TULARE, Calif. — Carson Macedo put together a perfect night in winning Saturday night’s Dennis Roth Classic at Thunderbowl Raceway.
Driving the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41, Macedo pieced together a full sweep of the night. It started off with his second straight Simpson Quick Time. He then went on to top his heat and the dash. He finalized the special evening by leading every circuit of the 35-lap finale to collect the $83,000 winner’s check.
“What a night to have a perfect night,” Macedo said. “Philip (Dietz) just delivered tonight. It was, from start to finish, an absolutely excellent performance by this JJR 41 team. Adam Zimmerman and Robby McQuinn, they worked their tails off. They did a great job. They just made phenomenal adjustments. I wasn’t that comfortable in hot laps. Phil just knocked it out of the park for qualifying really. We just never faded from that point on. It was just unbelievable to drive from start to finish.”
Macedo’s ninth win of the year was his 44th overall with The Greatest Show on Dirt. He became the 20th different competitor to top a series race at the Thunderbowl. The third-mile is the 26th different track where Macedo has won with the World of Outlaws and fourth in his home state.
Macedo started on the pole for the main event and drove ahead to an early advantage. The 28-year-old may have gapped the field early on, but the action behind him was plentiful.
Sixth-starting David Gravel charged by Buddy Kofoid to grab third, but Kofoid returned the favor by ripping the top in turns three and four to take it right back.
A little further behind them Sheldon Haudenschild was giving the fans a show all on his own aboard the NOS Energy Drink No. 17. He glued his right-rear tire to the cushion and beat down the boards.
After starting 12th, the Wooster, Ohio, native had cracked the top five by lap seven. A lap later he took fourth from Gravel. Up ahead of them Kofoid started to battle with Shane Golobic for the runner-up spot.
A Lap 9 restart proved to be pivotal as Kofoid, Gravel, and Haudenschild all rocketed ahead of Golobic for spots second, third, and fourth.
Kofoid looked to run down Macedo to deliver a storybook win for his Roth Motorsports crew, but it wasn’t in the cards on Saturday night. He did everything he could to keep up with Macedo through traffic, but he never managed to close in.
Macedo maintained a healthy advantage throughout the race’s second half on his way to $83,000.
“Man, what a night,” Macedo said. “Obviously, we were racing for the Dennis Roth Classic. Dennis and Teresa Roth, they’ve given a lot to the sport of sprint car racing. It feels special to win this race. I’ve been competing against the Roth 83 for a while. Obviously, out here in California driving the Tarlton Motorsports 21 and through the transition of my career.”
Kofoid collected his sixth straight podium and $40,000 with a runner-up finish.
“I feel like I could pace Carson,” Kofoid said. “And I felt like I was just as good as him, but clean air is huge, and when you��re behind him and he kicks up dust, it’s hard to see the wall sometimes when you’ve got to ride the wall. It was a really fun track. I’m just super happy that this event was able to happen for Dennis and Teresa. I feel like they deserve a race like this. I just feel very honored to be the guy to drive this car and be close to getting it done.”
The final spot of the podium belonged to Haudenschild as his charge from 12th led him all the way to third.
“I had a beautiful race car honestly,” Haudenschild said. “I had confidence right from the drop of the green. I just knew I had to clear a few of those guys that would give a little bit of trouble. Once I got to the guys I knew I could race with like David (Gravel) and a couple other ones, I feel like we had the pace with them for sure. Just too little too late.”
David Gravel and Shane Golobic rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (35 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[12]; 4. 2-David Gravel[6]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic[2]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz[19]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[4]; 9. 23-Garet Williamson[11]; 10. 0-Tim Kaeding[23]; 11. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[7]; 12. 45-Landon Brooks[8]; 13. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[22]; 14. 17B-Bill Balog[21]; 15. 21-Cole Macedo[15]; 16. 29-Bud Kaeding[18]; 17. 88N-DJ Netto[9]; 18. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[20]; 19. 88-Austin McCarl[17]; 20. 2K-Gauge Garcia[16]; 21. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[24]; 22. 83T-Tanner Carrick[14]; 23. 2X-Justin Sanders[13]; 24. 57W-Jock Goodyer[10]