GRINDING IT OUT IN GRAND FORKS: SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE RAIN AND THE SUNSHINE CARSON MACEDO DRIVES THE SCOTT BOYD FAMILY #41 TO ANOTHER TOP FIVE FINISH IN THE DON MACK CLASSIC AT RIVER CITIES SPEEDWAY

GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA (June 7, 2024) – After a very successful and results oriented month of May, Carson Macedo and the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 team were looking to continue their consistency to kick off June last weekend before weather postponed that chance at Beaver Dam when it rained on Saturday night. May was an exceptional month of performance. During the ten races completed throughout the month, the JJR team compiled one win and an incredible nine Top 5 finishes – eight of which were podium finishes. They would get another chance to continue that streak as they commenced the June racing schedule Friday night at River Cities Speedway in the Don Mack Classic. This quarter mile bullring always produces great racing and is filled with excitement from the drop of the green flag to when the final checkered flag waves, as well as, everywhere in between. There was an impressive field of cars on hand with 31 teams lining the pit area ready to go racing with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

The stout field of teams were busy preparing their cars for each of their drivers in Sea Foam Qualifying. After each of the hot lap sessions were completed, the drivers climbed into their offices with a view to head to the staging lane as they awaited their chance to hit the track. Carson Macedo would be the 12th driver to dig into the surface aboard his Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/FK Rod Ends/High Performance Lubricants #41 Maxim for his two time trial laps. He gassed it up and was off to the races. The track was incredibly fast with moisture in it as Carson raced under the waving green flag and was on the clock for his first lap. He hustled around the bullring and stopped the clock at 9.901 seconds. Hammer down, the California speed chauffeur wasn’t sightseeing as he muscled his way around River Cities on lap two. When he tripped the timing laser to end his second lap it was better as the clock read 9.777 seconds. His second lap recorded was the fastest lap of the night overall, earning him and the team their sixth Simpson Quick Time Award of the season.

The starting lineups for the four 10-lap heat races were compiled and posted based on each driver’s best time in time trials. That put the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Durst Inc./Smith TI #41 on the inside of the front row pacing alongside Tim Kaeding, another California sprint car legend. Minnesotan, Gage Pulkrabek, and South Dakota driver Kaleb Johnson were behind in row two with Mark Dobmeier, Brock Zearfoss, Bill Rose and Tom Egeland filling rows three and four on the starting grid.

Neatly arranged side-by-side the drivers in the race reached turn four. Upon arrival the calmness quickly turned from order to chaos with Carson using his Kistler Engines power to drive off the bottom and into the lead ahead of Johnson and Kaeding to lead the first lap. The racing action at River Cities is tight, so as a fan you can find great action from the front of the pack to the back of the pack.

Carson though stayed on the gas and started to put some space between himself and the rest of the field. He was running laps in the mid to upper nine second bracket during the race and started to track down the back of the field. The California speedster never looked back as he raced to an impressive 1.440 second win over Kaleb Johnson. Tim Kaeding, Mark Dobmeier, and Gage Pulkrabek secured the final three transfers spots as Macedo and Johnson moved onto the Dash.

With weather in the area, race officials kept the show moving along as they had the Dash eligible drivers draw for their starting positions at the World of Outlaws Command Center for the 8-lap Toyota Dash. The starting lineup would have North Dakota native Donny Schatz on the pole with Giovanni Scelzi to his outside. Kaleb Johnson and Carson Macedo were rolling in row two with Nick Omdahl and Garet Williamson in row three. The final row found Sheldon Haudenschild and Landon Crawley ready to compete. When the green flag came out, Giovanni Scelzi wasted no time driving his KCP Racing #18 into the top spot ahead of Donny Schatz. Carson Macedo slid the Scott Boyd Family/C&R Racing/Wilwood #41 into the show position at the start directly ahead of Kaleb Johnson. The track was still really fast, so the field was showcasing the speed of these racing beasts with laps still in the nine second bracket. They were racing for their starting spots in the feature. Where they finished the Dash is where they would start in the feature.  Giovanni Scelzi won the Dash, so he would start on the pole. Donny Schatz came home second, Carson Macedo third, and Kaleb Johnson locked down the fourth position. Landon Crawley rounded out the top five with Garet Williamson, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Nick Omdahl completing the Dash finishing order.

