August 11, 2023 | By Bill Wright

Carson Macedo Triumphs in Return on Night #2 of Knoxville Nationals

Knoxville, IA —  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 62nd 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 62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

62nd 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.

A main Cars

1 57 Kyle Larson 482
2 24 Rico Abreu 480
3 15 Donny Schatz 479
4 1S Logan Schuchart 479
5 41 Carson Macedo 474
6 39 Hunter Schuerenberg 462
7 55 Kerry Madsen 459
8 83JR Buddy Kofoid 459
9 18 Gio Scelzi 458
10 14 Corey Day 458
11 4 Ian Madsen 455
12 3J Dusty Zomer 453
13 5 Spencer Bayston 451
14 2KS Chase Randall 449
15 7BC Anthony Macri 449
16 49 Brad Sweet 449

B main cars

17 13 Justin Peck 449
18 83 James McFadden 447
19 9 Kasey Kahne 446
20 88 Austin McCarl 443
21 21 Brian Brown 439
22 71 Shane Stewart 439
23 6G Garet Williamson 438
24 7TAZ Tasker Phillips 437
25 7W Dustin Selvage 435
26 17 Sheldon Haudenschild 434

“Drivers for Hard Knox Night”

27 42 Sye Lynch 434
28 5X Daryn Pittman 432
29 52 Blake Hahn 429
30 3Z Brock Zearfoss 429
31 4W Jamie Ball 416
32 7TW Brandon Wimmer 415
33 17B Bill Balog 414
34 10L Scott Bogucki 414
35 16A Colby Copeland 412
36 19 Brent Marks 412
37 18T Tanner Holmes 411
38 12X Ayrton Gennetten 410
39 21H Brady Bacon 408
40 4CW Chris Windom 408
41 17AU Jamie Veal 404
42 11 Cory Eliason 404
43 21T Cole Macedo 403
44 2 David Gravel 403
45 25 Lachlan McHugh 401
46 1X Jake Bubak 401
47 22 Riley Goodno 399
48 1 Justin Henderson 394
49 35 Zach Hampton 394
50 101 Kalib Henry 392
51 4J Kevin Thomas Jr. 392
52 39M Justin Sanders 392
53 3P Sawyer Phillips 391
54 7S Robbie Price 382
55 83T Tanner Carrick 382
56 26 Zeb Wise 381
57 1M Don Droud Jr. 380
58 27 Carson McCarl 380
59 50YR JJ Hickle 379
60 3 Tim Kaeding 378
61 2K Lynton Jeffrey 377
62 9P Parker Price-Miller 373
63 16 Brooke Tatnell 370
64 5T Ryan Timms 367
65 17W Shane Golobic 367
66 20 AJ Moeller 364
67 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr. 361
68 22K Kaleb Johnson 358
69 49X Tim Shaffer 357
70 24T Christopher Thram 350
71 1K Kelby Watt 345
72 1C Brenham Crouch 344
73 55T McKenna Haase 340
74 1A Chase Dietz 340
75 11N Harli White 339
76 20G Noah Gass 335
77 8 Aaron Reutzel 333
78 44P Skylar Prochaska 332
79 65 Jordan Goldesberry 328
80 91 Kyle Reinhardt 327
81 95 Matt Covington 315
82 70 Kraig Kinser 315
83 6B Clint Garner 310
84 5C Dylan Cisney 306
85 6 Bill Rose 302
86 17X Terry McCarl 300
87 18R Ryan Roberts 300
88 24H Kade Higday 294
89 35B Austin Bishop 291
90 4K2W Matt Wasmund 286
91 56 Joe Simbro 273
92 13JT Mark Dobmeier 272
93 45 Rusty Hickman 271
94 44 Chris Martin 270
95 G5 Gage Pulkrabek 270
96 2M Davey Heskin 269
97 2KK Kevin Ingle 267
98 121 RJ Johnson 265
99 6X Frank Rodgers III 263
100 15JR Cole Mincer 255
101 37 Ayden Gatewood 238
102 W19 Trent Pigdon 236
103 9H Landon Hansen 235
104 105 Cody Ihlen 223
105 78 Bill Wagner 220
106 10V Cap Henry 209