qualifying, where they not only race against the clock but also their competition. Even though they are usually out on the track alone during time trials, the work they do is measured against their fellow competitors work down to the thousandths of a second on the stop watch. It is kind of like the 40 yard dash in other sports, but harder because it brings together the athlete with technology, engineering and the work of their team. No excuses. The car has to be right setup wise. The drivers have to hustle and be on their game. And, they need a little luck so they hit the track at the right time. Carson Macedo regularly works out to keep himself in shape both mentally and physically to perform at the highest level. Philip Dietz, Clyde Knipp and Nate Repetz also work hard and are important contributors to the team’s success as they do their part to keep the team’s edge sharp performance wise. On Monday night at Grays Harbor Raceway, Carson would go out very late in time trials as he would be the 20th driver to take to the track for his two timed laps in qualifying. The track was slowing down, but he was ready to give it his best shot. Carson was focused as he peered through the shield of his Bell Racing helmet. His hands were encased in his K1 Race Gear gloves and firmly wrapped around the steering wheel. The belts on his Crow Safety Gear were snug and he was ready to go! His Kistler Engines power was singing as he blasted towards the waving green flag to start the clock on his first go around. He was as smooth and stopped the clock on lap one at 12.441 seconds. Unbeknownst to him were the numbers he just laid down, so he just kept hustling inside the cockpit of his Maxim Racing chassis to see if he could fly faster on lap two. When he stopped the clock the second time it was slightly slower than lap one at 12.479 seconds. The faster of his two attempts ended the night 13th quickest overall, which positioned him behind the proverbial eight ball to start the night. Brad Sweet continued his speed and set quick time at 12.107 seconds.

The drivers and teams were busily preparing for the three 8-lap heat races. The lineups were posted giving them a glimpse into who they had to race against to earn a transfer position into the feature event later in the night. There were only six transfer spots available in each of the heat races, so the importance of hustling for Carson and the JJR #41 team continued. In addition, only the top two finishers in each of the heat races get a chance to race again in the dash to determine their A-Main starting positions in the first three rows, so there is a little extra incentive to perform at the highest level. Carson’s best lap in time trials put him in the first and fastest heat race aboard the Tarlton and Son/Tiger Towing/Saldana Racing Products #41 Maxim where he would get started from back in row three from the fifth starting spot. He was ready to continue to get after it as he would have to get moving with Jesse Schlotfeldt sharing the row with him with Brad Sweet and James McFadden on the front row and Tanner Holmes and Ryan Timms in row two. Washingtonian JJ Hickle and Australian Kerry Madsen were in row four with Logan Forler and Tyler Thompson tagged in row five. When the initial green flag waved it was Brad Sweet to the lead over James McFadden with Carson powering forward underneath Tanner Holmes and Ryan Timms into the third spot aboard the Liquid Trucking/C&R Racing/Winters Performance Products #41 Maxim. With one lap in the books, Hickle and Madsen made contact while racing for position bringing out the first caution of the race. Carson would line up third and when they got back up to speed immediately started to work on McFadden for the second spot. By lap 3, the Lemoore, California native driving in the Albaugh #41 had the runner-up spot and set his sights on tracking down Grass Valley, California’s Brad Sweet. On lap 5 another caution flew for Kerry Madsen who had a flat right rear tire after making hard contact with the outside wall exiting turn four. That closed the field up nose-to-tail with Sweet leading Macedo and Madsen back to the green flag. Macedo challenged him for the lead, but Sweet kept control of the top spot. With 2 laps to go though, Macedo made the low line work racing by the NAPA Auto Parts #49 to take command of the top spot. He completed his impressive heat race effort by racing to the win by 0.494 seconds over Sweet with McFadden coming home third followed by Hickle, Timms and Forler who locked down the final three transfer positions. A determined effort for Macedo to position himself and the team better for the balance of the night.

