Macedo Gets Thrilling Last Lap Pass For Fremont Win

By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio – Before Saturday Carson Macedo had never seen Fremont Speedway. The 19-year-old sprint car driver from Lemoore , California wasn’t intimated by the “The Track That Action Built” and the reputation for being difficult to figure out and having some of the toughest competition in the country. He battled with six time track champion Byron Reed and lapped traffic before executing a last lap pass to score the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint win to open the track’s 65th season.

Macedo’s win on Gressman Powersports/Level Performance Night also opened the eighth year for the Kistler Racing Products FAST Championship Series Presented by KS Sales and Service.

A huge crowd roared their approval as Macedo executed victory “donuts” before stopping in the Engine Pro Victory Lane .

“I was really afraid I was going to let one get away there. Mike and Steven Linder, Craig and Les Mintz….everyone gave me an awesome race car. I knew I had the car to win. If I didn’t win I was going to be pretty upset. This car was a dream to drive. I’ll never forget that one…that was a lot of fun,” said Macedo beside his Mintz Motorsports, Real Geese Decoys, Eagle Ignition Products, Real Archery Targets, KS Sales and Service, Ti22, Shetzer Insurance, Story Equipment, S&S Builders, Linder’s Speed Equipment backed #09x.

“Everything’s new for me lately. I moved from California to Indy and I live with Pete Willoughby and drive for Keith Kunz in the midget. This is kind of a fill in thing for me with the Craig and Les ….man I want to run it a lot more. I love these winged cars,” added Macedo.

Wayne, Ohio’s John Brooks had pretty much decided to quit racing due to the cost. But when Fremont Speedway started a crate late model division last year he decided to give the sport another shot. And it paid off as he drove to his first win in the McCullough Industries 602 Late Models to go with two victories he has at the track in modified racing.

“Those modifieds got too expensive and when you guys started this crate class we figured hell we’d give it a shot. My wife’s right there but I think we have about $12,000 in this and we start out with a win,” said Brooks beside his Snack Time Vending, Foster Auto Repair backed #00.

Fremont’s Jamie Miller chose to honor his late uncle George over the off season. The team painted the purple and white and changed the number to 66 – the same color and number the Fremont Speedway Hall of Famer carried during his career. The change worked as Jamie took the lead on lap 14 and drove to his 12th career Fremont win in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 sprints.

“I think Uncle George was with me tonight. I loved every bit of this track tonight. I kind of slid Paul (Weaver) a little dirty there but I just wanted to get going in case someone was coming behind me,” said Miller beside his Fostoria Mod Shop, Crown Battery, Pioneer Quik Lube, Western Lake Erie Insulation, Advanced Industrial Supply, Jamie Miller Trucking, Dick’s Auto Supply, Handy Grafix backed machine.

While his night in the 410 sprint didn’t go as planned, Fostoria , Ohio ’s Shawn Valenti made the most of his race behind the wheel of a dirt truck. The former Fremont track champion dominated the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Truck feature, leading all but the first lap to score his 26th career Fremont win to sit tied for 17th on the all-time win list.

“I’m trying to get some laps back in a 410 so we got this thing back out to try and keep some confidence up. I have to thank Jeff Babcock, Craig Miller Trucking, Dave Story, Les Mintz with Real Geese, Kevin Shammo at KS Sales…without them it wouldn’t be possible,” said Valenti.

At the start of the 410 sprint feature, Duane Zablocki and Reed brought the field to green with Reed gaining the edge. Third starting Craig Mintz would move into second on lap four with sixth starting Macedo taking third two laps later.

Reed would race into lapped traffic by lap 7 with Mintz and Macedo closing while Zablocki battled with Stuart Brubaker and 12th starting rookie Trey Jacobs. The first caution would fly for Chris Andrews on lap 11 with the running order Reed, Mintz, Macedo, Zablocki, Brubaker and Jacobs.

On the ensuing restart Macedo would drive under Mintz into second with Jacobs blasting into fourth, bringing Broc Martin into fifth. Adam Kekich would slow to a stop on lap 13 for the final caution of the race.

This time on the restart Reed had his hands full with Macedo while Mintz, Martin, Jacobs, Brubaker and 14th starting Jody Keegan in pursuit. As the leaders prepared to race into lapped traffic by lap 19, Macedo was all over Reed’s back bumper.

