HUSTLING AT HUSET’S: AFTER BATTLING BACK TO A 14TH PLACE FINISH IN THE HUSET’S 50 ABOARD THE TARLTON AND SON #41, THE JJR TEAM HEADS TO MINNESOTA TO COMPLETE THE SHOWDOWN AT THE JACKSON MOTORPLEX

BRANDON, SOUTH DAKOTA (June 22, 2021) – When the dust settled after the first night of action at Huset’s Speedway, Carson Macedo and the JJR forty-one were scored with a 15th place finish. But as the teams regrouped in the pit area on Tuesday night there was a bigger share of the two-day purse on the line for the second night of action that everyone was willing to return and hustle extremely hard for . . . $30,000 for the first place finisher. Plus, there was also the opportunity to effectively eliminate everyone else from contention for the $100,000 bonus on the line in The Showdown that only the winner of this Huset’s 50 finale would be eligible to claim if they bundled it with another win in the looming Jackson Nationals finale on Saturday night at the Jackson Motorplex. Game on for all of these competitors and teams as there were 41 of them back and ready to get after it at Huset’s Speedway.   

The field once again was separated into two equal flights for time trials in Slick Woody’s Qualifying. By the luck of the pill draw, the Lemoore, California driver that pilots the Tarlton and Son/Meyers Constructors/Walker Performance Filtration #41 would be the third driver to push off in Flight B for his two timed laps. As James McFadden completed his two laps, Carson flipped down the shield on his Bell Racing USA helmet and was ready to put the work in during his on track solo performance. He took the green flag at speed and was tenacious as he challenge himself and equipment to give their best performance around the demanding bullring. His California roots prepared him to handle these smaller tracks. When he darted across the finish line to end lap one his time was recorded at an impressive 10.662 seconds. With no awareness with regards to his first lap time, he stayed on the accelerator and was giving everything he had again the next lap. That lap was captured in 10.723 seconds with the faster of his two laps resulting in him finishing as the second quickest overall in Flight B. Logan Schuchart turned in an incredible lap two as he ran the fastest time in Flight B and was the fastest overall qualifier for the night with a lap of 10.607 seconds.  

World of Outlaws timing and scoring officials quickly went to work to pull together the starting lineups for the four 10-lap Drydene Heat Races starting based on each driver’s fastest lap in their flights in alternating order in from top to bottom on the final speed charts for their qualifying groups. Starting position is certainly important and can be an advantage, but what you do from that starting position over the course of the race is what the true measure of each driver’s success in this format. When scanning the lineups it was revealed that the Jonestown KOA/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS)/C&R Racing #41 Maxim would start from the inside of the front row beside Donny Schatz. The formidable front row was followed by Kraig Kinser, Justin Henderson, Parker Price-Miller, Tim Kaeding, Lachlan McHugh, Russell Borland, Riley Goodno, and Jason Sides in the starting lineup. Carson brought the field to the chalk stripe and used his Kistler Engines power to get up to speed. He used the low line heading into turn one to take the lead over Donny Schatz and stayed in a good rhythm each lap to extend his lead. Macedo was the first driver to race under the checkered flag 1.649 seconds ahead of Schatz with Kraig Kinser coming home third and Parker Price-Miller and Justin Henderson securing the final two transfer finishing positions in heat four.

Making his way back into the DirtVision Fast Pass Dash, Carson would get started from the fourth position in the Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/Smith Titanium/Weld Wheels #41 for the 8-lap dash. Donny Schatz and Aaron Reutzel comprised row one with Spencer Bayston sharing row two with Macedo. James McFadden and Brad Sweet lined up in row three as Sheldon Haudenschild and Logan Schuchart in row four. After some track work, the field was slowly following behind the pace truck ready to get their elbows up. With the green flag waver in the air they were off and racing. Reutzel was lightning quick and took the lead over Schatz. Macedo maneuvered from his outside starting position and dove low entering turn one to slide up in front of Bayston for the third spot. He would make a run at Schatz but could never muster enough speed to close the gap to make a clean attempt for the position. Behind him Bayston was not going away. Reutzel was in command and took the win to earn the pole position for the inaugural Huset’s 50 finale. Donny Schatz came home second followed by Carson Macedo as Bayston, McFadden, Sweet, Schuchart, and Haudenschild completed the finishing order.

Carson Macedo would roll onto the track buckled into the Liquid Trucking/Meyers Constructors/Team Jack Foundation #41 Maxim Racing machine waiting to be fired off for the Huset’s 50-lap NOS Energy Drink finale. There would be a planned yellow for a scheduled pit stop at lap 30, or before if there is a yellow or red around that point of the race, so teams can refuel and put new tires on for the balance of the race for the cash. When they went racing it was Donny Schatz going around the outside of Aaron Reutzel to take the lead with Macedo shuffling into the third position. Macedo was fast on the bottom and was underneath Reutzel attempting to the pass for second when they made contact sending Macedo flipping high into the catch fence as Austin McCarl also tumbled into turn one ending his night. Macedo headed to the work area as the Jason Johnson Racing crew, along with crew members from Shark Racing, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR), Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing and other team members all assisting. A sincere thank you to all of them for helping to make the necessary repairs so Carson and the JJR #41 entry were able to rejoin the field with zero laps in the books!

Carson restarted at the rear of the field as Donny Schatz and Aaron Reutzel brought them back to the green with Reutzel to the lead. He had work to do, but Carson Macedo quickly hustled the forty-one into the 20th position as he had his racecar moving forward. He worked his way around Cory Eliason and Justin Henderson over the next 3 laps to take ownership of the 18th position. With five laps in the books another red flag was displayed as Lynton Jeffrey and Jacob Allen made contact sending Jeffrey onto his side and flames coming out from under Allen’s engine compartment. Reutzel was leading Schatz and the Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) teammates of James McFadden and Brad Sweet when they came back to the green flag. Macedo rolled to the restart from the 16th starting spot looking to make up some more ground. He got up over the cushion in the first set of turns and lost four positions in the running order. Reutzel caught the back of the field and now lap traffic would be a challenge with 11 laps in the books. Carson was racing with Ian Madsen for position right in front of the leader and made the pass. When the planned caution flew it was Reutzel, Schatz, Sweet, Haudenschild, and McFadden in the top five with Macedo holding down the 16th position.

After five minutes in the work area for all of the teams, each car pushed back off and realigned in a single formation for the last 20 laps. When the field got back up to speed again, it was Reutzel locking down the lead with Schatz and Sweet close behind. Macedo moved into up two position into 14th place. With 10 laps to go it was Reutzel with the lead with Schatz pushing him for the top spot. Reutzel took the win with Brad Sweet coming home second and Schatz rounding out the podium spots. Carson Macedo showed heart and perseverance as he battled back from an early race incident to a 14th place finish. A new day and new opportunities lie ahead as the team now heads to Minnesota for the 3-day Jackson Nationals.

Macedo and the JJR #41 Team Show Perseverance and Recover After a First Lap Incident to Collect a 14th Place Finish! Photo Credit: Cameron Saich

Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Tarlton and Son Inc.; Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions; 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.