WHEELING TO WIN AT THE GROVE: MAKING TRACKS AROUND THE HISTORIC HALF-MILE WHERE SO MANY GREAT DRIVERS HAVE RACED TO OPEN THE TWO-DAY MORGAN CUP WITH A FEATURE VICTORY RACING A TRUE LEGEND – LANCE DEWEASE

MECHANICSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA (May 14, 2021) – Coming off a hard fought sixth place finish in the Gettysburg Clash on Wednesday night at Lincoln Speedway, Carson Macedo and the JJR #41 team were excited to get back on the track at Williams Grove on Friday night. It was a beautiful day in Central Pennsylvania to welcome the Californian and his World of Outlaws team to the area. There are so many special tracks the race team gets to complete on throughout the year, but a few standout with their deep and rich historical roots in sprint car racing such as: Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Silver Dollar Speedway, Terre Haute Action Track, Huset’s Speedway, and of course Williams Grove Speedway to name a few. Since opening their gates under Roy Richwine’s direction back on May 21, 1939, Williams Grove Speedway, simply referred to as ‘The Grove’, has hosted many of the most notable national touring series and held some of the most prestigious races in the country. From Mario Andretti and A.J Foyt to the stars of today like Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet, Williams Grove has experienced an incredible plethora of talented speed chauffeurs at their facility throughout the years. On Friday night there were 39 drivers registered at the pit entrance ready to showcase their skills with the hope of adding their name to the star-studded winner’s list.

Shane Stewart, who piloted the JJR #41 to a win last year at Lakeside Speedway and currently owns and operates Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma, set the track record back on October 2, 2020, in the Indy Race Parts #71 with a lap of 16.111 seconds. On this night, each driver selected a pill in a random draw to see where they would go out for Slick Woody’s Qualifying. Since there were greater than 38 drivers registered to race, the field was split into two equal groups for time trials. Carson would be the 13th driver out on the track in Flight B aboard the Meyers Constructors/Border International/K1 Race Gear #41 Maxim. When it was his turn, Macedo flipped down the shield of his Bell Helmet as the push truck made contact with his rear nerf bar to get him rolling. The engine fired and he was ready to go to work from the comfort of his office with a view. Hammer down, he took the green and started to navigate around the high speed paper clip shaped oval. When his first solo lap was completed the numbers on the scoreboard displayed 16.893 seconds. Thank goodness it was a good lap because as he was looking to lower those numbers, he stayed on the gas the next lap before experiencing fuel system issues forcing him to abort the second lap. His first lap was a quick one though and as he patiently waited in the backstretch pits after clearing the scales, it was good enough for 5th quick in Flight B.  Sheldon Haudenschild set quick time overall out of Flight B with a lap of 16.599 seconds.

Carson’s quick lap in time trials positioned the Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/BMRS/RaceDiecast.com #41 on the inside of row two with point leader Brad Sweet sharing the row in the third of four 8-lap Drydene Heat Races. This heat race was absolutely packed with an abundance of talent as the stars of row two followed Sheldon Haudenschild and David Gravel who made up the front row. The front four were followed by Kraig Kinser, Logan Schuchart, Tim Shaffer, Robbie Kendall, Chase Dietz, and Brock Zearfoss. With only the top five finishers transferring to the feature from each of the four heat races, it was ‘go’ time for the field of competitors. Tire specialist Nate Repetz, a Central Pennsylvania native, made his final air pressure adjustments in the rear Hoosier Racing Tires and connected the bleeders before securing the wheel cover and rolling the forty-one into the staging area. The field of ten cars paced in their starting order and when the green flag waved it was David Gravel to the lead over Haudenschild. Macedo hustled into the show position ahead of Sweet and quickly started to apply pressure on the NOS Energy Drink #17 for the runner-up position as he was attempting to secure one of the lock-in positions into the DirtVision Fast Pass Dash. As Carson was maneuvering closer to Haudenschild on lap two, a yellow was displayed for Brock Zearfoss. They would restart in their side-by-side alignment and Gravel would again race into the lead when they got back up to speed. Carson drag raced down the frontstretch and beat Sweet into the turn. He used the low side of the track and worked his way beside Haudenschild and into the second position. Gravel was cruising in clean air as Macedo started to put some space between himself and Sheldon. Gravel would take the win with Macedo driving across the finish line second ahead of Haudenschild, and Sweet with Tim Shaffer coming home fifth.

