Carson Macedo Victorious in Night One of the Jackson Nationals

Carson Macedo competing at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota. (Photo: Trent Gower | World Racing Group)

JACKSON, Minn. — The money did not stop rolling in for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series as they kicked off the Jackson Nationals at Jackson Motorplex on Friday night. 

The 30-lap main event started off with Logan Schuchart and Carson Macedo on the front row. As they raced into Turn 1, Macedo stayed on the high side and came out ahead of Schuchart to take the lead.

Meanwhile, the field saw a battle between Garet Williamson and David Gravel for third. Coming off of Turn 4, Williamson slid in front of Gravel to keep third, but Sheldon Haudenschild was racing up fast behind them. All he had to do was get around Aaron Reutzel on the bottom, and that is exactly what he did.

On Lap 6, Macedo had finally caught up to lapped traffic and was weaving his way through when he had a really close call with Kelby Watt going into Turn 4. To prevent a crash from happening, Macedo had to slam on the brakes to avoid slamming into the back of Watt. This allowed Schuchart to quickly close the gap between them.

Lap 15 saw Schuchart’s second-place reign begin to falter. Williamson went to the inside and tried to swoop by him down the backstretch, but this plan did not work out as executed. As Williamson followed behind Schuchart, trying to figure out how to get around him, Gravel went down low and did what Williamson was trying to do. Gravel passed Williamson for third and went after Schuchart.

One lap later, Williamson was passed by Haudenschild in the same spot and in the same fashion. As they came off of Turn 4, Haudenschild slid up in front of Macedo to claim the fourth spot, moving up into the top five. With a little bit of hope and 12 laps remaining, Haudenschild was not even close to giving up.

Sheldon Haudenschild competing at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota. (Photo: Trent Gower | World Racing Group)

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid slowed on the back straightaway, drawing a caution. It turned out that the caution was exactly what Haudenschild needed when it came time to restart. Macedo shot out to the lead with no problems, while Gravel went to the inside of Schuchart to try to get a run on him. With Gravel on the very bottom and Schuchart in the middle, the top lane was wide open and Haudenschild decided to take that route. Coming out of Turn 2, Haudenschild jumped from fourth to second by passing them both. Gravel, following in Haudenschild’s draft, was able to pass Schuchart as well.

With three laps remaining, Haudenschild had closed in on Macedo and was gaining ground with each and every turn. But try as he might, he could not figure out the fastest way to get around Macedo, leaving him with a second-place finish.

“I could feel that my pace was slowing down when we got to traffic,” said Macedo about the race. “A lot of guys are running the same lane as we are but what a great job team. It was a great night overall and I was able to take command of the race. Happy to get this 41 in Victory Lane.”