As the pair sliced and diced through traffic, Reed would catch a rut in turn three which allowed Macedo to drive into the lead. Reed would fight back as the pair raced side by side over the next three laps. Reed would regain the lead with five laps left with Macedo and now Martin within striking distance.

After taking the white flag, Reed took the high line in turns one and two and Macedo saw his opportunity. The youngster dove low and rocketed off the bottom of turn two to take the lead and held off Reed for the win. Martin would come home third followed by Mintz and Keegan.

Weaver and Seth Schneider brought the field to green for the 25-lap 305 sprint feature with Weaver taking the lead over Schneider, Miller, Kyle Capodice and Dustin Dinan. After two laps were scored Thomas Schinderle would spin to bring out the yellow flag.

After the green fell on the restart Weaver pulled away as Schneider and Miller battled. But, George Englert would flip on lap four to bring the action to halt. The Pennsylvania driver was okay.

When the green reappeared it would stay that way until the end of the race. Weaver would lead on the restart with Miller taking second over Schneider, Capodice, Steve Rando, Nate Dussel (up from 14th) and Dinan. Rando would drive into third by lap seven as the leaders raced into lapped traffic.

On lap 14 Miller would drive the high line around Weaver for the lead as Rando would dive low for the runner-up spot. Weaver would regain second on lap 16, but Miller had checked out.

Miller would hold a commanding advantage the rest of the way for the win with Weaver, Rando, Dussel and Bobby Clark rounding out the top five.

After a couple of spins at the start by various drivers, Miller and Dustin Keegan would bring the field to green for the 15-lap late model feature with Miller taking the point over Keegan, Brooks, Brandon Perkins and Tim Sabo. Brooks would take second on lap two with Perkins moving into third a lap later.

The caution would fly for debris on lap five with Miller leading Brooks, Perkins, Tim Sabo and Keegan. On the ensuing restart Brooks drove under Miller for the lead. Only a caution with seven laps to go would slow Brooks.

Brooks would drive to the victory over Miller, Tim Sabo, Keegan and Steve Sabo.

The 20-lap dirt truck feature would find Valenti and Brad Stuckey on the front row. After a Josh Kiser spin on the initial start, Stuckey would edge Valenti to the line to lead the first lap with Keith Sorg, Jeff Ward and Cory McCaughey in pursuit.

Valenti would utilize the high side to take the lead on the second lap as Sorg moved into second. Following a caution for Brian Sorg on lap three, Valenti would pull away from Keith Sorg who had his hands full with Ward and McCaughey. Ward would move into the runner-up spot on lap 10 just as the caution flew for McCaughey.

When the green flew again, so did Valenti, pulling away as Ward, Stuckey, Dustin Keegan and Jim Holcomb gave chase. Keegan would move into third by lap 14 as Valenti continued to lead Ward. Nothing would slow Valenti’s march to the checkered over Ward and Keegan.

Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, April 23 on Adkins Fence and Sanitation Night. There will be free camping available for the fans in the North Street Campground and the Make It Fit Foundation’s Autism Awareness Campaign will be a part of the night’s events. It will also be a Kistler Racing Products FAST Championship Series Presented by KS Sales and Service point night for the 410 sprints with the 305 sprints, dirt trucks and late models also in action.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com or like Fremont Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FremontSpeedway and on Twitter @FremontSpeedway.

For more information on the FAST Championship Series go to www.fastondirt.com
Fremont Speedway

Gressman Powersports/Level Performance Night
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Starting position [*]

410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace

Fricker’s Qualifying
1.19-Paige Polyak, 12.642; 2.73-Chris Andrews, 12.693; 3.09X-Carson Macedo, 12.758; 4.83-Broc Martin, 12.767; 5.16-Stuart Brubaker, 12.781; 6.5K-Adam Kekich, 12.823; 7.09-Craig Mintz, 12.864; 8.5-Byron Reed, 12.969; 9.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.999; 10.3J-Trey Jacobs, 13.017; 11.68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.023; 12.6-Bill Rose, 13.060; 13.45L-Brian Lay, 13.073; 14.60-Jody Keegan, 13.115; 15.9-Jordan Ryan, 13.124; 16.2+-Brian Smith, 13.132; 17.33M-Caleb Griffith, 13.216; 18.23-DJ Foos, 13.239; 19.7V-Shawn Valenti, 13.246; 20.33K-Kyle Patrick, 13.310; 21.8J-Jess Stiger, 13.580; 22.19G-George Prosser, 14.327; 23.7-Joe Swanson, 15.450; 24.51-Roger Campbell, 26.988; 25.38-Matt Westfall, 99.990;