The Lemoore, California driver made his way into the 6-lap DirtVision Fast Pass Dash where he was hoping to keep his momentum moving forward with a little luck of the draw. After Lance Dewease selected the one pill to put himself on the pole, it was Carson’s turn and he pulled a deuce to put him on the outside of row one for the dash. James McFadden and David Gravel would pace behind the front row as Brent Marks, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Kerry Madsen, and Aaron Reutzel rounding out the starting grid. When the green lights illuminated and the same colored flag was waving, Macedo pounded the loud pedal as his Kistler Engines power motored him down the frontstretch. He was side-by-side with Dewease when they got to turn one before Macedo throttled by on the outside of turn two and into the lead as he led the first lap. The tenacious Dewease was not going anywhere, so Macedo had to be on his game. He was flying and with each passing lap started to put some space between himself and the famous baby blue #69k. He would go on to win his first dash event of the 2021 season by 2.552 seconds in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41 over Dewease with Gravel coming home third and McFadden, Hafertepe, Jr., Reutzel, Madsen, and Marks completing the finishing order. Macedo’s race with Dewease in this race would prove to be a test to prepare him later for an epic battle with the legend.

Macedo Battling Lance Dewease for the Win the Opening Night of the Morgan Cup at Williams Grove Speedway! Photo Credit: Trent Gower

With the air horns blowing throughout the pits indicating 8-minutes to stage around the track, Carson climbed into the cockpit of his Maxim Racing machine in his Durst Inc. custom K1 Race Gear driving suit as he was ready to take on the challenges that lie ahead, and all competitors, in the 25-lap feature from his pole position starting spot. Lance Dewease was flanking his right side in the famous Donald Kreitz, Jr. #69k as the racing star was pursuing his 100th victory at the historic oval. When the four-wide salute and pre-race fanfare was behind them, these athletes and entertainers were ready to put on a show for the fans in part two of the World of Outlaws versus Pennsylvania Posse spring edition in Central Pennsylvania. As they rolled into turn three they picked up the pace and when they hit the chalk stripe Macedo was wheeling the Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions/Saich Family/FK Rod Ends #41 Maxim into the lead with Dewease right by his side. Carson would lead the first lap as Dewease, McFadden, and Marks were running right behind. Macedo, who picked up an early season non-sanctioned win at Williams Grove last year driving the Kyle Larson Racing (KLR) #2, was comfortable and fast as he build a one second lead in the early stages of the race. He kept building on that lead until lap ten when he started to encounter slower traffic which narrowed the passing lanes and allowed Dewease to start closing the gap. Dewease caught up and was right on his bumper when Macedo cleared Landon Myers #19MX. That momentarily gave Macedo a little breathing room as he raced up to the rear bumper of Kyle Moody. He was struggling to get by Moody which gave Dewease the opportunity he needed to put the pressure back on the driver of the JJR #41 for the lead.  Macedo put a big slider on Moody entering turn one and cleared him cleanly to again put some space between his tail tank and the hungry Dewease who was in hot pursuit. With 10 laps to go the race for the lead had the fans captivated and engaged. Macedo was your leader, but Dewease was coming fast and eating up some of the gap between himself and your leader with each completed lap. The number of laps were creeping down and so was Macedo’s lead over Dewease. With five laps to go, Dewease was now knocking at the door. The racing legend was not campaigning for his vote, but rather letting Macedo know he was ready to take the lead and drive to his 100th win. Carson would have none of it respectfully and stayed on the hammer. When the white flag waved indicating one lap to go, the fans in the stands had white knuckles as the young, talented Macedo was racing with a true legend of sprint car racing, Lance Dewease, for the win. Macedo made it through turns one and two and down the backstretch with some space between his forty-one and Dewease’s #69k. Macedo entered turn three in the middle as a gaggle of cars were just ahead. Dewease drove into turn three hard and was side-by-side with Macedo as the two drifted up to the cushion in turn four. Macedo stayed in the gas and powered his way off the top to maintain the lead and take the wire-to-wire, non-stop race win over Dewease in an absolutely fantastic race to the finish that checked the box on the value of admission for all the fans to kick off the Morgan Cup. What a race between two incredibly talented athletes. Brent Marks continued his recent tear coming home third, as James McFadden and Aaron Reutzel rounded out the top five. After clearing the scales and rolling down the frontstretch to loud cheers and applause awaiting in victory lane, Macedo rolled to a stop as he removed his helmet with a big grin stating, “I never thought I’d win an Outlaw race at Williams Grove.” He sure did and his name will now be forever etched in the record books at the historic speedway for a second time, with this one being a World of Outlaws victory! The race and his win will also be etched in the memories of everyone in attendance and viewing on DirtVision for the great race it was as he earned the win against a true legend of the sport who was chasing the century win mark. In his victory lane interview he continued, “This feels amazing! I just won my first World of Outlaws race at the Grove! That’s something I never thought I would do.” Reflecting he said, “To have Lance run second, you know he’s one of the best ever here, and probably all-time. What a night.” Indeed what a night . . . a great run for Carson Macedo and the entire JJR #41 against one of the best in the business, which makes it even more special and one not only he will remember but so will the fans!  

Carson Macedo Celebrating His First World of Outlaws Win at Williams Grove in Opening NIght of the Morgan Cup! Photo Credit: Nicole Signor Creative

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; 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; 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.