FORWARD IN THE FOREST: CARSON DRIVES THE TARLTON AND SON #41 FORWARD AT SKAGIT AS HE RACES UNDER THE CHECKERED FLAG TO EARN AN EIGHTH PLACE FINISH ON NIGHT TWO OF THE SKAGIT NATIONALS

BURLINGTON, WASHINGTON (September 1, 2023) – With his 14th place run after an early race accident on Thursday night to open the Skagit Nationals, Carson Macedo and his JJR #41 team raced out of August with two wins and an average finish for the month of 5.45. Not too bad as they took advantage of their opportunities, were very consistent in their performances, and showed speed each time they hit the track throughout the month. They were looking forward to continuing their consistency and success as September began at Skagit Speedway. With beautiful skies overhead, the team headed back to the picturesque 3/10-mile high banked oval for the second of three nights of racing in the Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals. The upgrades they have made at this facility since being purchased by Kevin Rudeen are nothing less than impressive. And Peter Murphy does a tremendous job promoting the track weekly and when the traveling tour comes to town. Under their leadership they have taken something good and made it better to make it one of the best dirt racing facilities on the West Coast. Back in September 1954, Jed Davis waved the homemade cloth green flag over the first race with twenty old jalopies competing to make the dream of auto racing in Skagit County come to life. The wheels have not stop turning there and on the second night of the Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals 33 of the best sprint car drivers and teams in the world were back sitting throughout the pit area ready to continue the long-standing tradition of racing in the Pacific Northwest.

After a day of routine maintenance, Philip Dietz, Clyde Knipp, and Nathan Repetz rolled the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 out of the hauler as they prepared for another evening of competition and success. Carson has always enjoyed racing here throughout his career and has had some success. His first time to compete on this night was the solo portion of the show where each driver gets to race against the clock in Low-E Insulation Qualifying. Carson would have two laps around the high banked oval in which his fastest timed lap would represent him for positioning in the heat race lineups. He climbed into the cockpit of his Maxim Racing machine and buckled into his Crow Enterprizes safety belts. He rolled into the staging lane with one thing on his mind – speed. He was confident his Kistler Engines horsepower were propel him forward and was ready to let the ponies loose. He would be the third driver out on this night and when Bailey Jean ended her last lap, Carson was given the signal to roll onto the track. He was ready and pedaled down as he created speed. When he took the green flag the second hand on the stopwatch was rolling and so was the driver from Lemoore, California around Skagit. Carson was digging aboard the Tarlton and Son/Motor State Distributing/KSE Racing Products #41 as he was making quick work of his first attempt. But only time would tell how quick he went and when he completed his first lap the time that popped up on the scoreboard was 11.965 seconds. Unbeknownst to him, he just kept his right foot planted hoping for better results the next time around. He ran smooth lines and hit his marks. When he finished his last lap the stopwatch read 12.043 seconds. The better of his two laps was 5th quick overall when qualifying concluded. Your Simpson Quick Time Award was claimed by David Gravel for the 10th time this season as he laid down a lap of 11.738 seconds to lead the field in time trials.

After opening ceremonies ended, the engines were about ready to fire for the first of four 8-lap heat races. When scanning the starting lineups for each of the heat races, Carson would locate his name and car number in the absolutely stacked first heat race where he would get started from the outside of the front row aboard the Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/Meyers Constructors/ Factory Kahne (FK) Shocks #41. He would roll into his starting spot alongside polesitter and quick timer David Gravel. Multi-time WoO winner this season James McFadden and local talent Colby Thornhill were in row two. Logan Schuchart, the Million Dollar Man, and Thursday night’s winner Sheldon Haudenschild were in row three. The defending four-time WoO Champion Brad Sweet and hard-charging Buddy Kofoid were in row four with Bill Rose pacing alone in row five.

The field was set with the green flag about to fly as the front row of Gravel and Macedo led the field off turn four. Hammer down the engines roared to life as they raced down the front straightaway. Leading the opening lap was David Gravel in the Big Game Motorsports #2. James McFadden was underneath Carson vying for the runner-up position when they entered the first set of turns. He tried it again entering turn three and the two competitors made racing contact off turn four with McFadden on the inside. He spun across the track, similar to what occurred on Thursday night, to a stop bringing out the yellow flag. There was one lap recorded in the books and the restart order would be Gravel and Macedo followed by Thornhill, Haudenschild and Sweet.

When they went back to green flag racing, Sheldon Haudenschild squeezed his NOS Energy Drink between Colby Thornhill’s #19 on the low side and Carson Macedo’s Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 on the high side to take over the second spot. Carson was now running in the third position but was under an all-out assault commandeered by Brad Sweet for the show position. Sweet would drive by relegating Macedo back to the fourth position with Thornhill running in fifth. Meanwhile Gravel was still hustling out front and would not be denied, or challenged, as he raced to the heat rave victory over Haudenschild and Sweet with Carson coming home fourth and Colby Thornhill securing the fifth and final transfer spot.

Missing out on an opportunity to race in the Toyota Dash, Carson and the JJR #41 team had to monitor the evolving racing surface to determine their setup and strategy for the feature. It was time. The pit area was bustling with activity as the crews were finishing up their last minute adjustments for the second night’s $10,000-to-win 30 lap Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals feature surrounded by the silhouettes of the surrounding trees and forests. When the air horn sounded the crews began to finish up their work.

The front row for the feature would be David Gravel, the WoO season win leader with 10, and Rico Abreu who has four of his own only racing in a limited number of shows to date. Carson was preparing for his high speed adventure in the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Liquid Trucking/ISC Racers Tape #41 Maxim from his 13th starting spot in the field. He knew had some work to do, but also was confident he had the car to do that work to assist him in his drive forward. The drivers at the front of the pack led the right foot drop behavior off of turn four as they raced towards the green flag.

Rico Abreu used the outside line and led the opening circuit ahead of David Gravel and Sheldon Haudenschild as the duels throughout the field raged. Carson used the opening lap to gain two position as he was running in the eleventh position when the red flag was displayed early for Terry Starks who flipped.

When they went back to green it was Rico showing the way over Gravel who was being heavily pressured by Haudenschild for the runner-up position. Carson was embroiled in a fierce battle for the 11th position in the running order. He would move into the top ten on lap four. This relentless competitor is tough and he knew the JJR crew gave him something to work with for the feature.

Rico Abreu had a fast racecar and was showing the way on the point. When he caught the rear of the field he meticulously picked his spot and drove the #24 through it. With 9 laps in the books Sheldon Haudenschild moved into the second position with Gravel now trying to fend off challenges from both Corey Day and Donny Schatz. On lap 11, Corey Day moved by Gravel to take over the show position. Carson was on the move too as he was now running in the eighth position in the Albaugh –Your Alternative #41 Maxim.

Rico Abreu though would not be denied the remainder of the way as he raced to the win over Sheldon Haudenschild and Corey Day with Donny Schatz and David Gravel rounding out the top five. Carson did a tremendous job moving forward in the forest as he earned an eighth place finish. A good run for the forty-one, but Carson and the team will be hungry to come back on Saturday night to race in the $26,000-to-win Skagit Nationals finale at this beautiful facility in the Pacific Northwest.

Carson Macedo and the JJR #41 Team Making the Most of Night Two at the Skagit Nationals with an Eighth Place Run!

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.