MERCED, Calif. – After his breakout season in Ohio, Cole Macedo visited victory lane in an unusual capacity two weeks ago.
Macedo posed for photos as a crew member on the Tarlton Motorsports team following his older brother Carson Macedo’s win at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., during a 360 sprint car race.
“Whenever I’m not racing, I love working on race cars just as much as I do racing them,” Macedo said in an interview last week.
The seven-time 410 sprint car winner this year has had plenty of opportunities to wrench recently in his home state. On top of Carson Macedo’s few sprint car appearances, Cole Macedo lent a hand on the Tarlton midget as his brother completed the USAC western swing. The time has also allowed him to learn from one of the sport’s better mechanical minds.
“Carson’s been running the midget here the whole (western) swing,” Cole Macedo said. “I’ve pretty much helped him the whole swing. I’ve had a lot of fun with him and Sean (Dyson). He actually has Sean Dyson down from Australia setting the thing up, so it’s been cool getting to know Sean a little more and build a relationship with him and having a good time with Carson also.”
It’s only the fitting that the Golden State brothers have reunited late in the year. Cole Macedo has spent his racing career following a similar path to Carson Macedo.
The two first turned heads on the West Coast, both primarily in the Tarlton No. 21. Carson Macedo then went on to make a name for himself in the Midwest, and Cole Macedo did the same this year on the dusty ovals of Ohio in the Ray Brooks’ No. 18. The highlight of his seven victories came just last month when he claimed the All Star Circuit of Champions season finale for his first series win.
“I feel like you couldn’t end the year better than that,” Cole Macedo said of the All Star triumph. “The whole year was really good. We had a lot of ups and downs, but at the end of the day it was a really good first year with the team.”
While he’s enjoyed working with his brother the past couple weeks, Cole Macedo hasn’t completely stepped out of the seat since the Midwest season ended. A few different opportunities have allowed him to pick up a handful of starts at the tracks he cut his teeth on.
With the help of his Ray Brooks Racing team, Cole Macedo piloted the Crouse Motorsports No. 20 at the Trophy Cup in late October, finishing with a top-10 in the finale and an 11th-place points result.
The Tarlton team fielded two sprint cars at a recent race in Hanford, Calif., for both brothers, but dense fog ended the racing early.
Last week, Cole Macedo landed a ride in the Brown-Eagle racing No. 01jr for two nights at Merced Speedway and came away with a pair of top-10s.
“It’s always good to come back and race on the home turf,” Cole Macedo said. “You know these little, small bullrings are super fun to run on, and to be home with the family and all my friends just makes it even better.”
Next season Cole Macedo will be back aboard the Ray Brooks machine with similar plans. The only difference, he hopes, may be some additional starts in the Alex Bowman Racing No. 55 that Macedo piloted at the World of Outlaws World Finals in early November.
“I loved racing for Alex and Joe (Gaerte),” Cole Macedo said. “Me and Joe work together pretty well. I know it’s been talked about a little bit, but if I do I’m sure it would be a one off here and there. Hopefully we can work something out and run that thing again. I had a lot of fun, and it was a really good piece.”
While Cole Macedo has enjoyed his time at home, the 21-year-old is looking forward to next year. He’ll enter the season with momentum and a sense of comfort in his Ohio ride as he continues to carve a path through the ranks of sprint car racing.
“I love racing for the Linder family and Ray Brooks,” Cole Macedo said. “They’re just such good people, so it’s definitely been a blast and hopefully we make some good memories next year.”