From Redline Media
(January 29, 2026) — There was no question about it, American Cole Macedo well and truly stepped up his game throughout his 2025-26 season Australian racing trip with the Highline Motorsport team, and it saw the duo over the past month be amongst the front runners wherever they went.
Despite joining the Perth, Western Australian-based Highline Motorsport team in a last-minute deal, Macedo hit the ground running with the Daryl Clayden-owned team and they never looked back– both on the west coast and most recently on the east coast.
It all started with the busy Christmas-New Year period on the Highline Motorsport team’s home state when they contested the USA VS WA Speedweek Series, which also saw the second annual High Limit International at the Perth Motorplex thrown in there, and Cole was a model of front-running consistency and it nearly saw him come away with the overall USA VS WA Speedweek Series point standings victory but he had to settle for second. During the eight Speedweek Series rounds, Cole finished on the podium on four occasions with it being highlighted by an outstanding final round victory at the Perth Motorplex and also a hard-fought fourth-place finish in the High Limit International.
Brimming with confidence following an impressive Speedweek Series campaign, Cole and the Highline Motorsport team headed over to the east coast, and it saw a continuation of their solid form. Making their first trip to the Tolmer Speedway track in South Australia for the Tolmer Double Down, Cole ran fourth on the opening night and then backed up this speed with a third-place finish on the second and final night.
After the two nights at Tolmer Speedway, Cole and the team ventured to Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway in Victoria for the ARB International Sprintcar Carnival the following night and it resulted in them putting together an outstanding performance and coming away with the $15,000 winner’s cheque for what was their second victory of the trip.
With the President’s Cup at Geelong’s Avalon Raceway in Victoria being a night to forget, Cole and the team bounced back the next night with a top five finish in the Kings Challenge at Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway in South Australia.
The main focus of the east coast trip for Cole and the Highline Motorsport team was without a doubt the Grand Annual Classic at Premier Speedway over the Australia Day Long Weekend, and they certainly didn’t disappointment. Following a near-perfect run on the qualifying night by being fastest in qualifying, winning both heat races and then finishing the night second in the preliminary feature race, Cole was one of the hot favourites heading into last Sunday night’s Grand Annual Classic deciding feature race. After starting from position three for the feature race, Cole got to the lead after a dozen or so laps, but it all turned pear shaped on lap nine when he crashed out due to innocently becoming involved in an incident between two lapped cars.
Although Cole’s Australian trip ended in disappointment, Highline Motorsport’s owner Daryl Clayden couldn’t have been prouder of the whole team.
“It’s been a massive month for the Highline Motorsport team from the elation of winning multiple major races on both sides of the country to the devastation of crashing out while leading Australia’s biggest race with a dominant car,” he said.
“I can’t thank the whole team enough, as they all worked their butts off, grew and learned together each and every night. Cole is a champion driver and bloke, and I’m so very thankful to him for taking the Highline Motorsport team to new heights.”
With Cole now returning back to his homeland to prepare for his busy 2026 season in America, the Highline Motorsport team now turns its attention to Kodi Clayden and finishing off his rookie 410 Sprintcar season strongly – starting with this Friday and Saturday night’s Australian 410 Sprintcar Championship at Borderline Speedway.