SATURDAY SALUTE IN IOWA: MAKING SPEED ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND IN THE STARS AND STRIPES SALUTE OPENER AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY AS CARSON MACEDO DRIVES FORWARD WITH A TOP 10 RUN ACROSS THE FINISH LINE

KNOXVILLE, IOWA (May 23, 2026) – After collecting their second win of the season Thursday night at Jacksonville Speedway in the Hy-Vee Perks 40, Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) #41 team were back at The Sprint Car Capital of the World, Knoxville Raceway, for the first night of the Stars and Stripes Salute on Saturday night that concludes Sunday night with the tour moving over to Huset’s Speedway for the finale. Starting the Memorial Day holiday weekend at this iconic, half mile oval is special as these racing professionals and teams entertain and honor those that have served and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country in the past, present, and future. Everyone at JJR is grateful and humbled by those that serve to protect our freedom each day. There were 51 haulers parked throughout the infield pit area as the teams lowered the back gates of the trailers to roll out their colorful 410 speed machines. It was race day at Knoxville Raceway for night one of the Stars and Stripes Salute!

The first official order of business for the night commenced with Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. Laying down a good lap in time trials is essential as a setup for a good night for each team. The field was greater than 38 cars, so they split into two qualifying groups, Flight A and Flight B, for the two lap speed affairs. Each driver would only get two laps to make speed and establish their quickest time against the clock. Carson climbed into his Fibreworks Composites carbon fiber seat with a Sharp Advantage custom fitted insert buckling his Crow Enterprizes safety belts before rolling into the staging area. Slated to be the 19th car out on the track in Flight B he was ready to go aboard the Albaugh – Your Alternative/Saldana Race Products/PWR Advanced Cooling Technology #41 Maxim. Joining him in this three-car timed session was Logan Schuchart in the Drydene/Shark Racing #1s and Buddy Kofoid in the Toyota/Roth Enterprizes #83 in their cool looking hotrods. Carson lowered his right foot and unleashed the horses under the hood out of his Kistler Engines power generator. He raced under the waving green flag to start his session and carried speed through the first set of turns and down the back straightaway. Macedo exited turn four and stopped the clock to end his first lap in 15.484 seconds. He kept his foot on the power button trying to get every ounce of speed he could the next time around. This time the black and white checkered cloth was high in the air with lap two ending in 15.330 seconds. The quicker of Carson’s two attempts was tenth fastest overall in Flight B. Garet Williamson in the S and S Nationwide/Fischer Motorsports #23 set quick time in Flight B at 15.062 seconds with Aaron Reutzel aboard the Power Plus!/Folken Brothers Trucking #87 topping the charts in Flight A with a lap of 14.805 seconds to earn the Simpson Quick Time Award for the quickest lap of the night.

The lineups for the important four 8-lap Heat races were finalized and posted. Based on his best lap time in time trials, Carson lined the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Boltz Family/Bandy & Associates #41 up in the fifth starting spot alongside Jacob Peterson #80P in row three of Golf Cart Services Heat Race #4. They slowly paced behind front row starters Rico Abreu #24 and Austin McCarl #88 with Logan Schuchart #1s and Buddy Kofoid #83 situated in row two. Kerry Madsen #55, Jack Anderson #2KS, Josh Schneiderman #49, and Chris Martin #44 populated rows four and five with Ben Brown #7B alone in row six.

There were five transfer positions into the feature available and a field of talented and tenacious competitors who all wanted one of them. As a bonus the top two finishers would advance into the Toyota Dash where they would race for one of the eight starting spots in the money paying feature at the end of the night.

When the green lights illuminated around Knoxville Raceway and the same colored flag waved by Justin Clark the engines came to life as they roared down the front straightaway. Rico Abreu got a good jump staying hammer down to lead the first lap. Austin McCarl and Buddy Kofoid continued to chase him as their Hoosier Racing Tires gripped the fertile black gumbo racing surface.

Running in the fifth position exiting turn four of the opening lap, Carson made an aggressive avoidance move getting the forty-one sideways and out of sorts to avoid making hard contact with the outside fence. Macedo came down across the front stretch of the track as Kerry Madsen darted underneath him as the two almost made contact which would have been disastrous for both at those speeds. Carson recollected his machine and settled into the sixth position on the scoreboard in the Albaugh – Your Alternative entry. Carson gathered his thoughts and now focused on trying to race down Madsen to reclaim the final transfer spot.

Time was running out though as with three miles in the books the rolled double flags displayed indicating just two laps (1 mile) remaining. It was time to take advantage of any opportunities that may still exist. Austin McCarl tracked down the race leader and rolled by Abreu taking over the top spot. McCarl hustled the last few times around this historic half mile to secure the Heat race victory ahead of Rico Abreu, Buddy Kofoid, and Kerry Madsen with Logan Schuchart solidifying the fifth and final transfer position. Carson crossed the finish line in sixth place just 0.669 seconds behind Schuchart, one spot out of a transfer position.

The driver of the forty-one just missed a transfer spot in his qualifying race so he needed to earn his way into the feature through the 12-lap Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown (LCS). There were four transfer spots available and the Lemoore, California native would start from the outside of row two with 2025 Knoxville Nationals champion Ryan Timms #10 to his inside. The field was led by Carson McCarl #27C and Justin Henderson #11 with Bill Balog #17B and Rees Moran #45 behind in row three.

