HANFORD’S HERO: Carson Macedo Banks $21,000 with Third Tom Tarlton Classic Title

The Californian holds off Haudenschild and Kofoid at Kings for another special win 

There are so many reasons that the Tom Tarlton Classic is one of the most meaningful races to Carson Macedo.

First and foremost, the event honors his great uncle, who also played a major role in Macedo ascending to the highest level of the sport with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. The Tarlton family put the aspiring driver in their iconic No. 21 during his teenage years, allowing him to show his potential and hone his skills. He even took the car to a World of Outlaws win at Silver Dollar Speedway back in 2014 when he was only 18 years old.

Secondly, Hanford, CA’s Kings Speedway hosts the race. The track is a mere 10 miles from Macedo’s hometown of Lemoore, CA. It’s an event that brings his family, friends, and many fans ready to reunite with the local who made it to the big leagues.

It’s easy to see why the race is near the top of Macedo’s list of those he wants to win every year. He topped the first two editions back in 2020 and 2021, and after a two-year hiatus from Victory Lane, Macedo made a popular return on Saturday night.

The 28-year-old started on the pole and fended off several challenges from Sheldon Haudenschild and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid for a $21,000 payday. Like always the home state crowd warmly welcomed Macedo to Victory Lane with a huge cheer as he climbed atop the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41.

“Man, what a cool event,” Macedo said. “Hometown crowd in Hanford. It feels good to see all of these awesome fans here. You guys are the best in the country. It feels good to win this race for Tom Tarlton. The Tom Tarlton Classic is near and dear to my heart. Robby Tarlton, my grandfather, and Tom Tarlton is my great uncle and really the reason I am a Sprint Car driver today. My parents kind of got me going in the Micro ranks, and he was the one that gave me an opportunity. Had it not been for him I don’t think I ever would’ve had the chance to race a Sprint Car.”

Macedo’s eighth win of 2024 is the 43rd of his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt. The victory breaks a four-way tie with Andy Hillenburg, Logan Schuchart, and Sheldon Haudenschild, giving Macedo sole possession of 18th all-time. He also took over second in points and still sits within striking distance of David Gravel – 110 points ahead – as the 2024 season winds down.

Macedo led the field to green for the 35-lapper with Kofoid alongside. On the race’s opening lap Macedo took the early advantage as Haudenschild drove by Kofoid to grab second.

An early restart allowed Haudenschild to take his first swing at Macedo as he looked low when they entered Turns 1 and 2. But the driver of the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 didn’t quite have the momentum he needed as Macedo drove away.

Macedo’s run was nearly brought to a heartbreaking halt with 21 laps to go when a lapped car spun directly ahead of him, but he reacted quickly to narrowly avoid disaster.

Haudenschild nearly got the top spot on the ensuing restart as he got a strong launch on the top. Macedo had just enough momentum and muscle to slide ahead of Haudenschild in the first set of corners. And then Kofoid snuck by Haudenschild for the runner-up spot.

The latter half of the race became a story of well-timed or ill-timed cautions depending on who you asked. Macedo enjoyed the yellow lights as each seemed to remove him from heavy traffic when the two behind him were closing. The yellow flag was the last thing Haudenschild and Kofoid wanted to see as they gave Macedo clean air.

With less than 10 laps to go, Haudenschild drove back by Kofoid and closed quickly on Macedo. A wild finish appeared to be in the works, but one last yellow flag again eliminated traffic concerns for Macedo. He nailed one final restart, and that was all she wrote on the path to his third Tom Tarlton Classic win.

“Other than myself, I feel like they’re (Haudenschild and Kofoid) two of the most aggressive drivers on the tour,” Macedo said. “I knew they were going to be coming and coming hard. Little bit more money on the line. Everybody is running a little bit more up in the seat. Just had to switch up my game a little bit. Roll the dice a different direction, make sure they weren’t timing my restarts.”

Haudenschild brought the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 17 home second to continue his recent consistency. The Wooster, OH native is up to six podiums in the last nine races.