Kistler Engines Heat 1 – (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 2+-Brian Smith[1] ; 2. 09-Craig Mintz[4] ; 3. 45L-Brian Lay[2] ; 4. 83-Broc Martin[5] ; 5. 19-Paige Polyak[6] ; 6. 3J-Trey Jacobs[3] ; 7. 7V-Shawn Valenti[7] ; 8. 19G-George Prosser[8]

Pub 400 Heat 2 – (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 60-Jody Keegan[2] ; 2. 5-Byron Reed[4] ; 3. 73-Chris Andrews[6] ; 4. 33M-Caleb Griffith[1] ; 5. 16-Stuart Brubaker[5] ; 6. 68G-Tyler Gunn[3] ; 7. 33K-Kyle Patrick[7] ; 8. 7-Joe Swanson[8]

Hoosier Tires Heat 3 – (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 9-Jordan Ryan[2] ; 2. 23-DJ Foos[1] ; 3. 09X-Carson Macedo[6] ; 4. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[4] ; 5. 6-Bill Rose[3] ; 6. 38-Matt Westfall[9] ; 7. 5K-Adam Kekich[5] ; 8. 51-Roger Campbell [8] ; 9. 8J-Jess Stiger[7]

B-Main 1 – (10 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 5K-Adam Kekich[1] ; 2. 68G-Tyler Gunn[3] ; 3. 7V-Shawn Valenti[4] ; 4. 8J-Jess Stiger[6] ; 5. 3J-Trey Jacobs[2] ; 6. 38-Matt Westfall[10] ; 7. 33K-Kyle Patrick[5] ; 8. 51-Roger Campbell [9] ; 9. 19G-George Prosser[7] ; 10. 7-Joe Swanson[8]

A-Main 1 – (30 Laps)
1. 09X-Carson Macedo[6] ; 2. 5-Byron Reed[2] ; 3. 83-Broc Martin[5] ; 4. 09-Craig Mintz[3] ; 5. 60-Jody Keegan[14] ; 6. 3J-Trey Jacobs[12] ; 7. 33M-Caleb Griffith[17] ; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[16] ; 9. 16-Stuart Brubaker[4] ; 10. 45L-Brian Lay[10] ; 11. 19-Paige Polyak[8] ; 12. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[1] ; 13. 6-Bill Rose[9] ; 14. 5K-Adam Kekich[11] ; 15. 23-DJ Foos[18] ; 16. 68G-Tyler Gunn[13] ; 17. 8J-Jess Stiger[20] ; 18. 7V-Shawn Valenti[19] ; 19. 9-Jordan Ryan[15] ; 20. 73-Chris Andrews[7]

Hard Charger: Caleb Griffith +10

305 Sprints – Burmeister Trophy

Kistler Engines Heat 1 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 66-Jamie Miller[3] ; 2. 99-Alvin Roepke[1] ; 3. 1X-Dustin Dinan[7] ; 4. 10-Josh Harrison [2] ; 5. 97-Kyle Peters[6] ; 6. 45-Trevor baker[8] ; 7. 27-Cody Gallogly[5] ; 8. 48M-Mike Moore[9]

Pub 400 Heat 2 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 2-Ricky Peterson[2] ; 2. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[3] ; 3. 11X-George Englert[4] ; 4. 1-Nate Dussel[9] ; 5. 77I-John Ivy[8] ; 6. 25-Jason Keckler[7] ; 7. 9R-Dustin Rall[5] ; 8. 2F-Matt Foos[6] ; 9. 9W-Don Whitney[1]

Hoosier Tires Heat 3 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 8-Bobby Clark [1] ; 2. 12-Kyle Capodice[4] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[8] ; 4. 41-Thomas Schinderle[3] ; 5. 75-Jerrry Dahms[2] ; 6. 77X-Alex Hill[7] ; 7. 22M-Dan McCarron[6] ; 8. 15-Gary Benjamin[5]

Computer Man Heat 4 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 11G-Luke Griffith[2] ; 2. 36-Seth Schneider[4] ; 3. 19R-Steve Rando[6] ; 4. 7M-Brandon Moore[3] ; 5. 10X-Dustin Stroup[7] ; 6. 18-Frank Neill[1] ; 7. 87-Brian Gibbs[5] ; 8. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath[8]

