MARCEDO’S 5.573-SECOND WINNING MARGIN
Photo: Trent Grower
Back in the day, legendary Oklahoma Sooners football coach Barry Switzer wanted to “hang half-a-hundred on ’em.”
He insisted on never letting off the gas pedal and throttling opponents with an attacking offence that doesn’t even let you catch your breath.
It was akin to just what Carson Macedo and Jason Johnson Racing did on Friday night (October 29) at Oklahoma’s Lawton Speedway.
Taking the lead on lap six and never looking back, the Lemoore, CA native drove away to a dominating 5.573-second margin of victory. It’s the biggest winning margin at a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprintcar Series event in more than two years, or 153 races to be exact.
If it wasn’t for a bad Dash redraw, the JJR squad would’ve likely swept the night after setting Slick Woody’s Quickest Time and winning their Team Drydene heat race.
Instead, Macedo went from third to second on the opening circuit of the 35-lap Feature and moved to P1 by the sixth time around.
His 11th victory of the season brings Macedo to 17 on his career and continues to exceed expectations in his first full year with Phil & Brooke Dietz, Clyde Knipp, and Nate Repetz.
“Our goal was to win just five races, be consistent, and put together a respectable season,” said the 25-year-old, who still has a shot to earn championship runner-up honors in his third full-time season. “Obviously, we accomplished that and then some,” he added.
“These guys just continue to deliver,” he further explained. “It makes my job so much easier behind the wheel. This car was incredible tonight. I’m speechless.”
After leading the opening five laps, Logan Schuchart faded back to third and eventually rallied for a second-place score in the Shark Racing, Drydene Performance Products #1S. The Hanover, PA native is now up to 10 runner-up results this season, with three of them coming behind the Jason Johnson Racing #41 of Macedo.
“I’m unsure if we could’ve made better changes or if he just navigated traffic better than me,” Schuchart noted. “It’s still a great run for this team. We’re going in the right direction on this track. Devil’s Bowl has been good to us, so we’ve got some confidence in the back pocket for tomorrow night.”
Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing continued their incredible late-season surge with a third-place finish for the Carquest, Ford Performance #15. It’s his 25th podium appearance of the season and leaves him -56 points behind Gravel for the runner-up result in the championship standings.
“At one point I thought we weren’t going to finish when an issue popped up with 10 to go,” Schatz mentioned. “You’re gonna have those nights, though. This team keeps delivering great race cars.”
Following a five-race skid outside of the top-five, Brad Sweet snapped that streak and ran fourth aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49. He finished one spot ahead of championship contender David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports in fifth, bumping The Big Cat’s advantage to exactly 100 points with three nights left.
Rounding out the top-10 on Friday night was Aaron Reutzel in sixth with a Toyota engine under the hood of the RSR #8, outside polesitter Brock Zearfoss with a seventh-place effort, last week’s winner Giovanni Scelzi in eighth with the KCP #18, Rookie of the Year leader James McFadden in ninth aboard the #9, and Kerry Madsen with KSE Hard Charger honors for a 15th-to-10th bid.
The Outlaws return to where it all began with the $20,000 Texas Outlaw Nationals on Saturday at Devil’s Bowl. [Trent Gower]
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprintcar Series visit Devil’s Bowl Speedway for the $20,000-to-win Texas Outlaw Nationals tomorrow, Saturday, October 30. After that, the season-ending NGK/NTK World Finals take center stage on Thursday-Saturday, November 4-6.
NOS Energy Drink Feature Results NOS Energy Drink Rfeature Results: (35 Laps) –1. 41-Carson Macedo [3][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1][$6,000]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$3,500]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [8][$2,800]; 5. 2-David Gravel [5][$2,500]; 6. 8-Aaron Reutzel [4][$2,300]; 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [2][$2,200]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [12][$2,100]; 9. 9-James McFadden [11][$2,050]; 10. 14-Kerry Madsen [15][$2,000]; 11. 7S-Jason Sides [7][$1,600]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [10][$1,400]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9][$1,200]; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen [17][$1,100]; 15. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [14][$1,050]; 16. 83-Kasey Kahne [13][$1,000]; 17. 25-Marcus Dumesny [16][$1,000]; 18. 20G-Noah Gass [18][$1,000]; 19. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [19][$1,000]; 20. 2B-Brett Becker [23][$1,000]; 21. 2K-Kevin Ingle [21][$1,000]; 22. 2C-Wayne Johnson [20][$1,000]; 23. 1J-Danny Jennings [22][$1,000]; 24. 5-Joe_Bob Lee [24][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-5, Carson Macedo 6-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 14-Kerry Madsen[+5]
NEW Championship Standings (77/80 races):1. Brad Sweet (10,190); 2. David Gravel (-100); 3. Donny Schatz (-156); 4. Carson Macedo (-158); 5. Logan Schuchart (-296); 6. Sheldon Haudenschild (-332); 7. James McFadden (-742); 8. Kraig Kinser (-1148); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-1416); 10. Jacob Allen (-1708).
NO PRESSURE ON ZMARZLIK AFTER LATVIAN GP WIN