The 2026 season for Macri Motorsports will be one for the record books.
Injuries have derailed a stellar year twice for Anthony Macri. This week, he’s returned to driving duties again and just in time to represent the Pennsylvania Posse at the 64th J&S Classics National Open at Williams Grove Speedway on Oct. 2-3.
While Macri may have missed time, two things have remained constant throughout the pair of stretches: winning and Joe Mooney’s leadership as crew chief.
Macri, Mooney, and the entire team came out of the gates hot to start 2026. A pair of top fives and a win at Volusia Speedway Park in February resulted in a Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. They came back down to Florida a few weeks later and grabbed another checkered flag during the Bike Week Jamboree.
An early April injury removed Macri from the seat for nearly three months, but he picked up right where he left off in late June. Macri returned and promptly won half of Pennsylvania Speedweek’s eight races. Three weeks later, the Dillsburg, PA driver became only the second driver ever to top back-to-back Kings Royals at Eldora Speedway. A crash in August at Knoxville Raceway forced Macri to miss more time behind the wheel before his comeback this week.
During Macri’s absence, Mooney opted to keep the operation active by putting two different drivers behind the wheel.
“This year, knowing that he was going to be out 12 weeks, I didn’t want to sit out that long,” Mooney said. “It’s nice to have a break every now and then and not be racing every week, but the Outlaws were coming to town, and I knew how tough it was to sit through the National Open last year.”
The Macri Motorsports crew brought Kasey Kahne aboard to run a handful of races while Macri was first sidelined. The result? The Enumclaw, WA native picked up his first career World of Outlaws victory in only their third night teamed up at Williams Grove Speedway. Kahne’s Series debut came all the way back in 1997, and nearly three decades later Mooney helped lead him to Victory Lane. Overall, they tallied six top 10s in nine starts together.
“I had spoken to him after Anthony had gotten hurt, nothing about it, but I know how much he lives for Sprint Car racing,” Mooney recalled. “He and KKR (Kasey Kahne Racing) were down on engines as a whole, and it was kind of holding him out. He also didn’t really have a crew. He had kind of sacrificed his crew and maybe some of his engine programs for the 4 to have the 9 car running. In my mind, it was a guy with a lot of talent, a guy that’s done a lot for me in the past, and a guy that was going to respect equipment and still give us a fair shot to run well.”
That was far from Mooney’s first connection with Kahne. Mooney linked with Kasey Kahne Racing in 2019 as a car chief for Brad Sweet in the No. 49. The “Big Cat” went on to win the first of five consecutive championships that year, and Mooney was there for the first four before departing for Macri’s operation. That made Kahne’s Williams Grove triumph all the more special for Mooney. A moment to partially return the favor to a man who played a major role in his development and encouraged him to advance his career even if it meant leaving the team.
“It was awesome,” Mooney said of helping Kahne get his first win with The Greatest Show on Dirt. “Kasey was a big proponent of me coming to Macri. Honestly, I let it be known to him that last season there that I was with Brad that my goal was to be a crew chief, whether at KKR or elsewhere. He knew that I was kind of exploring some opportunities, and we talked about me possibly staying at KKR and switching to a crew chief role with him. But when he found out I had the opportunity to come work with Anthony, he was my biggest advocate. He was like, ‘Dude, you’ve got to go. That’s a great opportunity with a great young driver and a team with great equipment.’”
Macri’s August injury led to James McFadden filling the seat of the No. 39M for four races. This also signaled a reunion as Mooney and McFadden crossed paths at KKR even though they were with different cars. The punctuation of the two uniting was “J-Mac” charging from 11th to victory at Port Royal Speedway’s Tuscarora 50 for a $59,000 payday.
“James is another guy that I had a great relationship with,” Mooney said. “We weren’t on the same car at KKR, but we shared a lot of years there together and had a great relationship and were buddies off the track. We came close to possibly working together before I left KKR to go to Macri, but things just didn’t line up. We were good buddies and like minds, and I think it all just made sense. It was kind of a perfect storm. I mean, obviously not something that we wanted to happen with Anthony getting hurt, but it just made sense that the Tarlton car didn’t have any big races that week, and he was still in the country.”
Macri returned to the seat this week for a local race on Wednesday at Lincoln Speedway and didn’t take long to shake the rust. He didn’t qualify up to his usual standards but charged from ninth up to second in the 35-lap Feature.
The focus is now entirely on this weekend’s J&S Classics National Open. It’s Pennsylvania’s crown jewel. It’s lacking from both Macri and Mooney’s résumés. Macri already looks sharp again. It’s time to roll the No. 39M into Williams Grove and see if they can add one more trophy to a wild but unforgettable 2026.
“It’s a top four race on our list every year no matter the circumstances,” Mooney said of the National Open. “So, we’re just going to go out there and give it everything we got and see how it shakes out.”
Macri and Mooney will square off with the World of Outlaws at Williams Grove Speedway’s J&S Classics National Open this weekend (Oct. 2-3) for $75,000. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.
Where can you see the World of Outlaws in 2026? Click to see the full schedule.