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

Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu Are High Point Drivers and Will Start on Row One 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 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