Macedo Outduels Schuchart In I-55 Spring Classic Opener

Carson Macedo celebrates in victory lane Friday at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park. (Trent Gower photo)

PEVELY, Mo. – I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park just doesn’t miss, and Friday’s Federated Auto Parts Spring Classic opener oval served up the latest piece of evidence.

Fans were treated to a 40-lap thrill ride as the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series put on a show, with action over every inch of the bullring, including huge slide jobs and countless crossovers.

The battle for the top spot might’ve been the most intense action on track. Logan Schuchart led early and built a cozy lead, but once Carson Macedo reeled him in, the duel began and ended in Macedo’s victory.

The pair swapped sliders. They countered with crossovers. They gave the crowd a masterful display of sprint car racing. A late caution set up a green-white-checkered restart, and Macedo had just enough to hold on by a few tenths of a second to get the win with his Jason Johnson Racing team.

“Wow, that was one of the [most fun] races I’ve run in a while,” Macedo said. “The whole race was really good. [There were] a lot of slide jobs, a lot of moving around. Battling the 1S (Schuchart), the 2 (David Gravel), the 2C (Cole Macedo), the 48 (Danny Dietrich) in the beginning … really, I felt like I was in a battle the entire race. It was a lot of fun.

“Hats off to (crew chief) Philip Dietz. What an incredible Albaugh (No.) 41 car tonight. It was incredible to drive,” Macedo added. “(Crew members) Robby McQuinn and Adam Zimmerman, they work really hard, and it feels good to reward them with a win.”

The victory was Macedo’s 49th career triumph with the Outlaws. His next will make him the 18th competitor to reach 50. I-55 is now home to a trio of the Lemoore, Calif., native’s wins following a pair in 2022. The third mile is the is the seventh track where he’s collected at least a trio of checkered flags.

It was a battle all the way to the finish line for Macedo’s second triumph of the year and first since the season opener. Schuchart made him work and kept him on his toes as he chased late in the Shark Racing No. 1S.

“Logan was really good in traffic,” Macedo said. “I didn’t know what was better, sliding myself in (Turns) 3 and 4 and getting to the grip or running the top. I think at the end it just got so far to get to it and ledged up once you got to it, it would kill my run down the frontstretch. I tried to go to the top with like seven or eight to go and absolutely plugged it in the fence pretty hard. Then I was nervous I was getting a flat, so I started sliding myself.

“I knew with the green-white-checkered (that) I needed to get up and make some momentum. Just a great race, a lot of fun.”

Schuchart matched his season best result with a runner-up finish after leading 26 laps in the Federated Auto Parts No. 1S. The Hanover, Pa., native now has five podiums this year.

Schuchart felt some ill-timed yellows were likely the deciding factor in him having to settle for second instead of celebrating in victory lane after the intense battle with Macedo.

“I definitely wanted to stay in traffic whether it was when we were leading or once he got to traffic,” Schuchart said. “I feel like every time I was ready to pull the trigger the yellow would come out. I felt like we were really good once we got going. He did a great job on the restart to get a run at me.

“I knew we were faster. I felt like we had the better car once we got going, just every time we got to traffic the yellow would come out. Just proud of my guys. They did a great job.”

Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports team stood on the final step of the podium. The defending series champion still hasn’t missed the top five in 2025, and the No. 2 has parked on the podium in 11 of the 14 races this year. He leads the standings by 76 points over Macedo.

“The top was very dominant there, and then it got really, really thin around the top and just promoted a lot of slide jobs,” Gravel explained. “I’m just proud of my guys. They gave me a good race car to end up third there.

“I was struggling in the middle of that race and kind of found the bottom at the end there in (turns) three and four.”

Sheldon Haudenschild and Bill Balog completed the top five.

A 21st-to-eighth run earned Garet Williamson the KSE Racing Hard Charger Award.

Macedo started the night with fast time honors in qualifying, while he, Schuchart, Austin McCarl, and Dietrich all took heat race victories. Schuchart topped the Toyota Dash to earn the feature pole and Williamson won the Last Chance Showdown before his run through the field in the main event.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season continues Saturday, April 12 at I-55 with the finale to the Spring Classic weekend doubleheader.

The finish:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo [3]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 2-David Gravel [8]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [6]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog [9]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [18]; 7. 83-Michael Kofoid [11]; 8. 23-Garet Williamson [21]; 9. 88-Austin McCarl [7]; 10. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [5]; 11. 7S-Chris Windom [13]; 12. 87-Aaron Reutzel [10]; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich [2]; 14. 2C-Cole Macedo [4]; 15. 26-Justin Peck [23]; 16. 99-Skylar Gee [20]; 17. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [12]; 18. 6-Zach Hampton [16]; 19. 88T-Tanner Thorson [15]; 20. 28M-Conner Morrell [19]; 21. 55V-Kerry Madsen [14]; 22. 22M-Rees Moran [17]; 23. 2KS-Cory Eliason [24]; 24. 71-Parker Price Miller [22].