ROSSBURG, Ohio: Carson Macedo not only redeemed himself at the Big E, but he led nearly every lap in the Knight before the Kings Royal feature on Friday.
After winning the pole, the Lemoore, California native dominated the race until the final three laps when second-place finisher Brad Sweet peeked inside of the No. 41 car.
But Macedo held off the four-time champ for his third win at Eldora Speedway—and his second World of Outlaw win this week.
“The JJR No. 41 team is capable of winning on any given night,” Macedo said. Philip (Dietz, crew chief) and the guys just did an incredible job tonight. They delivered for me.
“We went out pretty late in time trials. They gave me a great race car. Then we transitioned it to a race great and they delivered again. They came over to the car before we pushed off and told me I could do it.”
Giovanni Scelzi finished third followed by Rico Abreu, David Gravel, Justin Peck, Sheldon Haudenschild, Spencer Bayston, James McFadden and Brent Marks.
Before the race got up to speed, Tyler Courtney flipped in Turn 2. The 2021 Kings Royal winner, who has 12 feature wins at Eldora, was running ninth at the time.
When the race resumed, Sweet regained second place and Scelzi returned to third. Macedo extended his lead over the field and despite encountering traffic, extended his advantage over Sweet by 1.259 seconds halfway through the 30-lap feature. Scelzi, Haudenschild and Bayston attempted to maintain their positions in the top five but WoO points leader Gravel was coming.
After starting 15th, Gravel passed Justin Peck for sixth on Lap 17. Three laps later, a battle ensued between Gravel and Abreu for fifth—until Haudenschild dropped to sixth on Lap 24 and opened the door for the No. 2 car. Both Abreu and Gravel took advantage of the situation and advanced their position.
Sweet found an opening with four laps remaining and challenged Macedo in Turns 1 and 2 on the next lap.
“He tried to get back to my inside,” Sweet said. “I didn’t know what he was going to do in three so I tried to slow down to get back to his inside..then I kind of slipped.
“But great race overall. The racing was really good and I’m inching up on getting this car better tonight. I felt like we made great improvements tonight. I felt like I had a solid car through all 30 laps. So, I’m really excited to come back tomorrow and go for a third Kings Royal.”
Macedo maintained the point to score his fifth WoO victory of 2023.
“I slipped myself in three and four, I knew I lost a lot of time on four, but I didn’t think he had caught me right then. I didn’t think my run off of 4 was that bad. I got to 4, I could see the laps winding down. He slid me—and that woke me back up. I didn’t realize how uniform he could run the fence in one and two. Once he drove by me I grabbed another gear.
“The top of the track was pretty quick up there. It was a lot of fun. I was going as hard as I could go there at the end. It felt like a 30-lap dash out there. I’m so grateful for my fans. A big thanks to my girlfriend Holly.”
With his fifth-place result, Gravel maintained a two-point lead over Sweet in the standings.
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
