KNOXVILLE: CARSON MACEDO TRIUMPHS ON NIGHT#2!

Feature photo: Carson Macedo won Thursday’s Knoxville Nationals Prelim over Kyle Larson (L) and Spencer Bayston (R)

Carson Macedo Triumphs in Return on Night #2 of Knoxville Nationals!  Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu are two highest point drivers for front row Saturday

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 10, 2023) – Carson Macedo left the Knoxville Raceway in June with burns in an ambulance. 

He returned Thursday night and won on Iowa Lottery Qualifying Night at the 62^nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s. 

The Lemoore, California native earned $12,000 for his win aboard the Jason Johnson Racing #41.  Macedo earned himself a spot inside row three for Saturday night’s main event.  Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu emerged as high point drivers for the week, and it will be an all-California front row on Saturday night (point totals below).

Anthony Macri led at the outset of the main event ahead of Dusty Zomer, Garet Williamson, Macedo and Larson.  Williamson wrestled second from Zomer on lap four, and Macedo followed him on the high side into third a lap later.  Meanwhile, Spencer Bayston shot by Larson for fifth, and then passed Zomer for the fourth spot on lap seven.

Macri was into lapped traffic by the tenth circuit.  Macedo chased down the second place car of Williamson and threw a slider on him in turn two.  It came up short, but Williamson was able to keep going despite contact with the wall.  With his momentum slowed, Bayston pounced for the third spot.

With ten laps to go, Daryn Pittman flipped in turn three.  He was uninjured.  On the restart, Macri got loose, and Macedo shot by into the lead.  Meanwhile, Austin McCarl had been flying forward, getting by both Logan Schuchart and Larson to move into the top five.  Ian Madsen came to a stop a lap later, bringing caution again.  That gave Bayston an opportunity to pass Macri on the high side for second, and Larson to move back into the top five.

Another lap, another caution, this time for debris.  On lap 19, both Larson and Schuchart moved by McCarl for fourth and fifth.  Abreu was also making strides after winning the B, and had surged fourteen spots to seventh with four laps to go.  At that point, Brad Sweet lost a tire and flipped in turn one.  He was o.k.

The restart saw Macedo leading Bayston, Macri, Larson and Schuchart back to green.  On lap 24, Abreu shot from seventh to fifth.  Macedo was coming to the checkers when the red flag flew again, this time for a turned over Jamie Veal in turn two.  He was uninjured.

Macedo maintained his advantage, as the race was extended to 26 laps.  Larson made a last lap pass of Bayston for second.  Macri was fourth and Abreu was fifth.  McCarl, Schuchart, Zomer, Buddy Kofoid and Brock Zearfoss rounded out the top ten.  Abreu set quick time over the 54-car field, while Zach Hampton, Kevin Thomas Jr., Kalib Henry, Larson and Ayrton Gennetten won heats.  Shane Golobic won the C main, and Abreu claimed the B. 

“I thought the track was pretty racy there,” said Macedo in Victory Lane. 

“The track got fast, and I was able to capitalize a little bit.  I hit the bottom nice there one time and I was able to slide (Williamson) for second.  Macri just missed the bottom on the start, and I was able to fire across to get the lead.  I knew at that point it was going to be tough to get by me as long as I started logging laps around the top.  I knew Spencer was good, and I saw Kyle and (Abreu) has been fast.  I knew if I just fired off the bottom and won the race to turn one, I’d be in good shape.  It stunk a few weeks ago to have that wreck, and it was a tough road back.  To come back here and win is pretty incredible.”

“Winning the Knoxville Nationals was cool, but I wanted to say I started on the pole of the Knoxville Nationals someday,” said Larson.  “We were able to get a good prelim night in.  We qualified o.k. going out late.  Driving from the fourth row to win the heat was pretty awesome.  We had a good car in the feature, I just made a lot of mistakes mostly that whole race.  To still come away with a second after being that sloppy, I’m happy.  We just need to clean a lot of things up.  I think Rico’s on the front row with me, and he’s been tough this year, especially at Knoxville.”

“That start was everything,” said Bayston.  “Starting tenth, with the guys I had in front of me, I knew I was going to have to make something happen on the start.  I was behind Brad, and they got kind of jumbled up.  I was able to time it perfectly, and get a row.  Before I knew it, we were sitting in third.  It just feels really good.  I’ve never made a Knoxville Nationals A main, and I’ve been trying for so long.  It just feels so good.  This is the most special place, and the most special race of all of sprint car racing.  Just making the A main feels so good.”

Join us Friday, August 11 for FVP “Hard Knox Night” at the 62^nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s!  For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

