MAKE THAT A DOUBLE PLEASE: CARSON MACEDO AND THE ALBAUGH – YOUR ALTERNATIVE #41 TEAM KEEP ROLLING AT RED RIVER VALLEY SPEEDWAY AS THEY DOMINATE WITH A “PERFECT NIGHT” TO WIN THE DUEL IN THE DAKOTAS AND SWEEP THE WEEKEND

WEST FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA (August 24, 2024) – After all of the engines silenced following the checkered flag flying up at River Cities Speedway last night, the Schoenfeld Headers on the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 were still emanating heat after Carson Macedo’s fifth World of Outlaws win of the season and 40th of his young career, Philip Dietz guided the JJR crew through their post-race maintenance activities before rolling the Maxim Racing machine back in the box before their 80 mile journey south to Red River Valley Speedway. This racy 3/8-mile, semi-banked dirt track sits just off Main Avenue West in West Fargo, North Dakota. Since 1967 the track has produced some memorable racing action and moments when the traveling tour of speed stars make their way through this area of the country. There were 29 sprints car teams registered at the pit gates and ready to race in the Gerdau presents the World of Outlaw Duel in the Dakotas event on a Chamber of Commerce type day with a steady breeze blowing on Saturday evening.

With the sun continuing to make its way westward as it crossed the sky giving way to evening it was soon time for Sea Foam Qualifying at Red River Valley Speedway. Carson would have to be patient though as he was slated to be the second to the last driver out, 28th overall, for his two laps of speed around the track aboard the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Bandy and Associates/Factory Kahne (FK Shocks) #41 Maxim. The racing surface had a lot of moisture in it to help fend off the wind impact, but the track officials did a terrific job getting it worked in and ready to produce consistent speed throughout time trials. Carson knew he had a fast racecar because he was quickest overall in hot laps, but dirt track change quickly so you just never know. After a long wait in the staging area it was the hotshoe’s turn from Lemoore, California. His Kistler Engines motor fired and he immediately went to work making speed. Felton, Minnesota’s own, Andy Pake, had set the bar high and was sitting at the top of the speed charts with a time of 12.462 seconds. That was the target Carson was chasing as he took the green flag to start the clock. He appeared to be making good progress and when he stopped the clock after the first lap his time was 12.568 seconds, which placed him eighth on the speed charts. He stayed on the loud pedal to carry his speed forward as he hit every one of his marks throughout his second circuit. Would it help with Carson’s time? Absolutely was the answer as he immediately catapulted to the top of the timing and scoring list with a lap of 12.451 seconds to earn the Simpson Quick Time Award, the 43rd World of Outlaws quick time of his career, for the night here at Red River Valley Speedway.

With each of the starting lineups for the three 8-lap heat races prepared based on the individual driver’s best time trial lap, that positioned Carson and the Border International/Xtreme Body and Paint/Engler Machine & Tool #41 Maxim on the inside of the front row pacing alongside Scott Bogucki #10. Directly behind them was Buddy Kofoid and Christopher Thram in row two with Donny Schatz and Weston Olsen in row three. Justin Henderson and Blake Egeland lined up in row four with Adam Sobolik and Jack Croaker in row five.

All of the competitors were looking to secure their spot in the feature event later by finishing in one of the top six positions in their heat race with the added benefit of moving onto the Dash if they could win or come in second place. The directive was clear, but the mission was not an easy one to execute with the talent laden field here at Red River Valley Speedway which was fast and still a bit slick.

The relative quietness in the area soon came to an end when the field reached turn four as Carson took off into the clean air aboard the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 ahead of the second starting Bogucki. He hustled his 900 plus horsepower hotrod at speed the entire first lap to lead the race with Bogucki, Kofoid, and Schatz trailing close behind in his dirty air.

Scott Bogucki and Buddy Kofoid were embroiled in a competitive battle for the runner-up position behind the leader. The driver of the Mobil 1/Roth Motorsports #83 was valiantly trying almost everything, but Bogucki held Kofoid off. Nothing though would pause or interrupt Carson’s dominance in this one as he raced wire-to-wire to take the heat race victory by 1.578 seconds over Bogucki, Kofoid, Schatz, Thram, and Henderson.

Moving into his 35th Toyota Dash, Carson headed to the front straightaway to test his luck drawing for his starting positions. By virtue of his win in the first heat race he would be the first gambler to pull a number with six numbered pills laying at the bottom of the oversized NOS Energy Drink Can. He stuck his hand in and shuffled them around before pulling his hand out. A smile came across his face because he was holding the one pill. An unexpected benefit for Carson as drawing for numbers in the random pill draw at the beginning of the night has not been great lately for Carson and the team as The Husets Heckler (@HusetsHeckler) accurately pointed out on the X platform. That would put him on the pole for the Dash. As only irony would have it every driver following him selected the next highest number, meaning each driver drew the numbers one through six consecutively. Wild for sure, but glad Carson selected first. He sat on the pole and was joined on the front row by Andy Pake. Sheldon Haudenschild and Scott Bogucki lined up in row two with Logan Schuchart and Bill Balog side-by-side in row three. When the flagman unveiled the green flag, Carson hustled into the lead just ahead of Bogucki who powered into the runner-up position from his fourth starting spot followed by Pake and Haudenschild. Six laps goes by quickly, but this one would take a little longer as Scott Bogucki’s Dash, and eventually entire night of racing, came to an abrupt end with catastrophic issues when his driveline exploded bringing out the yellow flag. It would be a single file restart with Macedo, Pake, and Haudenschild nose-to-tail for the remaining laps. Andy Pake was having a great showing and that continues as he was dueling with the talented Sheldon Haudenschild when they went back to green flag racing. Pake held off numerous attempts by the driver of the NOS Energy Drink #17 to hold onto the second position. Carson Macedo earned the Dash victory to keep his perfect night going at Red River Valley Speedway going as he had set quick time, won his heat race, and now was victorious in the Toyota Racing Dash. Andy Pake came home second followed by Sheldon Haudenschild, Logan Schuchart and Bill Balog with Scott Bogucki being scored in sixth.