The grid was now set for the 40-lap Don Mack Classic feature as the cars rolled out onto the track. The sun was shining at one end of the track while it rained at the other. Perfect rainbow conditions, but not good for racing. The race officials decided to pull the cars from the track as the rain picked up. After extensive track preparation, it was soon time to go racing in Grand Forks, North Dakota!

Carson would get the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Tarlton and Son/C&R Racing #41 Maxim started from the third starting position when they would line up. He would share row two with Kaleb Johnson in the #22K. Front row starters, Giovanni Scelzi aboard the Logan Contractors Supply, Inc. #18 and Donny Schatz in the CARQUEST/Ford Performance #15, would lead the field to the green flag as the engines came to life off turn four.

Giovanni Scelzi used the low line to drive into the lead ahead of Schatz. Carson used the same line to secure the third spot. That was the top three when the first lap was completed with Kaleb Johnson and Sheldon Haudenschild in the top five. It stayed that way the next time around.

By lap 3, the leaders were in lap traffic already. That was short-lived though as the first yellow flag of the night came out for Tim Estenson got up and over the banking in turn three. When they would restart it would be Scelzi, Schatz, Macedo, Johnson and Haudenschild coming back to the green first.

When the green flag came back out it was quickly replaced by a red one when Garet Williamson made contact with David Gravel off turn four at the start causing a seven car melee also involving Bill Balog, Gage Pulkrabek, Tim Estenson, Brock Zearfoss, and Jack Croaker. All of the drivers were ok, but there was a lot of torn up equipment.

The accident scene was cleaned up. When the green flag came back out with 37 laps to go it was Giovanni Scelzi racing back into the top spot with Schatz and Macedo chasing his orange tail tank. The track was still lightning quick and Scelzi was setting a torrid pace. He was flying in clean air and quickly caught the back of the pack. That allowed Schatz and Macedo to close in, but it was Sheldon Haudenschild in the NOS Energy Drink #17 who had the fans captivated. He was running in fourth and carrying his speed around the top.

On lap 10, Carson saw an opportunity and raced by Schatz into the runner-up position with Haudenschild doing the same to claim third. Three laps later, Sheldon drove by Macedo into second and turned his attention to the leader. The drivers at the front were still really fast, but lap traffic was creating the need for quick decision making.

On lap 19, Giovanni Scelzi was trying to put David Gravel a lap down when Sheldon drove by to take the lead. Now the Wooster, Ohio driver would have the task of trying to get by Gravel and he too made a mistake on lap 21 allowing Scelzi back by into the lead. Neither would figure out how to get by Gravel as the driver of the Big Game Motorsports #2 did a great job manhandling his repaired car at speed.

With 75% of the race down, Donny Schatz battled back by Carson Macedo to move into the final podium spot. Giovanni Scelzi would not be denied over the last 10 laps as he raced to the Don Mack Classic win ahead of Sheldon Haudenschild with Donny Schatz coming home third. Carson crossed the finish line in fourth with Mark Dobmeier rounding out the top five. The fourth place finish is Carson’s and the JJR #41 team’s 16th consecutive top five finish. Another good run for Macedo and the forty-one!

Carson Macedo Hustles All Night To Earn a Fourth Place Finish at the End of the Rainbow In the Don Mack Classic! Photo Credit: World of Outlaws

JJR’s Valued Sponsorship Partners: Albaugh, LLC; Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Border International; Scott Boyd Family; Saich Family; Tarlton and Son Inc.; Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions; Durst Inc.; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Kistler Racing Engines; Maxim Racing; Sander Engineering; Bandy & Associates Accountancy Corporation; Boltz Family; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); RaceDiecast.com; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Xtreme Body and Paint; All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads; AutoMeter; Bell Helmets; Ben Cook Race Car Products; BlackBeard LTD; BMRS (Brown & Miller Racing Solutions); BR Motorsports; Buckwalter Trucking; CASM Safety Products; C&R Racing; ChalkStix; Crow Enterprizes; CS Productions; Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne (FK Shocks); Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Fuel Safe Racing Cells; Greber Racing Components; Hoosier Racing Tire; Indy Performance Composites (IPC); ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; K1 Race Gear; KSE Racing Products; LogoDaddy; Motor State Distributing; Mr. Jim’s Racing; Premium Coach Group; Saldana Racing Products; Sam I Am; Schoenfeld Headers; Smith TI; Vortex Racing Products; Walker Performance Filtration; Wilwood Racing; and Winters Performance Products.

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