PAIGE, Texas — Carson Macedo and Cotton Bowl Speedway started off on the wrong foot, but that relationship is in the mending process following an ecstatic victory in Saturday’s Texas Two-Step finale for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
It goes back to his debut at the third-mile last year, which began a streak of three races that included one destroyed car, two flips in a single night and zero top-10 finishes.
“I remember leaving here last year thinking it was the worst night of my career,” Macedo said in victory lane. “We cleaned out a lot of parts that weekend and I was crushed with the way I ran. To come back this year and pull off a win the way we just did, even after last night, shows the strength of this Jason Johnson Racing team.”
The 25-year-old native of Lemoore, Calif., started sixth in the 30-lapper and immediately powered forward to prove his Albaugh No. 41 was a winning contender. A heated battle for second and third consumed much of the middle stages, but the battle really began once Macedo secured second on lap 21 and set his sights on leader Sam Hafertepe Jr.
He caught him and slid by on lap 27, taking the lead and running away with his 18th career victory with the series.
“I don’t think I’ve calmed down yet, my heart rate is still pretty high,” Macedo joked. “I knew I had a good car, but it felt like I was making the wrong decisions early on. We struggled last night pretty bad, but Phil [Dietz] did what he does best and came back to give me a car capable of winning. It was a lot more technical tonight, so the more patient I was, the faster I went.”
More than anything, Macedo’s rewarding Cotton Bowl score comes with perfect timing and loads of momentum.
“It’s always crucial to knock out that first win as early as you can,” Macedo added. “It’s crazy how much pressure something like this can lift off your shoulders. Such a great confidence booster especially with all of my home tracks coming up next.”
On the other end of the story is home state hero Sam Hafertepe Jr. of Sunnyvale, Texas, who nearly pieced together a perfect night to conclude the Texas Two-Step. The driver of the No. 15h sprint car  recorded Slick Woody’s QuickTime, won his heat, won the dash and led 26 laps before finishing second in the feature at Cotton Bowl.
He dropped some knowledge from a sprint car legend, noted his team is only getting better, and received a roar of applause from the crowd during his post-race interview.
“Rich Ferkel told me a long time ago that you don’t get very many opportunities to win races, so you have to seize every one you do get,” Haferted said. “I just didn’t do that in lapped traffic tonight. We started this year really bad, though, so to be where we are at now is awesome. We’re not an Outlaw team, but we’re trying to be. We’re trying to do everything the right way. Hopefully, we can spend a lot more time on the frontstretch this year.”
Earning a slice of his own redemption was James McFadden, who suffered a flat tire while leading on Friday, and returned to finish third on Saturday.
“We were in the hunt, but just made a few too many mistakes tonight,” McFadden said. “I’m incredibly happy with this Roth #83, though, it’s been fast out of the box every single night. It’s a privilege to be on the World of Outlaws tour with such a competitive car. I hope we can get Dennis and Theresa a win or two in their home state these next few weeks.”
Logan Schuchart claimed KSE Hard Charger honors with a 12th to fourth charge in the Shark Racing No. 1s, while championship leader David Gravel turned in another top-five finish for the Big Game Motorsports No. 2.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 41-Carson Macedo [6][$10,000]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [1][$6,000]; 3. 83-James McFadden [7][$3,500]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$2,800]; 5. 2-David Gravel [5][$2,500]; 6. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [8][$2,300]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [9][$2,200]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [10][$2,100]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [11][$2,050]; 10. 24-Rico Abreu [18][$2,000]; 11. 5-Spencer Bayston [15][$1,600]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [13][$1,400]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3][$1,200]; 14. 84-Scott Bogucki [16][$1,100]; 15. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson [14][$1,050]; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen [4][$1,000]; 17. 24W-Garet Williamson [17][$1,000]; 18. 8-Aaron Reutzel [23][$1,000]; 19. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [19][$1,000]; 20. 21-Brian Brown [21][$1,000]; 21. 20G-Noah Gass [22][$1,000]; 22. 9-Daryn Pittman [24][$1,000]; 23. 2C-Wayne Johnson [20][$1,000]; 24. 26-Cory Eliason [2][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Sam Hafertepe Jr. 1-26, Carson Macedo 27-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 1S-Logan Schuchart[+8]
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