62^nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s, Iowa Lottery Qualifying Night #2 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (2), 15.703; 2. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (9), 15.795; 3. 83JR, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (21), 15.819; 4. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA 6(25), 15.841; 5. 4, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (26), 15.911; 6. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (14), 15.920; 7. 5X, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (17), 15.942; 8. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (41), 15.974; 9. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (40), 15.984; 10. 4CW, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (15), 15.985; 11. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (20), 15.993; 12. 71, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (3), 16.003; 13. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (50), 16.081; 14. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (52), 16.084; 15. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), 16.094; 16. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (36), 16.105; 17. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (44), 16.106; 18. 6G, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (5), 16.106; 19. 7BC, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (51), 16.113; 20. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (18), 16.124; 21. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (48), 16.127; 22. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (31), 16.132; 23. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (29), 16.134; 24. 5T, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK (8), 16.136; 25. 11, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (38), 16.149; 26. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (23), 16.174; 27. 17AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (7), 16.176; 28. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (49), 16.191; 29. 16A, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (4), 16.263; 30. 12X, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (53), 16.272; 31. 25, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (35), 16.326; 32. 4J, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (6), 16.335; 33. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (16), 16.399; 34. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (1), 16.426; 35. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (13), 16.575; 36. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (42), 16.589; 37. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (10), 16.607; 38. 101, Kalib Henry, Sacramento, CA (34), 16.653; 39. 44P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (43), 16.797; 40. 45, Rusty Hickman, Bendigo, VIC, Aust. (24), 16.826; 41. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (22), 16.834; 42. 4K2W, Matt Wasmund, Jackson, MN (19), 16.925; 43. 6B, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (12), 16.940; 44. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (47), 17.045; 45. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (27), 17.207; 46. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (54), 17.237; 47. 5C, Dylan Cisney, Port Royal, PA (39), 17.253; 48. 6X, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (46), 17.310; 49. 121, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (32), 17.314; 50. 35B, Austin Bishop, Elverson, PA (37), 17.360; 51. W19, Trent Pigdon, Cardup, WA, Aust. (45), 17.465; 52. 105, Cody Ihlen, Pipestone, MN (33), 17.515; 53. 78, Bill Wagner, Reeder, ND (28), 18.144; 54. 10V, Cap Henry, Bellevue, OH (30), NT

Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:56.7: 1. Zach Hampton (1); 2. Brock Zearfoss (3); 3. Carson Macedo (6); 4. Lachlan McHugh (2) / 5. Rico Abreu (8); 6. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5); 7. Tim Kaeding (4); 8. Tanner Holmes (7) / 9. Ryan Roberts (9); 10. Joe Simbro (10)

Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 3:05.6: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2); 2. Spencer Bayston (4); 3. Jamie Veal (3); 4. Brad Sweet (8) / 5. Daryn Pittman (7); 6. Shane Stewart (6); 7. Dylan Cisney (10); 8. Harli White (1) / 9. Matt Wasmund (9); 10. Shane Golobic (5)

Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:55.5: 1. Kalib Henry (1); 2. Austin McCarl (4); 3. Garet Williamson (5); 4. Dusty Zomer (6) / 5. Bill Balog (7); 6. Kelby Watt (2); 7. Kaleb Johnson (3); 8. Buddy Kofoid (8) / 9. Clint Garner (9); 10. Frank Rodgers III (10)

Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:59.5: 1. Kyle Larson (7); 2. Logan Schuchart (8); 3. Colby Copeland (3); 4. Anthony Macri (5) / 5. Skylar Prochaska (1); 6. Ryan Timms (4); 7. AJ Moeller (6); 8. Noah Gass (2) / 9. Bill Rose (9); 10. RJ Johnson (10)

Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 3:11.8: 1. Ayrton Gennetten (1); 2. Brian Brown (3); 3. Cory Eliason (4); 4. Ian Madsen (8) / 5. Chris Windom (5); 6. Sawyer Phillips (6); 7. Jordan Goldesberry (2); 8. Austin Bishop (9) / 9. Gage Pulkrabek (7) DNS – 10. Rusty Hickman

C main (started), 10 Laps, 3:11.9: 1. Shane Golobic (1); 2. Ryan Roberts (3); 3. Clint Garner (5); 4. Bill Rose (4); 5. Matt Wasmund (2); 6. Joe Simbro (6); 7. RJ Johnson (8); 8. Trent Pigdon (11); 9. Frank Rodgers III (9); 10. Gage Pulkrabek (7); 11. Bill Wagner (12); 12. Cody Ihlen (10) DNS – 13. Rusty Hickman 14. Cap Henry

B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:43.6: 1. Rico Abreu (1); 2. Buddy Kofoid (2); 3. Shane Stewart (7); 4. Daryn Pittman (4) / 5. Tanner Holmes (3); 6. Bill Balog (5); 7. Chris Windom (6); 8. Tim Kaeding (11); 9. Sawyer Phillips (9); 10. Harli White (17); 11. Kaleb Johnson (13); 12. Ryan Timms (10); 13. Shane Golobic (21); 14. Kelby Watt (12); 15. Noah Gass (15); 16. Skylar Prochaska (16); 17. Clint Garner (22); 18. Dylan Cisney (19); 19. Jordan Goldesberry (14); 20. Bill Rose (20); 21. Austin Bishop (18); 22. AJ Moeller (8) DNS – 23. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 24. Ryan Roberts

A main (started), 26 Laps, NT: 1. Carson Macedo (4); 2. Kyle Larson (5); 3. Spencer Bayston (10); 4. Anthony Macri (1); 5. Rico Abreu (21); 6. Austin McCarl (11); 7. Logan Schuchart (7); 8. Dusty Zomer (3); 9. Buddy Kofoid (22); 10. Brock Zearfoss (13); 11. Brian Brown (9); 12. Garet Williamson (2); 13. Shane Stewart (23); 14. Colby Copeland (15); 15. Ian Madsen (6); 16. Lachlan McHugh (17); 17. Ayrton Gennetten (16); 18. Kalib Henry (20); 19. Zach Hampton (19); 20. Jamie Veal (14); 21. Brad Sweet (8); 22. Cory Eliason (12); 23. Daryn Pittman (24); 24. Kevin Thomas Jr. (18). Lap Leaders: Macri 1-15, Ca. Macedo 16-25. Hard-charger: Abreu.