KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Misty-eyed and struggling to summarize a lifelong dream of qualifying for Saturday’s Knoxville Nationals main event at Knoxville Raceway, Anthony Macri needed Rico Abreu’s help to comprehend the moment.
“You’re in the feature, bud,” Abreu said from the other end of the table that seated Friday’s FVP Hard Knox Night top-four finishers.
“I am in the feature, it’s pretty badass,” said Macri, who already had the next endeavor in mind. “I think we’ll go to Dingus [Lounge] and have a late start to the morning tomorrow.”
The room broke out in laughter but Macri was serious. Dingus Lounge, the town’s lively, go-to bar and social hotspot, became the 22-year-old’s place to decompress shortly after midnight on Friday.
Macri’s 15 wins at the 410 level since the start of last year are tied for seventh most nationally, thrusting him into immediate Pennsylvania Posse leadership.
But the Dillsburg, Pa., driver is still in a stage of emphasized growth. Hard lessons such as failing to qualify for the Pennsylvania Speedweek show at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., in June have exposed his need to grow. He also failed to qualify for the 37th and 38th Kings Royals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, in Bernie Stuebgen’s credible No. 71 machine.
Those trials were eased less than 24 hours from rolling off 22nd in the world’s biggest sprint car race over a mixed drink that paired peach schnapps and GT Grape NOS Energy.
“It was good,” Macri said in a phone interview Saturday afternoon. “It was a time to unwind and relax, kind of get the weight off your shoulders.”
Macri did what he needed to do on the racetrack Friday. He got his needed hour at Dingus Lounge, too. So, what’s next?
“I just want to run all 50 laps,” Macri said. “I’m not going to worry so much about where we finish, but get good, quality laps, and get a good notebook. Take laps and put them in the memory bank, so we can come back here some other time and do good.”
Valuing forecasted battles ranging from the intense Kyle Larson to the savvy Shane Stewart is what Macri prioritizes.
He is, after all, the second youngest driver in the 50-lap, $150,000-to-win field. Gio Scelzi, who happens to start from the pole, is only younger at 19 years old.
Last year, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and with races resuming in the midwest, Macri spent a month racing tracks he had never seen before, against some of the stiffest fields assembled.
Forty to 50 entrants were normal for a good stretch, and Macri, being a full-time racer, needed to press in if he wanted regular paychecks.
When he came home, he rattled off four sprint car wins in a row at Port Royal Speedway, one in a duel over Larson. There began Macri’s rise to prominence.
“Last year was everything in [qualifying for] the Nationals,” Macri said. “I don’t even know how to describe it. Time on the road is so valuable. You learn so much. You become a different driver when you’re out there.
“When I race in Pennsylvania for a while, I don’t want to say I get in a slump … my driving style starts to not get as intense,” Macri continued. “You’re not racing the same PA guys every week. When you come out here, it kind of gives you a tune-up. You have to be on the wheel. You have to not give an inch, and you have to take an inch from some people.
“When I’m out on the road like this, when we get to bigger shows with the all [World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series] guys, it gives me the tuneup I need to come back and drive harder,” he added. “Normally we do a little bit better when we come home from these types of shows.”
When he does travel back to Pennsylvania, nine dates with the All Star Circuit of Champions and two weekends with the World of Outlaws await, namely Crown Jewels in the Tuscarora 50 and the Williams Grove National Open.
Saturday night starts Macri’s biggest stretch of the season, maybe even his career.
“There’s 100 drivers here … there’s what, 24 or 26 in the feature?” he said. “To say you made the feature is honestly incredible.”