FRIDAY NIGHT CRUISING AT I-80: CARSON MACEDO HAS ANOTHER STRONG NIGHT ABOARD THE LIQUID TRUCKING #41 MAXIM AS HE EARNS A SPOT ON THE PODIUM AT I-80 SPEEDWAY WITH A THIRD PLACE PERFORMANCE

GREENWOOD, NEBRASKA (August 27, 2021) – After the dust settled following the conclusion of the postponed race at River Cities Speedway on Wednesday evening, the JJR #41 crew along with Carson Macedo trucked seven hours,  Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) style, down to the Cornhusker State to race at I-80 Speedway on Friday night, which is located between Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. I-80 Speedway was built in 1994. It is a 4/10-mile oval known for its exciting style of entertainment and has hosted a variety of touring series throughout the years to the delight of the fans. One thing that is a given is these fans will come out in droves when the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series competitors come to town. The grandstands are huge and on this night they were absolutely packed for Liquid Trucking night. There were 26 teams parked throughout the I-80 Speedway pit area with their eye on the $10,000-to-win check and prize.

Following hot laps, the drivers and teams lined their entries up in the staging area for their two individual laps against the clock in Slick Woody’s Qualifying. Time trials typically sets the tone for the night for each of the teams as it dictates where you start in the heat races. The long-standing track record here at I-80 speedway was set back on September 20, 2000, by Mark Kinser with a lap of 13.570 seconds. Carson was eager to get going to see what he could do on this night and climbed into the cockpit of his Maxim Racing chassis ready for his performance in the solo portion of the show as he would be the first car out on the track. Buckled tightly into his Crow Enterprizes safety belts, the Lemoore, California native flipped the shield down on his Shifty Illusions custom painted Bell Helmet as his engine came to life. He pounded the loud pedal and got up on the wheel as he took the green flag. He was whistling around the fast surface and bolted under the waving white flag stopping the clock the first go ‘round in 14.476 seconds. He kept his momentum up aboard the Tarlton and Son/Border International/Larry Davis Farms #41 and when he exited turn four and raced under the checkered flag the clock displayed a consistent, but quicker lap at 14.439 seconds for his efforts on lap two. The quicker of his two speed attempts ended up third quick overall in the time trial session. The quick time of the night was delivered by David Gravel who hustled around I-80 Speedway in 14.426 seconds.

Based on his qualifying effort, Carson would line up in the on the pole position aboard the Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/Liquid Trucking/Bandy & Associates #41 beside fellow racer Jacob Allen in the third of three 8-lap Drydene Heat Races. Donny Schatz and Kraig Kinser staged in row two with Wayne Johnson, Noah Gass, Roger Crockett, and Chris Martin rolling in behind to complete the starting order. The starting field had talented throughout the grid, so racing hard from the drop of the green flag was paramount. They aligned in their side-by-side starting formation and slowly made their way to the chalk stripe in turn four. The green flag waved and the engines roared as the field came down the frontstretch. Macedo led Allen into the first set of turns as he took command of the lead. An early caution for Roger Crockett regrouped the field, but when they restarted it was again Macedo to the lead over Allen who was battling with Donny Schatz for the runner-up position. Schatz would work by Allen and set his sights on catching the driver of the forty-one, but the distance was too much to close before the checkered flag flew. Carson Macedo led the remaining distance and was uncontested as he took the win by 1.661 seconds over Schatz, with those two drivers securing spots in the dash later, with Allen, Kinser, Johnson, and Crockett securing the final four transfer positions to the feature.

Once again, Carson was able to earn a spot in the 6-lap DirtVision Fast Pass Dash. Where he would start would be determined by the luck of the draw on the frontstretch with Hannah Rickards. The Lemoore, California native would be the third driver to pull his number and when he did it was the number one! That positioned him on the pole of the dash beside Donny Schatz. David Gravel and Kasey Kahne were in row two. Brian Brown and Sheldon Haudenschild were in row three. The finishing order set the starting grid for the first three rows on the feature event. That’s what was at stake. Carson rolled onto the inside of row one and drove into the lead at the drop of the green flag. David Gravel moved by Schatz for the second spot and immediately goes to work on the bottom of the track to pull closer to Macedo. Carson maintained the lead, but Gravel was right there trying to make the pass. Carson stayed up on the top of the track while Gravel continued to pound the bottom where he had found something. Keeping his momentum up, Carson continued to wheel the forty-one from the front leading the dash from start to finish to earn the pole for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown feature as he crossed the finish line by 0.443 seconds ahead of Gravel, with Haudenschild, Schatz, Kahne, and Brown completing the dash event’s finishing order.

With all of the qualifying action in the rearview mirror, it was now time for the 30-lap NOS Energy Drink FVP Platinum Battery Showdown feature on Liquid Trucking night as the cars headed onto the track. Carson was patiently sitting in his Fibreworks Composites seat awaiting his speed adventure ay I-80 Speedway in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/High Performance Lubricants/Walker Performance Filtration #41 Maxim. He had a good starting position and wanted to capitalize on it with another strong performance. Rolling off behind the Liquid Trucking pace truck, Carson focused on the job at hand with the always formidable David Gravel to his outside. Following the four-wide salute to the fans who packed the house, the JJR #41 of Macedo and Big Game Motorsports #2 of Gravel brought the field out of turn four and down the frontstretch to the green flag. Macedo used his Kistler Engines power to drive off the bottom to the top side of the track around turns one and two. He had the lead as the two talented speed chauffeurs raced down the backstretch. He led the first lap with Gravel right behind on his tail tank. During the first third of the race it was all Macedo though. But a familiar foe in Donny Schatz was on the move as he passed Gravel for the runner-up position and was closing the gap on Macedo for the lead as they maneuvered through lap traffic. Schatz was working hard on the bottom as Macedo searched for speed in the middle and around the top. On lap 11, Schatz caught him and raced into the lead with Macedo close behind in second. Sheldon Haudenschild was now in the mix racing his NOS Energy Drink #17. He was running in the third position after moving by Gravel on lap 18. The young gun was tracking down Macedo who moved to the bottom to see if he could find some speed down there. Over the next few laps Haudenschild caught up to him and with 5 laps to go made the pass on Carson using the outside lane to relegate Macedo back to the show position. Schatz by this point of the race had checked out and eventually took the win by 3.371 seconds over Haudenschild, with Macedo coming home third to secure his second straight podium finish this week. Another great run for Macedo and the forty-one!

Carson Macedo Earns a Second Consecutive Podium Finish with a Third Place Run at I-80 Speedway! Photo Credit: Trent Gower

Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Tarlton and Son Inc.; Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions; Albaugh – Your Alternative, Saich Family; Border International; Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution; Jonestown KOA; Durst Inc.; Maxim Racing; The Boyd Family; Liquid Trucking; Meyers Constructors Inc.; Tiger Towing; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); Waco Metal; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Kistler Engines; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; All Pro Auto Reconditioning; K1 Race Gear; AutoMeter; Bandy & Associates Accountancy Corporation; Bell Racing USA; Blackbeard LTD; BR Motorsports; Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS); Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; C&R Racing; Chalk Stix Torsion Bars; Crow Enterprizes; Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne (FK Shocks); Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Fuel Safe Racing Cells; Greber Racing Components; Hoosier Racing Tire; ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; KSE Racing Products; Larry Davis Farms; Logo Daddy Graphics; Mr. Jim’s Racing; MSD Performance; RaceDiecast.com; Sam I Am; Schoenfeld Headers; Smith Titanium; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Vortex Racing Products; Walker Performance Filtration; Weld Wheels; Wilwood Racing; and Winters Performance Products.

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.