When the initial green flag waved the field of speed stars roared towards turn one. Not everyone made it as the red flag flew for 16th starting Jack Anderson who got up over the cushion tripping over his right front tore sending him into a hard series of flips in the beautifully presented Iowa Barnstormers #2KS.

When the accident site was cleared the engines refired. The green lights turned back on with Justin Henderson racing into the lead as Carson Macedo drove the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 around the top side passing by the Dennis Albaugh Suite Tower in turn two battling with Carson McCarl for the second spot on the scoreboard.

Justin Henderson led the opening lap with Macedo, McCarl, and Timms racing behind him with 11 laps to go. Henderson sailed through the clean air and built a sizable lead over Macedo. He continued to optimize the space between himself and all the chasers as the laps began to dwindle down. Carson was able to cut into the lead late in the race, but Justin Henderson was the first driver to race under the checkered flag with Carson coming home second, McCarl third, and Timms locking down the last transfer spot in fourth.

The 24 car starting field was now set and ready to go racing in the 25-lap Stars and Stripes Salute feature event at Knoxville Raceway on this Memorial Day weekend. They were all set to race for all the proverbial marbles, $20,000 goes to the winner, when the air horn sounded to summon them to stage for the start of the race.

Ten-time World of Outlaws (WoO) champion Donny Schatz #15 and red hot Aaron Reutzel #87 would lead the field from the front row after finishing first and second in the Toyota Dash. Pacing behind in row two were Garet Williamson #23 and J.J. Hickle #2M with David Gravel #2 and Rico Abreu #24A together in row three. The two drivers in row four, Austin McCarl #88 and Sheldon Haudenschild #18, were the last drivers to earn their feature starting spots in the Toyota Dash.

Meanwhile, after finishing second in the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown (LCS) to make his way into the starting lineup, Carson Macedo navigated into his twenty-second starting position aboard the Tarlton and Son/Sander Engineering/Engler Machine & Tool #41 Maxim. He shared row eleven with Justin Henderson #11 who hails from Tea, South Dakota to his inside.

After going four-wide to salute the incredible fans in the stands, and those tuning in on DIRTVision, the drivers accelerated back into their positions within the two-by-two starting formation. The yellow lights dimmed. The engines rumbled. The drivers focused. The fans jittered with anticipation of the start of the race. Off turn four the flagman gave the field the signal to go racing with the front row starters drag racing down the long front straightaway and into turn one.

With one lap in the books, it was Aaron Reutzel leading the race early with Donny Schatz keeping him within striking distance running in the second spot and Rico Abreu close behind in third. Carson did not waste any time getting his speed journey started as he gained seven spots throughout the opening lap and was running in 15th place aboard the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41. He was battling with his brother Cole Macedo for a better spot on the track as the two siblings swapped that position over the next few laps. Spencer Bayston was also involved in the duel for the better spot in the running order.

By lap 10, Carson controlled the 14th position with Cole and Spencer right behind him. The determined driver of the forty-one had his sights set on Tyler Courtney #7BC and Kerry Madsen #55 in his drive forward. Aaron Reutzel was still out front with Schatz and Abreu exchanging the spot behind him, but Carson gained another position as he moved by the NOS Energy Drink #7BC on lap 13.

Four laps later Carson moved up in the running order as he moved into 12th place relegating Kerry Madsen back one spot. Macedo had the Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) entry moving in fast forward and was now tracking down Parker Price-Miller #71. With 10 laps to go he made the pass for position and was only one position out of the top ten with Brian Brown focused and within his sights. When the white flag waved he made the pass for position. Now running in 10th place there was not enough time for him to gain another spot as Buddy Kofoid was too far ahead when the race ended.

When flagman Justin Clark unleashed the checkered flag it was Aaron Reutzel collecting the Stars and Stripes Salute victory to take home the $20,000 winner’s share of the purse with Donny Schatz and Rico Abreu rounding out the podium. Reutzel continued to fill his bank account with another big win. David Gravel did a heck of a job all race to grab the fourth position with J.J. Hickle crossing the finish line in fifth place in Matt Moro’s #2M.

Austin McCarl crossed the finish line in sixth but was unfortunately disqualified after losing his muffler. That disqualification officially changed the second five in the finishing order. Garet Williamson was awarded sixth, Sheldon Haudenschild seventh, and Buddy Kofoid eighth. Carson battled hard from the drop of the green to the waving of the checkered flag to come home with an incredible ninth place finish at Knoxville Raceway with Tyler Courtney completing the top ten. In the process of picking up 13 positions throughout the race, Carson earned the KSE Hard Charger honors for the race. Another good run for Macedo and the forty-one!

The next stop on the schedule is Huset’s Speedway for the second night of the Stars and Stripes Salute to close out the Memorial Day weekend. Be sure to tune into DIRTVision to watch all the action unfold as the World of Outlaws get after it against the formidable Huset’s regulars. #HusetsSalute

Racing Hard throughout the Stars and Stripes Salute Opener at Knoxville Raceway on Memorial Day Weekend! Photo Credit: Tyler Carr

JJR’s Valued Sponsorship Partners for 2026:  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); 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; CASM Safety Products; Crow Enterprizes; CS Productions; Dale “Mickey” Snyder; Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne (FK Shocks); Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Greber Racing Components (GRC); Hoosier Racing Tire; ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; K1 Race Gear; KSE Racing Products; LogoDaddy; Motor State Distributing; Mr. Jim’s Racing; Prime Composite Innovations; PWR Advanced Cooling Technology; Saldana Racing Products; Sam I Am; Schoenfeld Headers; Smiley’s Racing Products; 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.

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