With all of the qualifying action in everyone’s rear view mirror, the only thing left on the schedule for the entertaining night was the 30-lap, $12,000-to-win Gerdau presents the World of Outlaw Duel in the Dakotas feature finale for this talented field of speed athletes.

Carson had competed hard all night and earned the right to start the feature competition from the pole position driving the Albaugh – Your Alternative/CASM Safety Products/K1 Race Gear #41 Maxim. He was looking to put an exclamation point on a “Perfect Night” at Red River Valley Speedway and go back-to-back to sweep the weekend in North Dakota. Macedo would pull to the inside of the front row sharing the space with Andy Pake #64 as both drivers focused on moving forward as they led the field when the green flag waved.

The front row starters slowly paced the field as they anticipated the waving of the green flag off turn four. When their front nerf bars inched over the chalk stripe temporarily laid across the track they dropped their right foot on the hammer and these 410 engines were singing at high pitch as they made their way to turn one. Carson Macedo led the opening circuit with Haudenschild, Pake and Balog chasing him with vigor and vengeance.

Bill Balog showed consistent speed all weekend and was pressuring Pake for the show position. He would move the Anderson’s Maple Syrup #17B by Pake and was now running behind Macedo and Haudenschild. Carson had a really fast race car out front and began building a big lead with each completed lap.

By lap 7 your race leader was already in lap traffic and setting a course that enabled him to weave through the slower cars with precision, speed, and expertise. Carson was setting a fast pace and doing his best to anticipate the right lanes to take allowing him to keep his speed and momentum moving in the right direction to maintain the lead.

As the race progressed there were some hairy moments though. One of those moments saw two of the upcoming lap cars almost make contact with 22 laps in the books forcing Carson to slow and take evasive action. That allowed Sheldon Haudenschild to cut the gap significantly as it broke the momentum and speed for Carson. Carson got back into a rhythm, but the driver of the NOS Energy Drink #17 was now right there ready to pounce.

Haudenschild was right on Macedo’s rear nerf bar on laps 25 and 26 before the yellow flag was displayed for Donny Schatz who was off the pace with a flat right rear tire. He headed to the Federated Auto Parts Work Zone and got a new Hoosier Racing Tire bolted on for the remaining four laps.

It would be a single file restart with four laps to go with two young and really talented racers looking to be the first car to the checkered flag. No lap cars. A clear track ahead. Now it was ‘go-time’ at Red River Valley Speedway with a trophy and check awaiting the winner with four circuits to go.

The green flag came back out and Carson got the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 back up to speed quickly. But Sheldon kept pace and was right behind the next two laps looking for an opportunity to move by the driver of the forty-one. That did not happen though as Carson secured the feature win by just under one second over Haudenschild with Buddy Kofoid coming home third with Bill Balog and Giovanni Scelzi completing the top five.

The perfect night for Carson and the Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) #41 team was completed. In fact, a really impressive weekend in North Dakota for this potent team right now was punctuated with back-to-back solid performances that led to two consecutive victories – as well as wining three of the last four World of Outlaw races. The jubilant driver climbed up on his wing to celebrate his sixth win of the season with a grin from ear-to-ear as he waved the VP Racing Fuels checkered flag through the falling confetti.

After sharing his appreciation following the win with his team – Philip Dietz, Robby McQuinn, and Adam Zimmerman – Carson reviewed his fantastic night by thanking them for all of their hard work to make his car fast. He started by saying, “I just felt extremely good. Philip Dietz knocked it out of the park again. He’s done an incredible job this weekend. Robby McQuinn and Adam Zimmerman putting the whole package together and are working really hard. I just feels good to get a win here.”

Macedo continued, “We’ve got a lot of momentum. It just feels good to be running up front, contending for wins, and then closing it out and getting the job done. The forty-one is just fast right now. When your racecar is fast and things are clicking, it seems like things just go your way. I remember Jason Meyers telling me at one point, ‘When the iron is burning, it burns hot. When it’s cold, it’s tough to get out of that wintertime.”

Carson concluded, “The track turned out to be really wide and racy. I was surprised. It took a while to get worked in early in the night and then was fast through the heat races. It was just a great track and a lot of fun!” Another great night of racing for Macedo and the forty-one as they competed a truly “Perfect Night” at Red River Valley Speedway and an incredible weekend of performance and victories as they swept their way through North Dakota during the Second Leg of the Northern Tour!

Racing Hard at Red River Valley Speedway Nets a “Perfect Night” with Another Victory for Carson Macedo and the JJR #41 Crew! Photo Credit: Trent Gower Photography

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.

To stay connected with Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) and Carson Macedo go to www.jasonjohnsonracing.com.

Check out ShopJJR.com to buy all your new Carson Macedo and JJR gear and merchandise.