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By Alex Nieten October 26th 2024
Trent Gower Photo
The Californian equals his personal best for wins in a year by leading every lap at Riverside
The championship odds might be against him, but Carson Macedo refuses to go down quietly.
It’s been an electric last couple months for he and the Jason Johnson Racing team. A magical run ignited when the pairing topped the opening night of the Jackson Nationals midway through August. Entering this weekend, Macedo had won seven of the last 18 races with the World of Outlaws.
And as the stage shifted to West Memphis, AR’s Riverside International Speedway, nothing was going to slow Macedo and company.
The Lemoore, CA native started on the pole and never looked back during the 30-lapper. An incident with a lapped car put the win in question briefly, but ultimately Macedo drove away from David Gravel to claim the first World of Outlaws race at “The Ditch” since 2018.
“I was nervous,” Macedo admitted. “A lot of those double-file restarts, I didn’t know where to be. The top was kind of where the grip was, but I didn’t want to be too high and miss it and not get off (Turn) 4 nice then him (David Gravel) beat me down into Turn 1.
“I want to say I’m sorry to that lapper. I could see David behind me on the big screen. He was breathing right down my back and knew I had to make moves, or I was going to get ate up. We were just going so slow down into Turn 3, and I was getting nervous. I saw the opening and drove it in there, and it was probably silly with the track being the way it was. I didn’t want to get complacent and end up getting passed, so I’m sorry to that team and feel bad their stuff is tore up.
“Nevertheless, my guys did an incredible job. Philip Dietz, he just delivered all night. We went out late there in Qualifying, and we did a great job in the Heat Race that put us in a position. Then we drew a good front row spot in the Dash and executed from there.”
Macedo’s 11th victory of 2024 matches his personal best for a season, a mark he also reached in 2021 and 2022. He’s now at 46 for his career as he closes in on becoming the 18th different driver with 50 checkered flags. It was the 70th World of Outlaws trophy for Jason Johnson Racing.
A win in the Toyota Racing Dash put Macedo on the pole of the main event. He jumped out to an early lead when the green flag flew as the battles broke out behind him. Giovanni Scelzi and Logan Schuchart swapped the second spot. Then fourth-starting David Gravel rolled by both of them.
A red flag with 11 laps complete gave Macedo a break as it took him out of lapped traffic. Sheldon Haudenschild capitalized with a huge restart. The Wooster, OH native rolled the bottom to clear multiple cars and take third by the time the pack got to the back straightaway.
Up front Gravel kept the pressure on Macedo, but a yellow at the halfway point again eliminated the concern of traffic.
The next restart saw Gravel maintain pace with Macedo as the second half of the race clicked away. It was near disaster for Macedo with seven laps remaining as he made a move to lap Ayden Gatewood in Turns 3 and 4. Macedo’s slider didn’t quite clear, and the result was hard contact. Macedo managed to keep rolling, but Gatewood wound up on his lid.
With only seven laps to go when the green lights came back on, Macedo never had to worry about traffic again as he aced the restart and drove away to yet another victory with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
“Winning Outlaw races is not easy to do,” Macedo said. “It’s a tough thing, and it’s really tough to do on a consistent basis. I’ve got a really good race team behind me in Jason Johnson Racing. We’re racing in memory of Jason Johnson and everything he stood for, so to be winning races like this is awesome.”
While Macedo might’ve gotten the win, David Gravel didn’t let him gain many points in the battle for the title. Gravel brought the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 home second for his third consecutive podium. The advantage sits at 74 markers with four races to go. The Watertown, CT native wanted the victory, but he also had the big picture in mind.
“Good night for us,” Gravel said. “Didn’t get a great Dash draw and was able to gain a row there in the Dash. Felt good there early on and was searching, and then on Lap 10 or 11, and I kind of just got in line. Little bit of a bummer there. Wish I had a shot to win that.”
The third spot belonged to Sheldon Haudenschild as he charged from ninth to continue a recent strong stretch. The Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 17 has strung together six top fives in the last eight races including four podiums. The major move on a restart helped lead Haudenschild to another good finish.
“The one restart really just made my race,” Haudenschild explained. “I was able to get under Gio (Scelzi) and three other guys and roll the bottom in (Turns) 1 and 2 really nice. I just got back in line after that. I was a little nervous when I got stuck on the top of that restart, but hats off to (Kyle) Ripper and the guys.”
Logan Schuchart and Bill Balog completed the top five.
An 18th to sixth drive earned Donny Schatz the KSE Racing Hard Charger.
Bryce Lucius claimed his first career Simpson Quick Time in Sea Foam Qualifying.
NOS Energy Drink Heat One, Three, and Four belonged to Logan Schuchart, Buddy Kofoid, and Joe B. Miller. Milton Hershey School Heat Two went to David Gravel.
Carson Macedo topped the Toyota Racing Dash.
Skylar Gee won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.
The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Dylan Cisney.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars complete the Bull Ring Blitz at West Memphis, AR’s Riverside International Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 26. 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 (30 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[4]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[9]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog[12]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz[18]; 7. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[2]; 8. 55C-Chris Windom[11]; 9. 83-Michael Kofoid[6]; 10. 1-Sammy Swindell[5]; 11. 44-Derek Hagar[15]; 12. 23-Garet Williamson[10]; 13. 51B-Joe B Miller[8]; 14. 7S-Landon Crawley[7]; 15. 27-Emerson Axsom[19]; 16. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[20]; 17. 23B-Brian Bell[23]; 18. 99-Skylar Gee[21]; 19. 7C-Brad Bowden[14]; 20. 37-Ayden Gatewood[17]; 21. 32-Bryce Lucius[13]; 22. 6-Dylan Cisney[22]; 23. 20G-Noah Gass[24]; 24. 55-Kerry Madsen[16]
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