With a bottom dominant track surface developing and only six drivers getting the opportunity to race in the 6-lap DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, starting position would be important. Carson would be the first driver to pull a pill from the oversized NOS Energy Drink can and when he looked at the round disk in his hand it had the number one printed on it. He would start from the pole for the dash in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Border International/High Performance Lubricants #41 with Brad Sweet flanking him on the outside. Mitchell Faccinto in the Tarlton and Son #21 would get rolling from the inside of row two with Logan Schuchart to his outside. Fellow Shark Racing driver, Jacob Allen, shared row two with Sheldon Haudenschild to start the dash. When they went green flag racing, it was Carson driving his forty-one into the lead over Sweet. He was hugging the bottom staying close to the oversized tractor tires. The race went non-stop and Macedo would not be contested as he took the dash victory by an impressive 2.516 seconds over Brad Sweet who crossed the line ahead of Logan Schuchart, Jacob Allen, Mitchell Faccinto and Sheldon Haudenschild.

When the modifieds completed their feature event and the victory lane celebrations were completed, the air horns sounded alerting the WoO teams they had 8 minutes to roll onto the track for the 30-lap Labor Day Spectacular feature event. It was an all-California row one with Carson Macedo and Brad Sweet and an all-Shark Racing row two with Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen to start the feature. Carson climbed into the cockpit of his Maxim Racing machine and was ready to put on a show in the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Durst Inc./WELD Racing #41. The field of competitors engines fired and the fans in the stands were about to be entertained World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series style. After the Whiskey Myers four-wide salute to those fans, the drivers positioned themselves in their spots in the two-by-two starting formation. The initial green flag waved but was called off quickly for a multi-car melee in turn one involving Noah Gass, Logan Forler, Dominic Scelzi, Robbie Price and Spencer Bayston. When they finally went racing again it was Macedo to the lead in the Albaugh #41 over Brad Sweet. They got three laps in the books before another caution flag flew for eighth running Sheldon Haudenschild who was off the pace and slowing on the speedway. Back to racing, Carson again was showing the way as things heated up behind him. He was lightning fast allowing him to catch up to the rear of the field. With the track still dominant on the bottom, the lap cars allowed the field to close in on the leader. He was still in control, but had to trust himself that he was racing in the right lines. David Gravel was on the move from his eighth starting position and racing in the top five with a full head of steam propelling him forward. The talented racer was making his way further towards the front of the pack on lap 14 when the final caution flag of the night flew for third running Logan Schuchart who slowed and drifted to the infield. Carson Macedo would lead Jacob Allen, Brad Sweet, David Gravel and James McFadden back to the starting stripe with 11 laps to go. Carson was relentlessly working the bottom as Allen was trying the top side and the middle. Gravel was working the bottom too and raced by Sweet into third. He stayed the course and tracked Allen down and with 7 las to go secured the runner-up position. Meanwhile, Carson was working through the slower cars committed to the bottom lane. So was Gravel. He was tempted to try the top, but the lap cars moved up into the groove limiting his options. David Gravel would close in on Macedo with a few laps to go, but Carson would not be denied as he raced under the waving checkered flags for his 11th World of Outlaws win of the season, 12th overall with JJR as he one a non-sanctioned show at Knoxville earlier in the season. He beat Gravel to the line by 0.557 seconds with Jacob Allen coming home third, Brad Sweet fourth, and Donny Schatz charging from his 11th starting position to round out the top five.

After clearing the scales, Carson Macedo rolled the Albaugh #41 into victory lane and celebrating the hard-fought win with his teammates and speed partners – Philip Dietz, Clyde Knipp, and Nate Repetz. They had rebounded after a slow start in time trials and executed the success strategy to perfection on this night at Grays Harbor Raceway. A smiling Carson Macedo met with Chase Raudman and explained, “I was pretty let down after qualifying because we executed really well for when we went out, but we just got buried as the track fell off.” He continued, “Starting fifth and winning your heat (race) is usually unheard of these days against this kind of field. The minute we got behind the eight-ball, these guys stepped up. I can’t say enough about this car and the work Philip, Clyde, and Nate do.” It truly is a labor of love for this team. Another great run for Macedo and the forty-one team as they collect another victory on the season!

The WoO tour now continues down the West Coast to The Golden State of California for the three-day 68th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway starting Thursday night and Friday night, with the field split evenly for both of the preliminary nights of racing action, followed by the championship finale on Saturday. Tune into DIRTVision to watch all of the action unfold as the WoO stars of the sport take on the formidable California and West Coast contingent of talent!

Macedo and His Speed Partners at Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) Collect WoO Win #11 at Greys Harbor Raceway! Photo Credit: Trent Gower

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.