Carson Macedo Claims Dirt Classic Ohio Finale At Attica Raceway Park

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – ATTICA, OH – Close on so many occasions, Lemoore, California’s Carson Macedo finally earned his way to Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory lane at Attica Raceway Park, this team utilizing the pole position to score the 2018 Dirt Classic Ohio finale worth $5,000.

For Macedo, the All Star triumph at the home of ‘Ohio’s Finest Racing’ bumped his career total to five with the Tony Stewart-owned organization, all of which taking shape at five different facilities.

Leading on two occasions during the 40-lap showstopper, Macedo earned the top spot for the second and final time on lap ten, ultimately crossing under the final checkers ahead of Cale Thomas, Tim Shaffer, Lee Jacobs, and Cap Henry.

“This is one of the hardest places in the world to win at, in my opinion,” Carson Macedo said in Attica Raceway Park victory lane, driver of the Gaerte/Norman No. 3G. “There are so many good, local teams that run here every week. They have a lot of laps here. We’ve been so fast during prior All Stars starts at Attica, but something always seems to go wrong, or something happens, or we have bad luck. To get the win tonight for my team is obviously really special. I have a blast driving their race car.”

Starting from the outside-pole position, Fairland, Indiana’s Cale Thomas earned the early jump to lead lap one over Carson Macedo and Craig Mintz. Thomas’ command ended just as quickly as it started, eventually slipping off-track at the exit of turn two and losing four spots. Macedo inherited the top spot after Thomas’ mishap, racing to the flagstand to complete lap two with Mintz, Lee Jacobs, Cap Henry, and Thomas in tow. Macedo escaped from the field rather quickly, increasing his advantage to a near-straightaway by the completion of lap five.

It would not take long before Mintz was able to race himself into the picture, chopping away at Macedo’s lead to a mere car length by lap eight. As the front-runners approached traffic for the first time, it was then when Mintz made his move for the top spot, actually getting a run on Macedo at the exit of turn two on lap nine. After a backstretch drag race ending in Mintz’s favor, Macedo attempted to return the favor by sliding Mintz in turns three and four. Showing experience, Mintz was able to turn the car back down the track and beat Macedo back to the flagstand to lead lap nine. Mintz’s command under green was short-lived as caution flags waved for the first time on lap ten. Despite taking a wild ride outside of turns one and two, Stuart Brubaker walked away unharmed.

Although losing the top spot to Mintz, Macedo wasted little time and regained control almost immediately, this time utilizing the single-file restart to slingshot around Mintz as the pair completed lap ten. Although an exciting turn of events, caution flags reappeared just two circuits later, once again erasing all momentum and setting up a single-file restart.

Green flag action returned soon enough with Macedo back in charge over Mintz, Thomas, Jacobs, and Henry. An open track gave Macedo an opportunity to escape from the field, but like in the early stages of the 40-lap program, Mintz eventually reeled-in the Gaerte/Norman entry, once again utilizing lapped cars to track down the leader.

From lap 18 until lap 22, Mintz did everything in his power to maneuver around Macedo in traffic, but the attempts never resulted in his favor. Perhaps his boldest attempt, a wicked slider through turns three and four on lap 21, was his best chance of regaining the lead from the Californian. The slider did not stick, allowing Macedo to maintain his momentum and escape from the field, once again.

From that point forward, it was all Macedo at the front of the field, actually running away to a near-five second lead just before caution flags flew for the final time on lap 35. The final six circuits were also flawless for Macedo, rim-riding the cushion to score the $5,000 payday. Cale Thomas chased Macedo to the final checkers, followed by Tim Shaffer, Lee Jacobs, and Cap Henry.

“It was cool to battle with Craig Mintz during parts of that race. Craig was the first person to give me a shot out here in a Ohio,” Macedo continued. “They allowed me to get some laps around these places and gain a little confidence. I’m forever grateful for him and his dad, Les. They are awesome people and to be able to battle with him is really special.”

The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will conclude their Labor Day weekend triple-header with a visit to Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, on Sunday, September 2. Tony Stewart’s All Stars will battle Ohio’s finest during the annual Pete Jacobs Memorial, all vying for the $10,000 payday. Findlay, Ohio’s Caleb Helms is the defending Pete Jacobs Memorial champion; his first-ever victory during All Star competition.

Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, will open pit gates at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 2. The mandatory All Star drivers meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by hot laps at 6 p.m. Those seeking more news regarding the $10,000-to-win Pete Jacobs Memorial should visit Wayne County Speedway live on the Web at www.waynecountyspeedway.com.

