ROSSBURG, Ohio — The best in the land entered the castle of Eldora Speedway Friday night, looking to win the Knight Before The Kings Royal.
Carson Macedo journeyed through the early stages of the 30-lap feature uncontested while eyeing the $20,000 prize. But a surprise slider strike on lap 26 by Brad Sweet set forth a fierce duel for the victory.
After topping the Toyota Racing Dash to earn the pole for the 30-lap bout, Macedo rocketed into the lead on the opening circuit.
The only disturbance of the race came shortly after it started when Tyler Courtney went for a nasty ride in turns one and two. “Sunshine” walked to the ambulance under his own power for further observation.
Once the race resumed, Macedo again wasted no time pulling ahead as the struggle to surpass him raged behind the Jason Johnson Racing chariot. Gio Scelzi surged into the runner-up spot.
But Sweet clawed his way into second early, moving around the KCP Racing No. 18 on the third circuit. Aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49, Sweet set his sights on Macedo.
At the front, Macedo masterfully worked through slower traffic. The 27-year-old hardly made a misstep as he maneuvered by slower cars and looked to be on an easy drive to the riches that awaited.
But then the slightest mistake, the smallest dip of the shield opened the door for Sweet to challenge. Macedo attempted to slide a lapped car in turns three and four coming to five laps to go but couldn’t get him cleared. The loss of momentum gave Sweet a massive run heading down the front straightaway.
Sweet threw a slider in turns one and two, clearing Macedo as they readied for the backstretch. Macedo responded to Sweet with a slider of his own in turns three and four. Sweet then swung his No. 49 steed back under Macedo one last time down the front stretch, but Macedo’s 41 nosed ahead.
After securing control of the duel, Macedo offered the best defense possible by hammering four perfect laps around the Eldora cushion on his way to a 1.260-second victory.
Castle protected. Riches gained.
“I slid myself in (turns) three and four,” Macedo said to describe the late battle. “I knew I lost a lot off time, but I didn’t think he’s slide me right then. I didn’t feel like my run was that bad, so he must’ve been pretty close before that… He slid me and just woke me back up. I didn’t realize how uniform you could run the fence in (turns) one and two. Once he drove by me I kind of grabbed another gear and got my elbows way up in the seat and just started running as hard as I possibly could.
“I had a lot of fun in that race there. That was as hard as I could go there at the end. These races, whether they pay a million bucks or twenty grand, I feel like they’re just as hard to win either way. That was a 30-lap dash just like we had last night after the break.”
The victory moved Macedo up to five with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars this season and second in the last three races. The 27-year-old is up to 33 career wins with The Greatest Show on Dirt – enough to equal him with fellow full-timer – Sheldon Haudenschild – for 21st on the all-time list.
A valiant effort led Brad Sweet to securing second. The effort marked Sweet’s 17th podium of the season with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars as the four-time champion’s “Drive for Five” powers on.
“It was fast,” Sweet said. “Carson ran a really good pace there. I was up on the wheel trying to make a move. He was working hard to try to get by the lapped cars. I got one run there and had my chance and just didn’t quite get it done. He got back to my inside.”
A steady drive throughout the race led Gio Scelzi to complete the podium.
“I feel like tonight in the dash I made a mistake that cost us a spot, but in the long run starting third was better than starting second,” Scelzi explained. “Thanks to my guys. They do a really, really good job. They worked really hard today to fix the car from last night.”
Rico Abreu and David Gravel rounded out the top five.
Sweet’s runner-up coupled with David Gravel running fifth allowed Sweet to close back in within two points of Gravel for the points lead. Macedo is a close third – 24 markers behind Gravel.
Logan Schuchart was the night’s Simpson Performance Products QuickTime Award – his fifth of the season and 36th of his career.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet[2]; 3. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[3]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu[6]; 5. 2-David Gravel[15]; 6. 13-Justin Peck[10]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[5]; 8. 5-Spencer Bayston[4]; 9. 83-James McFadden[25]; 10. 19-Brent Marks[19]; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart[7]; 12. 21-Brian Brown[11]; 13. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[13]; 14. 21H-Brady Bacon[23]; 15. 21T-Cole Macedo[17]; 16. 15-Donny Schatz[16]; 17. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[24]; 18. 1A-Jacob Allen[14]; 19. 55P-Daryn Pittman[21]; 20. 9-Kasey Kahne[20]; 21. 17B-Bill Balog[18]; 22. 8-Aaron Reutzel[9]; 23. (DNF) 39M-Lance Dewease[22]; 24. (DNF) 9P-Parker Price Miller[12]; 25. (DNF) 7BC-Tyler Courtney[8]