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Carson Macedo Dominates Bull Ring Blitz

Carson Macedo competing at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas on Friday, October 25, 2024. (Photo: Trent Gower | World of Outlaws)

Carson Macedo competing at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas on Friday, October 25, 2024. (Photo: Trent Gower | World of Outlaws)

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — With the season championship within arm’s length and the World Finals weekend looming closer than ever, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series headed to Riverside International Speedway on Friday for their last two-day show before the motherload of them all.

The 30-lap Bull Ring Blitz started off with Carson Macedo and Giovanni Scelzi on the front row. At the drop of the green flag, Macedo jumped out to the lead with Scelzi, Logan Schuchart and David Gravel all in hot pursuit.

As they headed towards Turn 3, Schuchart went to the inside of Scelzi to attempt a slide job and stayed stuck to his side as they exited the corner and raced down the frontstretch. Gravel loomed right behind them.

Making a hard left into Turns 1 and 2, Schuchart changed his trajectory and went up high. Now in the faster groove of the racetrack, he thought that he could sail right on by Scelzi for second. But those plans were thwarted when not only Scelzi jumped back in front of him, but Gravel did as well, putting Schuchart back in fourth.

One lap later, Gravel got by Scelzi in the same fashion that he had gotten around Schuchart: going up high and then dropping down aggressively to catch some serious speed and air. 

Schuchart saw Scelzi lose a position and decided to try to crack the top three again. Lap 5 saw Schuchart take to the high side once again, but this time the plan worked. Schuchart was back in his starting position.

In the midst of all of this action, Macedo was far ahead in his own world. So much so, that four laps later, he came up on lapped traffic. Macedo, a veteran of sprint car racing, was not going to let that stop him though.

The first yellow flag of the race waved on Lap 11 when Kerry Madsen tangled with another driver, hopped the cushion and flipped over. Madsen was okay and climbed out of his car without any complications.

On the restart, Sheldon Haudenschild came out of nowhere and got an insanely good run down the front straightaway, ending up in third.

Bill Balog also had a great restart and came right up to the top five, sniffing for a way to get into any of the coveted spots. As they came off of Turn 2, Balog went to Scelzi’s inside and stole fifth from him.

Just as Gravel had finally caught up to Macedo and was closing the .2 second gap between them, Dylan Cisney slowed on the backstretch, drawing a caution. On the restart though, something happened with Schuchart’s car and Balog had to slam on the brakes momentarily to avoid slamming into the back of him.

This was the opportunity that ten-time champion, Donny Schatz, was looking for and he took advantage of it by surging up right behind Balog.

Lap 24 saw leader Macedo go a little bit too high on the track and clip the lapped car of Ayden Gatewood, sending Gatewood up into the wall and flipping over, drawing yet another red flag.

With only six laps left in the race, it was going to be difficult for any of the drivers to get around Macedo, let alone get close to him to try. As fate would have it, Macedo held onto first place for the remainder of the race, followed by Gravel, Haudenschild, Schuchart and Balog.

“I was nervous,” said Macedo about the race. “A lot of those double-file restarts I had no idea where to go. The top was kinda where the grip and the rubber was, but I didn’t want to get too high.”

Macedo then went on to apologize to Gatewood, although he got the number wrong.

“I just wanna say I’m sorry to that lapper, that 23 car. I could see David [Gravel] behind me on the big screen and I knew he was breathing right down my back and I knew I had to make the moves or I was going to get ate up. I was getting nervous and I just seen the opening and drove it in there. So, sorry to that team and sorry that their stuff is tore up.”

Finish Start Car No. Driver Sponsor Status
1 1 41 Carson Macedo Albaugh Running
2 4 2 David Gravel Huset’s Speedway Running
3 9 17 Sheldon Haudenschild NOS Energy Running
4 3 1S Logan Schuchart Drydene Running
5 12 17B Bill Balog Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup Running
6 18 15 Donny Schatz Carquest/Ford Performance Running
7 2 18 Giovanni Scelzi Aspen Aire Running
8 11 55C Chris Windom NOS Energy Running
9 6 83 Michael “Buddy” Kofoid Moose’s LZ Bar and Grill Running
10 5 1 Sammy Swindell N/A Running
11 15 44 Derek Hagar Sonic Running
12 10 23 Garet Williamson S&S Nationwide Running
13 8 51B Joe B. Miller Lewis Trucking Running
14 7 7S Landon Crawley MPV Express/King Racing Products Running
15 19 27 Emerson Axsom Capital Industries Running
16 20 3Z Brock Zearfoss Moose’s LZ Bar and Grill Running
17 23 23B Brian Bell FSR Running
18 21 99 Skylar Gee Dirt Sharks Running
19 14 7C Brad Bowden N/A Running
20 17 37 Ayden Gatewood The Outdoor Store Running
21 13 32 Bryce Lucius X-1 Race Cars Running
22 22 6 Dylan Cisney Micro-Lite Running
23 24 20G Noah Gass Arrowhead Electric Running
24 16 55 Kerry Madsen N/A Running

Brooke Johnpier is a staff writer at The Podium Finish covering NHRA and professional dirt racing, as well as a social media promoter. Besides TPF, Brooke is a part-time motorsports journalist with Speedway Illustrated magazine, Race Pro Weekly, and Dirt Track Digest, which are outlets similar to TPF. Aspiring to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time automotive/motorsports journalist, Brooke is a sophomore at St. Bonaventure University where she is majoring in Sports Media, and double minoring in Native American and Indigenous Studies and English. There, she is involved with all of the campus media, as well as the literary magazine. She is also an officer in two clubs. In her free time, Brooke loves reading, writing, going to the local racetrack, riding four-wheelers, working on cars, and riding in tractor trailers. Brooke is a music lover and percussionist, as well as a published author and women's rights activist.

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