B-Main 1 – (10 Laps, top 2 to A)
1. 77I-John Ivy[2] ; 2. 97-Kyle Peters[1] ; 3. 25-Jason Keckler[4] ; 4. 2F-Matt Foos[8] ; 5. 27-Cody Gallogly[5] ; 6. 48M-Mike Moore[7] ; 7. 9R-Dustin Rall[6] ; 8. 45-Trevor baker[3] ; 9. 9W-Don Whitney[9] ; 10. 7P-Evan Patynko[10]

B-Main 2 – (10 Laps, top 2 to A)
1. 10X-Dustin Stroup[2] ; 2. 22M-Dan McCarron[5] ; 3. 77X-Alex Hill[3] ; 4. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath[8] ; 5. 75-Jerrry Dahms[1] ; 6. 87-Brian Gibbs[6] ; 7. 15-Gary Benjamin[7] ; 8. 18-Frank Neill[4]

A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 66-Jamie Miller[3] ; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[1] ; 3. 19R-Steve Rando[8] ; 4. 1-Nate Dussel[14] ; 5. 8-Bobby Clark [9] ; 6. 12-Kyle Capodice[5] ; 7. 1X-Dustin Dinan[10] ; 8. 77I-John Ivy[17] ; 9. 99-Alvin Roepke[7] ; 10. 36-Seth Schneider[2] ; 11. 7M-Brandon Moore[16] ; 12. 10X-Dustin Stroup[18] ; 13. 11G-Luke Griffith[12] ; 14. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[6] ; 15. 2-Ricky Peterson[4] ; 16. 10-Josh Harrison [13] ; 17. 22M-Dan McCarron[20] ; 18. 97-Kyle Peters[19] ; 19. 41-Thomas Schinderle[15] ; 20. 11X-George Englert[11]

Hard Charger: Nate Dussel +10

Dirt Trucks – Burmeister Trophy

Kistler Engines Heat 1 – (8 Laps, top 7 to A)
1. 7f-Dana Frey[2] ; 2. 5s-Brad Stuckey[4] ; 3. 99-Gene Potridge[1] ; 4. 4x-Brian Sorg[5] ; 5. 26-Kyle Lagrou[6] ; 6. 22-Brandon Leighton[3] ; 7. 16-Jim Holcomb[7]

Pub 400 Heat 2 – (8 Laps, top 6 to A)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[2] ; 2. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[3] ; 3. 4s-Keith Sorg[1] ; 4. 17x-Dustin Keegan[6] ; 5. 33-Jeff Ward[4] ; 6. 22J-Josh Kiser[5]

A-Main 1 – (20 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[1] ; 2. 33-Jeff Ward[10] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[5] ; 4. 5s-Brad Stuckey[6] ; 5. 16-Jim Holcomb[13] ; 6. 22-Brandon Leighton[11] ; 7. 4x-Brian Sorg[7] ; 8. 26-Kyle Lagrou[9] ; 9. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[8] ; 10. 4s-Keith Sorg[3] ; 11. 22J-Josh Kiser[12]

Hard Charger: Jeff Ward +8

602 Late Models – McCullough Industries

Kistler Engines Heat 1 – (8 Laps, top 6 to A)
1. 44-Matt Shipley[1] ; 2. 23-Dustin Sautter[3] ; 3. 00-John Brooks[5] ; 4. 98-Tim Sabo[2] ; 5. 04-Jeff Hites[6] ; 6. 16-Steve Sabo[4]

Pub 400 Heat 2 – (8 Laps, top 6 to A)
1. 4M-Jamie Miller[1] ; 2. 101-Chester Fitch[5] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[2] ; 4. 01-Brandon Perkins[4] ; 5. 12-Kyle Dukeshire[3]

A-Main 1 – (15 Laps)
1. 00-John Brooks[5] ; 2. 4M-Jamie Miller[1] ; 3. 98-Tim Sabo[7] ; 4. 17x-Dustin Keegan[2] ; 5. 16-Steve Sabo[11] ; 6. 01-Brandon Perkins[8] ; 7. 04-Jeff Hites[9] ; 8. 44-Matt Shipley[3] ; 9. 23-Dustin Sautter[6] ; 10. 12-Kyle Dukeshire[10] ; 11. 101-Chester Fitch[4]

Hard Charger: Steve Sabo +6