PETERSEN MEDIA
Spending his weekend competing at Tulare, CA’s Thunderbowl Raceway, Cole Macedo was able to pick up his first win of the season with Tarlton Motorsports as he scored his first career win at the high banked 1/3 mile oval.
“It was a good weekend at the Dennis Roth Classic,” Cole Macedo said. “I am really pumped we were able to hang on to win on Friday night. It was our first win as a team this year, and it was also my first win at the Thunderbowl.”
Taking part in both the Kings of Thunder 360ci event and the King of the West/NARC 410ci event on Friday night, Macedo opened the night up by timing the Tarlton and Son Inc./Complete Parts and Equipment Solutions/Executive Auto Sales No. 21 in fourth fastest in time trials in 360ci action.
Lining up on the front row of his heat race, the Lemoore, CA driver got the jump and never looked back. Racing his way to the win, Macedo moved into the feature event where he lined up on the pole, and led the field to green.
On a hooked up and fast Thunderbowl Raceway, Macedo got the jump and set a very strong pace out front. Driving away from the field, Macedo nearly saw his night come to an end on the 14th lap. Working through traffic, contact with another car sent Macedo sideways up the track and he made heavy contact with the wall. Somehow, he was able to keep the car fired and drove away from the scene and retained the race lead.
With a severely damaged Tarlton Motorsports car underneath him, Macedo was able to power through for the final 11 laps and race his way to the win.
In NARC/King of the West action, Macedo opened his night up by timing in 7th fastest in the qualifying session. By way of his qualifying time, Macedo lined up on the front row of his heat race where he went on to finish second.
Moving into the opening night feature event, Macedo took the green flag from the seventh starting spot. With the initial start being negated due to a caution, the next attempt to start the race would see a multi car tangle ensue which Macedo would get collected in.
Going to the rear of the field, Macedo slowly worked his way forward and closed Friday night out with a 17th place finish.
With the 360ci car severely damaged, Macedo and company would compete only with NARC/KWS on Saturday night, as the night started off with Maceo earning quick time honors.
Finishing fifth in his heat race, Macedo moved into the Sunnyvalley Bacon Dash where his fifth place finish put him in the third row of the 30-lap Dennis Roth Classic feature event.
With the track right up around the fence, Macedo would rip around the high side of the speedway as he worked his towards the Top-Five after falling back to eighth in the early goings of the race.
Working into seventh just prior to the halfway point, Macedo continued to fight for position as he got into fifth on the 19thlap. While running fifth, Macedo would make contact with the wall on the 24th lap, and it resulted in his right rear going flat and forcing him to the work area.
Able to restart, Macedo would finish 16th when the checkered flag flew on the event.
“We just had some bad luck in both 410ci features over the weekend, but we have a ton of speed,” Macedo added. “It was good to get back working with Drew Warner, and picking up a win early in the year is huge as we move forward. Thank you again to everyone that supports the team and makes this all possible.”
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: 6, Wins: 1, Top 5’s: 2, Top 10’s: 2.
ON TAP: Tarlton Motorsports is to be determined on their next event. If Macedo’s Midwest plans get rained out this weekend, the team will head to Ocean Speedway and Merced Speedway.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Tarlton Motorsports by following @Tarlton_Racing on Twitter, or becoming a fan on facebook at www.facebook.com/tarltonracing21.