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By Alex Nieten September 21st 2024
Photo Trent Gower
The Californian sweeps the night in his home state’s biggest World of Outlaws race ever
Only a few short weeks ago Carson Macedo saw the potential biggest win of his career fall from his grasp.
The white flag waved at Huset’s Speedway, and he threw everything he had at Michael “Buddy” Kofoid with a final corner slider. Macedo cleared him but couldn’t stop Kofoid’s crossover as he watched $100,000 and Huset’s High Bank Nationals glory slip away.
But he refused to suffer the same fate at the Dennis Roth Classic.
It was a special event for several reasons for Macedo. First, the host track – Thunderbowl Raceway – is only about 30 miles from his hometown of Lemoore, CA. Secondly, the event boasted the largest winner’s share in World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car history with $83,000 going to the champion. And the event saluted perhaps his home state’s most impactful car owner in Sprint Car racing.
There was plenty of motivation. He and the Jason Johnson Racing simply needed to execute, and that’s exactly what they did to perfection.
Macedo pieced together a full sweep of the night. It started off with his second straight Simpson Quick Time. He then went on to top both his Heat Race and the Toyota Racing Dash. And he finalized the special evening by leading every circuit of the 35-lap finale to collect the massive payday.
“What a night to have a perfect night,” Macedo said. “Philip (Dietz) just delivered tonight. It was, from start to finish, an absolutely excellent performance by this JJR 41 team. Adam Zimmerman and Robby McQuinn, they worked their tails off. They did a great job. They just made phenomenal adjustments. I wasn’t that comfortable in Hot Laps. Phil just knocked it out of the park for Qualifying really. We just never faded from that point on. It was just unbelievable to drive from start to finish.”
The sweep of the night not only netted Macedo the massive check, it also came with some tasty rewards. With 20 pounds of choice New York steaks, 20 pounds of choice Tri-Tip, and 30 pounds of ribeye steaks collected courtesy of Roth Motorsports, Macedo walked away with 70 pounds of meat.
Macedo’s ninth win of the year was his 44th overall with The Greatest Show on Dirt. He became the 20th different competitor to top a Series race at the Thunderbowl. The Tulare, CA 1/3 mile is the 26th different track where Macedo has won with the World of Outlaws and fourth in his home state.
Macedo started on the pole for the main event and drove ahead to an early advantage. The 28-year-old may have gapped the field early on, but the action behind him was plentiful. Sixth-starting David Gravel charged by Buddy Kofoid to grab third, but Kofoid returned the favor by ripping the top in Turns 3 and 4 to take it right back.
A little further behind them Sheldon Haudenschild was giving the fans a show all on his own aboard the NOS Energy Drink No. 17. He glued his right rear tire to the cushion and beat down the boards. After starting 12th, the Wooster, OH native had cracked the top five by Lap 7. A lap later he took fourth from Gravel. Up ahead of them Kofoid started to battle with Shane Golobic for the runner-up spot.
A Lap 9 restart proved to be pivotal as Kofoid, Gravel, and Haudenschild all rocketed ahead of Golobic for spots second, third, and fourth.
Kofoid looked to run down Macedo to deliver a storybook win for his Roth Motorsports crew, but it wasn’t in the cards on Saturday night. He did everything he could to keep up with Macedo through traffic, but he never managed to close in.
Macedo maintained a healthy advantage throughout the race’s second half on his way to $83,000 and a mountain of meat to feed him and the Jason Johnson Racing cast for weeks.
“Man, what a night,” Macedo said. “Obviously, we were racing for the Dennis Roth Classic. Dennis and Teresa Roth, they’ve given a lot to the sport of Sprint Car Racing. It feels special to win this race. I’ve been competing against the Roth 83 for a while. Obviously, out here in California driving the Tarlton Motorsports 21 and through the transition of my career.”
Kofoid collected his sixth straight podium and $40,000 with a runner-up finish. The Penngrove, CA native had high hopes of bringing the Dennis Roth Classic trophy back to Roth’s Fresno, CA shop, but he didn’t hang his head over yet another strong run as he and the No. 83 team continue to click as the season winds down.
“I feel like I could pace Carson,” Kofoid said. “And I felt like I was just as good as him, but clean air is huge, and when you’re behind him and he kicks up dust, it’s hard to see the wall sometimes when you’ve got to ride the wall. It was a really fun track. I’m just super happy that this event was able to happen for Dennis and Teresa. I feel like they deserve a race like this. I just feel very honored to be the guy to drive this car and be close to getting it done.”
The final spot of the podium belonged to Haudenschild as his charge from 12th led him all the way to third. Combine that with his Friday run, and Haudenschild passed a total of 23 cars in two nights at the Thunderbowl. Time simply ran out for him to have an opportunity at potentially moving by Kofoid and Macedo for victory.
“I had a beautiful race car honestly,” Haudenschild said. “I had confidence right from the drop of the green. I just knew I had to clear a few of those guys that would give a little bit of trouble. Once I got to the guys I knew I could race with like David (Gravel) and a couple other ones, I feel like we had the pace with them for sure. Just too little too late.”
David Gravel and Shane Golobic rounded out the top five.
A 23rd to 10th run earned Tim Kaeding the KSE Racing Hard Charger.
Carson Macedo completed a weekend sweep of Simpson Quick Time Awards by claiming his 12th of the season and 45th of his career in Sea Foam Qualifying.
NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Three, and Four belonged to Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart, and Landon Brooks. Milton Hershey School Heat Two went to Kaleb Montgomery.
Carson Macedo topped the Toyota Racing Dash.
Bill Balog won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.
The Smith Titanium Break Systems Brake of the Race went to Bill Balog.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head east for an Ohio doubleheader beginning with Wayne County Speedway’s (Orrville, OH) Buckeye Brawl presented by NOS Energy Drink on Friday, Sept. 27. Then it’s off to Hartford, OH’s Sharon Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 28 for the Federated Auto Parts Showdown. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.
FEATURE RESULTS:
NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[12]; 4. 2-David Gravel[6]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic[2]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz[19]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[4]; 9. 23-Garet Williamson[11]; 10. 0-Tim Kaeding[23]; 11. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[7]; 12. 45-Landon Brooks[8]; 13. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[22]; 14. 17B-Bill Balog[21]; 15. 21-Cole Macedo[15]; 16. 29-Bud Kaeding[18]; 17. 88N-DJ Netto[9]; 18. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[20]; 19. 88-Austin McCarl[17]; 20. 2K-Gauge Garcia[16]; 21. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[24]; 22. 83T-Tanner Carrick[14]; 23. 2X-Justin Sanders[13]; 24. 57W-Jock Goodyer[10]
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
