Top Dawg Photos
PETERSEN MEDIA- One week removed from their first win of the season, Cole Macedo used some late race heroics on Friday night as he picked up his second win of the season with Tarlton Motorsports during his first visit to Ocean Speedway in nearly three years.
“Drew Warner and the guys gave me an awesome car in the feature event, and it was pretty cool to get a win at Ocean Speedway after being away for so long,” Macedo said. “We just missed the Dash, so coming from ninth to win makes it that much more enjoyable.”
Checking in at Watsonville, CA’s Ocean Speedway on Friday night to open the track’s season after numerous weather cancellations delayed the drop of the first green flag of the year, Macedo timed the Tarlton and Son Inc./Complete Parts and Equipment Solutions/Executive Auto Sales backed No. 21 in fifth fastest in time trials.
Needing to win his heat, or have a little luck to garner a berth into the Dash, Macedo ended up finishing third in the Dash and was not as lucky as he needed to be with any of the faster qualifiers winning their heats.
Forced to lined up behind the Dash cars, Macedo rolled off of the starting grid from ninth on a surface that was slick and wide.
When the race went green, Macedo went to work as he began making up ground as he rolled through the middle of the speedway. Getting his wing farther back to make more grip, Macedo continued to surge forward as he worked into sixth on the race’s 12th lap.
A lap 17 restart saw the Lemoore, CA driver take over fourth before he moved into third two laps later.
Taking the second position on lap 23, Macedo then closed in on race leader Chase Johnson as the laps ticked down. A late stoppage gave Macedo one final shot at the race win, and he would indeed seize the opportunity.
Getting a great jump, Macedo dove low in turns one and two and pulled ahead of Johnson down the backstretch and cleared him as they entered turns three and four. Macedo took the white flag as the race leader and went on to pick up his second win of the season with Tarlton Motorsports, and his second career win at Ocean Speedway.
Saturday night the team continued to compete in 360ci action as they traveled to Merced Speedway in Merced, CA to do battle with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour.
Timing in fourth fastest in his qualifying group amidst the 40 cars in the pit area, Macedo finished third in heat race action, locking him into the 35-lap feature event.
Lining up 11th in the feature event, Macedo looked to make another run through the field just as he did one night before as the track was once again slick and in great shape for racing.
When the race came to life, Macedo settled into 12th as he was patient in the early goings on the tight Merced Speedway confines. A couple of early restarts benefitted him as raced into ninth on the 14th lap.
Continuing to battle on the bullring, Macedo would get into seventh on the 22nd lap and settle in over the final laps as he capped the night off with the Top-10 result.
“Saturday night we were good, but just not quite as good as we needed to be,” Macedo added. “It was a busy weekend so I do thank the guys for their hard work, and it was another fun weekend racing with the Tarlton family.”
Tarlton Motorsports would like to thank Tarlton and Son Inc., Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions, Executive Auto Sales, Empire Machinery, Durst, Reston Enterprises, Bandy and Associates, FK Shocks, FK Rod Ends, System 1 Ignition, Vortex Wings, and BG Lubricants for their support.
BY THE NUMBERS: Races: 8, Wins: 2, Top 5’s: 3, Top 10’s: 4.
ON TAP: Macedo will return to action with Tarlton Motorsports at the Peter Murphy Classic May 12th and 13th in Hanford, CA.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Tarlton Motorsports by following @Tarlton_Racing on Twitter, or becoming a fan on facebook at www.facebook.com/tarltonracing21.
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