Carson Macedo returns to the site of one of his biggest career wins this weekend as he searches for momentum to hunt down his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship.
The Lemoore, CA driver, along with the rest of the World of Outlaws stars, will challenge the Pennsylvania Posse again at Williams Grove Speedway for the 60th Champion Racing Oil National Open, Sept. 30-Oct. 1.
Last year, Macedo became the first Californian to win the historic Pennsylvania race since Jason Meyers did it in 2011. With the triumph came a $75,000 payday and a confidence high that’s carried into the 2022 season. He and his Jason Johnson Racing team have been championship contenders throughout the season and currently have the most wins this season (11).
“Last year we were able to do a really good job,” Macedo said about winning the National Open. “One of the biggest accomplishments in my career. One of the highest paying races I’ve ever won. On top of that, The Grove is a very tough place to win and be good at. I’m proud that we can accomplish that. It means a lot to best some of the best in the country at one of the toughest racetracks in the country. It would be cool to win it again, but I know it won’t be easy and we’ll put our best foot forward.”
Macedo has struggled at the paperclip-shaped half-mile speedway this year, finishing 26th, sixth and 24th, respectively. And of his 11 victories this year, none have come at a half-mile track.
He admitted that even though he and his JJR team are happy with their win count, their inconsistencies have kept them from being closer to the championship points hunt – currently sitting third in points, 140 points back from leader Brad Sweet.
“[Sweet] has not, not finished a race,” Macedo said. “I wrecked at The Grove. I wrecked at Cedar Lake. I was light at the scales at The Grove. Those nights, they catch up to you. Although we’ve won a lot of races, they don’t hold as much weight as DNFs. Brad hasn’t won as many races, but he’s finished in the top five almost every night. It seems like, if he does wreck, they find a way to get it back out on the track out of the work area and rebounds to 10th. He’s been really consistent, and we haven’t.”
Macedo had recently been on a streak of 11 top-10 finishes in a row – 10 of them top fives and three of them wins. But that ended with his rexent 22nd-place finish at Sharon Speedway.
With nine races still to go this season before at champion is crowned at the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Macedo hasn’t lost hope yet.
“I think it’s still winnable,” Macedo said. “Don’t get me wrong, every position matters but if you’re not winning it, that’s the ultimate goal. Catching and passing (second-place in points David) Gravel would be cool. He’s an incredible driver. The 2 team is an incredible team, so it would still be an accomplishment but winning is everything that matters to us.
“I think Brad is going to be very very tough to beat. Like I said, he’s consistent. He doesn’t fall out of races. But the World of Outlaws tour is so unpredictable. You never know what could happen. He could string a couple of DNFs out of his control. Who knows right? There’s a lot of unforeseeables. We’re going to keep doing our job and keep putting our best foot forward and controlling what we can on our end. So, we’ll see.”
He’ll try to keep that winning spirit alive this weekend by parking his Albaugh #41 JJR machine in Victory Lane at Williams Grove Speedway again. If so, it would make him the seventh driver in the history of the event to win back-to-back National Open titles and the first to do it since Donny Schatz last did it in 2004-05.
For tickets to the 60th Champion Racing Oil National Open at Williams Grove Speedway, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either at DIRTVision.com or by downloading the DIRTVision App.
