SLINGING DIRT: THE JJR #41 TEAM WAS BACK AT VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK AND NEEDED TO FIGHT BACK FROM A STOP IN THE WORK AREA TO A 16TH PLACE FINISH ON THE THIRD NIGHT OF THE DIRTCAR NATIONALS

BARBERVILLE, FLORIDA (February 9, 2024) – With the first two nights of the 53rd Annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals etched in the record books it was time to kick off the weekend ‘sprint car style’ at Volusia Speedway Park with the third of four nights of consecutive World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series competition. Brad Sweet and David Gravel were the victors during the first two nights of action with a clean slate for others to claim the gator and cash on Friday night. Carson recorded two top 15 finishes during the first two nights as the team showed positive performance progress from night one to night two. They were looking forward to continuing that trend entering the night of competition as they had the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 ready for some high speed action. There were 44 teams back at the track all aiming towards the same goal – victory lane at the end of the night holding the gator and the $12,000 check that goes to Friday night’s winner.

With a fully loaded pit area the field of cars were equally split for Sea Foam Qualifying putting Carson Macedo in Flight 1 where he would go out 15th. He climbed into his Fibreworks Composites carbon fiber seat with a custom Sharp Advantage insert as high buckled his Crow Enterprizes safety belts. He would be out on the track for his race against the clock along with Pennsylvania Danny Dietrich in the Sandoe’s Fruit Market/#1 Cochran Cars #48. The Kistler Engines power came to life at the end of the push off lane in the beautiful presented Albaugh – Your Alternative/Boltz Family/Engler Machine & Tool #41. Carson pushed the speed button with his right foot and got his Maxim Racing chariot up to speed as he exited turn four as the green flag waved. The numbers on the stop watch were running too and anxious to see how long it would take Carson to give them a break. He ran a smooth lap around Volusia and stopped the clock in 13.370 seconds after lap one.

The stopwatch numbers paused, but automatically switched over and restarted again as they still had another lap to measure. Carson was working to get the most out of the last lap too. He charged off turn two and flew down the backstretch into turn three. The California speed professional completed his work on lap two in 13.388 seconds. The faster of Carson’s two laps was sixth quick in Flight 1 as he continued to sow improvement over the first two nights in qualifying. Brent Marks sat atop the speed charts in Flight 1 and when qualifying ended he earned the Simpson Quick Time Award with the best timed lap of the night at 13.199 seconds.

With qualifying in the rearview mirror the World of Outlaws timing and scoring officials quickly consolidated the four 8-lap heat race lineups based on each drivers best time trial lap in each of the Flights. When scanning the lineups the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 that Carson Macedo pilots would get rolling from the third starting position in the Milton Hershey School Heat Race #2. He would start alongside Justin Peck in row two. Giovanni Scelzi and Tyler Courtney were at the front of the pack in row one with Spencer Bayston and Danny Sams III in row three, Danny Dietrich and Ryan Harrison in row four, Kevin Newton and Bryan Gossel in row five with Austyn Gossel joining as the lone starter in row six.

The initial green flag was waved as Scelzi and Courtney brought the competitors to the starting line on the frontstretch. Behind them though calamity was breaking out as Justin Peck made contact with the outside wall sending him into Danny Sams III ended the latter driver’s night with Peck able to continue as he did not stop on the track. It would be a complete restart and this time they got up to speed with Giovanni Scelzi blasting into the lead ahead of Tyler Courtney and Carson Macedo with Justin Peck and Spencer Bayston completing the top five after the first lap. The track was fast as Macedo started to chase Courtney hoping to make up some ground. The leaders were spaced out over the track and the remaining laps went unstopped with Scelzi taking the win over Courtney and Macedo with Peck and Bayston capturing the final two transfer spots to the feature out of this heat race.

