PETERSEN MEDIA- A hard fought battle for the NARC/King of the West Championship came to a head on Saturday night in Stockton, CA and despite giving it his all, Cole Macedo came up just short in both the battle and the war as a second place finish in the race gave him a second place finish in the series’ 2024 final standings.

“We definitely didn’t come up short due to a lack of effort,” Cole Macedo said. “This team gave it our all up until the final lap, but we just came up short. Congrats to Justin Sanders and his team on the title.”

Heading into Saturday night, Macedo trailed Justin Sanders by just three points for the NARC Championship.  With not a ton of opportunity to make up points, Macedo simply needed to win the race to garner the title.

With 20 cars on hand on Saturday night, Macedo got the night kicked off by timing the Tarlton and Son, Inc./Complete Parts and Equipment Solutions/Executive Auto Sales backed No. 21 entry in fifth fastest in qualifying time trials.

As fate would have it, Macedo lined up alongside Sanders in heat race competition with each driver needing to win to earn a berth in the all-important Dash. A torrid battle saw Macedo get the spot, and the Dash berth, as a second place finish put him on the front row of the 30-lapper alongside Tim Kaeding.

When the race went green, Kaeding shot into the race lead as Macedo settled into second. To win the title, Macedo needed to win the race or beat Sanders by four spots so the Lemoore, CA driver was concentrated on what he could control and that was trying to win the race.

With a couple of cautions bunching the field back up, it allowed Sanders to become a contender in the race as Macedo continued to chase after Kaeding who was very strong up front.

A late restart saw Kaeding’s right-rear tire going down and though he continued to lead the way, all eyes were on the battle behind him as Macedo and Sanders hooked up in a torrid battle.

With just two laps left in the race, Kaeding’s tire finally gave way, and as Macedo got tripped up on the cushion in turns one and two behind him, Sanders was able to get by him and Kaeding to take the race lead.

With Kaeding ultimately pulling off, Macedo was in second and hot on Sanders’ tail, but in the end he came up just short as he finished second.

“I am really bummed that we came up short, but things just were not meant to be,” Macedo added. “I am really happy with our efforts in our first year going after a championship, and Drew Warner and the guys worked extremely hard all year long. I also want to thank the Tarlton family, the Dyson family, and all of our partners for the support they have provided the last two years.”

Tarlton Motorsports would like to thank Tarlton and Son Inc., Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions, Executive Auto Sales, Durst, Tarlton Estate and Asset Management, Bandy and Associates, FK Shocks, FK Rod Ends, Willwood Brakes, Vortex Wings, and High Performance Lubricants for their support.

BY THE NUMBERS: Races: 58, Wins: 6, Top 5’s: 31, Top 10’s: 36.

ON TAP: Macedo and Tarlton Motorsports will be idle this week before they return to action in Tulare, CA on November 20^th.  

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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