“I was really good the whole race honestly,” Haudenschild said. “It put me behind once Buddy got in front of me and kind of killed my runs there. Overall, I’m really happy with the car. I feel like we made gains on the car all night, and (Kyle) Ripper did a good job there. I was hoping we could stay in traffic there a little bit more. Traffic was really slow and still running the top, and it was pretty exciting.”

Another driver on a hot streak is Buddy Kofoid as he and the Roth Motorsports crew have been firing on all cylinders as of late. The Penngrove, CA native finished third for his seventh straight finish of fourth or better with a 2.3 average finish over that span. If it wasn’t for the cautions, Kofoid felt he could’ve been celebrating a third consecutive victory.

“I just didn’t need any yellows,” Kofoid said. “It’s hard to say if I could’ve got the lead if I would’ve been okay out front. On the short runs, both of them were probably just a little bit better, but I felt like on the long runs like when we’d get to traffic or even before, I felt like I could kind of close back up to them. But I just didn’t quite have the opportunity. Again, I felt really in traffic and thrived in traffic. Just needed to not have a yellow come out.”

D.J. Netto and David Gravel completed the top five.

A 24th to 10th run earned Ryan Bernal the KSE Racing Hard Charger.

Bill Balog earned his third career Simpson Quick Time in Sea Foam Qualifying.

NOS Energy Drink Heats One and Three belonged to Buddy Kofoid and Carson Macedo. Milton Hershey School Heat Two went to Giovanni Scelzi.

Brock Zearfoss won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Tim Kaeding.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car California swing rolls into Bakersfield Speedway on Friday, Sept. 13 before a trip to Merced Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 14 for the Federated Auto Parts Yosemite Showdown. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[3]; 3. 83-Michael Kofoid[2]; 4. 88N-DJ Netto[9]; 5. 2-David Gravel[8]; 6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[4]; 7. 23-Garet Williamson[17]; 8. 17AU-Jamie Veal[7]; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart[20]; 10. 73-Ryan Bernal[24]; 11. 88-Austin McCarl[14]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz[11]; 13. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[19]; 14. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[16]; 15. 29-Bud Kaeding[13]; 16. 57W-Jock Goodyer[6]; 17. 2K-Gauge Garcia[22]; 18. 7S-Landon Crawley[21]; 19. 21-Cole Macedo[12]; 20. 6-Lachy McDonough[15]; 21. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[18]; 22. 12B-Dawson Faria[23]; 23. O-Tim Kaeding[5]; 24. 17B-Bill Balog[10]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

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World of Outlaws Tom Tarlton Classic
Saturday, September 07, 2024
Kings Speedway
801 S 10th Ave
Hanford, California 93230 

Event Description
Carson Macedo leads the World of Outlaws to his Hanford home for another edition of the Tom Tarlton Classic.

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series

To Win Amount
$21,000.00

Event Schedule

2:00PM Pit Gates open
4:00PM Grandstand Gates open
6:30PM Hot Laps/Qualifying
7:30PM Opening Ceremonies

*All times Pacific

Ticket Phone
(844) 347-8849

Options And Prices
Reserved: $45/$50 Day of Race
Adult GA: $40/$45 Day of Race
Child GA (6-12): $10


Reserved Seating
Sections A-D & Top 3 Rows of Sections 1 and 2

Pit Pass Price

$50
Adult Pit Upgrade: $10
Child Pit Upgrade: $40

Vehicle Pass - $10

Handicapped Parking Location

Handicap parking is located adjacent to the fair office with a shuttle to the front gate

Camping Availability

Camping is first come first serve. Camping is available by calling the Kings County Fairgrounds at 559-584-3318.

To Win Amount
$21,000.00

Reserved Seating
Sections A-D & Top 3 Rows of Sections 1 and 2

Handicapped Parking

Handicap parking is located adjacent to the fair office with a shuttle to the front gate

Camping Availability

Camping is first come first serve. Camping is available by calling the Kings County Fairgrounds at 559-584-3318.

Kings Speedway
801 S 10th Ave
Hanford, California 93230 

Track Phone
(844) 347-8849

Ticket Phone
(844) 347-8849

Track Size
0.375

Track Map

Competitor Downloads
 https://www.dirtcarmembers.com/downloads.php