STOCKTON, Calif. — James McFadden is doing shoeys no matter what car he’s in or coast he’s on these days.
Last week the Australia native jumped in the seat of the Macri Motorsports No. 39m and won Pennsylvania’s prestigious Tuscarora 50 at Port Royal Speedway.
This week’s plans brought him back to the Tarlton Motorsports No. 21 for Stockton Dirt Track’s Dennis Roth Classic opener as the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series California swing began Friday. A different ride and a different side of the country, but the result was the same.
McFadden methodically picked his way forward from the third row in the 35-lap feature. He’d surged into second by the 20th circuit, and the chance to pounce on Michael “Buddy” Kofoid for the lead came on the 30th lap. Kofoid got stuck behind a lapped car on the bottom of Turns 3 and 4, and McFadden ripped around his outside to make the winning move.
“I grew up wanting to win these races,” McFadden said. “To have won one and to now have won a few is pretty special. Then obviously being a California car and Tommy (Tarlton) having a car synonymous with California and have it sitting in victory lane is cool. I felt like I was Posse in Pennsylvania and Cali Clique here in California. It’s an honor to drive this car. Drew (Warner) does a hell of a job as well as all the crew.”
The first World of Outlaws win of the season for “J-Mac” made him the 22nd different driver to visit victory lane with the series in 2026. If three more competitors can top a race, this year will equal the record of 25 set in 2004. It’s the 13th triumph of his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
A dozen years had passed since Tarlton Motorsports had been in World of Outlaws Victory Lane. Friday was the Fresno, Calif.-based operation’s third overall score with a third different driver as McFadden is alongside Jason Meyers and Carson Macedo as winners in the No. 21.
Buddy Kofoid fell just a spot short of his third straight win in the Roth Motorsports No. 83, instead settling for a seventh consecutive podium result.
Carson Macedo rounded out the podium in the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41.
David Gravel and Bill Balog completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (35 Laps): 1. 21-James McFadden[5]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[6]; 4. 2-David Gravel[11]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog[1]; 6. 2X-Justin Sanders[10]; 7. 17W-Shane Golobic[24]; 8. 0-Tim Kaeding[18]; 9. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[20]; 10. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[7]; 11. 88N-DJ Netto[19]; 12. 27-Emerson Axsom[25]; 13. 2XM-Max Mittry[4]; 14. 7S-Chris Windom[22]; 15. 21L-Landon Brooks[17]; 16. 23-Garet Williamson[15]; 17. 10-Dominic Gorden[23]; 18. 17-Spencer Bayston[16]; 19. 51-Steven Snyder Jr[13]; 20. 16C-Skylar Gee[26]; 21. (DNF) 1S-Logan Schuchart[21]; 22. (DNF) X1-Chance Grasty[14]; 23. (DNF) 31-Jett Yantis[2]; 24. (DNF) 2C-Cole Macedo[8]; 25. (DNF) 15-Donny Schatz[12]; 26. (DNF) 2A-Austin Wood[9]