Contingency Awards/Results: Attica Raceway Park – Saturday, September 1, 2018:
Dirt Classic Ohio
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 34 entrants
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Aaron Reutzel – 12.625 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Parker Price-Miller – 12.270 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Travis Philo
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Cale Thomas
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Craig Mintz
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Cap Henry
JE Pistons Dash #1: Carson Macedo
Wix Filters Dash #2: Cale Thomas
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Ryan Smith
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Carson Macedo
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Ryan Smith (+10)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying

Group (A)

1. 3G-Carson Macedo, 12.450; 2. 4-Brock Zearfoss, 12.633; 3. 5T-Travis Philo, 12.665; 4. 70-Dave Blaney, 12.698; 5. 8M-TJ Michael, 12.712; 6. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 12.808; 7. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.931; 8. 49-Shawn Dancer, 13.296; 9. 22-Brandon Spithaler, NT

Group (B)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12.315; 2. 71-Gio Scelzi, 12.363; 3. 16-Chris Andrews, 12.494; 4. 91-Cale Thomas, 12.629; 5. 23-DJ Foos, 12.713; 6. 22C-Cole Duncan, 12.771; 7. 57X-Andrew Palker, 13.023; 8. 4H-Tracy Hines, 13.033; 9. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 13.631

Group (C)
1. 35b-Stuart Brubaker, 12.295; 2. 13-Paul McMahan, 12.466; 3. 97-Broc Martin, 12.523; 4. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.610; 5. 49x-Tim Shaffer, 12.669; 6. 4K-Kody Kinser, 12.859; 7. 7K-Cale Conley, 12.895; 8. 20i-Kesley Ivy, 13.288

Group (D)
1. 11n-Parker Price-Miller, 12.270; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs, 12.455; 3. 4L-Cap Henry, 12.476; 4. 11-Ryan Smith, 12.572; 5. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg, 12.628; 6. 35-Tyler Esh, 12.715; 7. 22M-Dan McCarron, 12.903; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.968

Heat #1 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 5T-Travis Philo [2]; 2. 3G-Carson Macedo [4]; 3. 70-Dave Blaney [1]; 4. 4-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 5. 22-Brandon Spithaler [9]; 6. 10H-Chad Kemenah [6]; 7. 5R-Byron Reed [7]; 8. 49-Shawn Dancer [8]; 9. 8M-TJ Michael [5]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 91-Cale Thomas [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 71-Gio Scelzi [3]; 4. 16-Chris Andrews [2]; 5. 23-DJ Foos [5]; 6. 22C-Cole Duncan [6]; 7. 57X-Andrew Palker [7]; 8. 4H-Tracy Hines [8]

Heat #3 – Group (C) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. O9-Craig Mintz [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]; 3. 97-Broc Martin [2]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 35B-Stuart Brubaker [4]; 6. 7K-Cale Conley [7]; 7. 4K-Kody Kinser [6]; 8. 20I-Kesley Ivy [8]

Heat #4 – Group (D) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 4L-Cap Henry [2]; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs [3]; 3. 11N-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 4. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg [5]; 5. 35-Tyler Esh [6]; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron [7]; 7. 11-Ryan Smith [1]; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [8]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 3G-Carson Macedo [1]; 2. O9-Craig Mintz [2]; 3. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 4. 5T-Travis Philo [4]; 5. 11N-Parker Price-Miller [5]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 91-Cale Thomas [2]; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs [1]; 3. 4L-Cap Henry [4]; 4. 35B-Stuart Brubaker [3]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel [5]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 11-Ryan Smith [1]; 2. 22C-Cole Duncan [3]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah [4]; 4. 8M-TJ Michael [2]; 5. 57X-Andrew Palker [9]; 6. 5R-Byron Reed [8]; 7. 7K-Cale Conley [5]; 8. 49-Shawn Dancer [13]; 9. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [10]; 10. 22M-Dan McCarron [6]; 11. 20I-Kesley Ivy [12]; 12. 4K-Kody Kinser [7]; 13. 4H-Tracy Hines [11]

A-Main (40 Laps)
1. 3G-Carson Macedo [1]; 2. 91-Cale Thomas [2]; 3. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]; 4. 81-Lee Jacobs [4]; 5. 4L-Cap Henry [6]; 6. 71-Gio Scelzi [11]; 7. 5T-Travis Philo [7]; 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel [10]; 9. 13-Paul McMahan [14]; 10. 4-Brock Zearfoss [17]; 11. 11N-Parker Price-Miller [9]; 12. 22C-Cole Duncan [21]; 13. 11-Ryan Smith [23]; 14. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg [16]; 15. 10H-Chad Kemenah [22]; 16. 23-DJ Foos [18]; 17. 16-Chris Andrews [15]; 18. 8M-TJ Michael [24]; 19. 22-Brandon Spithaler [20]; 20. O9-Craig Mintz [3]; 21. 70-Dave Blaney [13]; 22. 97-Broc Martin [12]; 23. 35-Tyler Esh [19]; 24. 35B-Stuart Brubaker [8] Lap Leaders: Cale Thomas (1), Carson Macedo (2-8), Craig Mintz (9), Carson Macedo (10-40)