For the second night in a row, Carson would miss out on an opportunity to race in the Toyota Dash by one finishing position in his heat race, but was locked into the 11th starting position aboard the Albaugh – Your Alternative/FK Rod Ends/Ben Cook Race Car Parts #41 Maxim for the 25-lap NOS Energy Drink feature on Friday night. He would share row six with the chauffeur of the Moose’s LZ Bar & Grill #3z Brock Zearfoss. Rookie contender Landon Crawley would sit on the pole and pace beside veteran Rico Abreu on the front row. Tyler Courtney and David Gravel were right behind in row two with Brent Marks and Giovanni Scelzi in row three. Row four was comprised of Zeb Wise and Brian Brown with Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Brad Sweet in the fifth row. It was time to go racing at Volusia Speedway Park on the third night of the 53rd Annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

The always spectacular four-wide salute enabled the drivers and teams to express their appreciation to the fans in the stands and watching on DIRTVision before starting their work. With all of the pre-race festivities complete it was go time! The green flag was out with Rico Abreu driving the Rothwell Hyde Napa Valley #24 into the lead directly ahead of Tyler Courtney and Landon Crawley. Carson drove the Albaugh – Your Alternative #41 up to ninth on the opening circuit and was looking for more. On lap four he saw an opportunity to make a pass on Sam Hafertepe Jr. and took advantage of it as he moved up to eight. He had speed and was driving a determined race. Hafertepe would stay right with him and two laps later pass Carson back for the position.

The yellow came out on that same lap (lap 6) and it was for Carson Macedo who had a problem in the right rear area of his equipment. Replays showed that he lost a torsion stop and the torsion bar came out. He headed to the pit area where the crew busily went to work to see if they could address the damage and problems in the allotted two minutes in the work area. They were thrashing, but couldn’t get the tire off because the wheel cover was too damaged. The allotted time in the work area expired and they were stuck in the pits . . . at least for now.

The remaining competitors went back to green flag racing on the track much to the chagrin of the JJR #41 team. But in light of the challenges they encountered this week, a four-leafed clover was soon to be found when there was soon a little more time for them to make repairs when the race was halted under red flag conditions for a multi-car incident on the frontstretch that sent drivers flipping. All the drivers were ok. Involved in the incident were Corey Day, Austin McCarl, Justin Peck, Sheldon Haudenschild, Justin Whittall, Bill Balog, and Spencer Bayston with many getting upside down and tangled up. The JJR #41 crew continued their work in the pits to make the necessary repairs to the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41 and get their car and driver back out on the track when the yellow lights came on around the speedway.

Carson would restart the race at the rear of the field as Rico Abreu and Tyler Courtney brought the remaining competitors back up to power as they race to the checkers was on again. Carson wasted no time racing back up to the 16th position in the running order. When the yellow flag was thrown again with 10 laps in the books for a slowing Corey Day, Carson had raced forward and secured a spot in the top 15. It was Abreu still out front with Courtney, Gravel, Sweet, and Crawley right behind.

When the field of cars went back to racing under the green flag it was Abreu still showing the way around Volusia. Carson gained two more spots and was now running in 13th place. He was working hard and doing his best to salvage the night. On lap 15 action was again paused as the yellow was back out as leader Rico Abreu made contact with the slower car of Brendan Crouch exiting turn four sending Crouch spinning. Abreu was able to continue with no damage that inhibited his speed or ability to compete at speed. He reclaimed the pole position for the restart with 10 laps to go.

The green flag was back out and the engines roared. Rico Abreu was still showing the way with Tyler Courtney staying within striking distance. Things were heating up at the front of the pack though as the lead tightened as the top two raced through the slower traffic as the white flag waved. Courtney was right there and exiting turn four turned the NOS Energy Drink #7BC underneath Abreu to make a last lap, last corner pass to take the win over Abreu with Brad Sweet coming home third to round out the podium. Giovanni Scelzi and David Gravel completed the top five.

Carson made a valiant effort once he returned to the track and competed hard to bring home a 16th place finish. While the team is working hard and focused, the results certainly are not meeting their expectations from a performance perspective. They will take the lessons learned and refocus their attention on the DIRTcar Nationals finale on Saturday night at Volusia Speedway Park. Catch all the action on DIRTVision!

Salvaging a 16th Place Finish After Strong Run was Diverted to the Work Area! Photo Credit: Cameron Saich – CS Productions

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), 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.