Jackson Macenko and Brad Hayes Racing Team Up for Sprint Car Season

Jackson Macenko (Cincinnati, Ohio) will join forces with Brad Hayes Racing in 2023 to compete on the 500 Sprint Car Tour. This season will mark the first time Brad Hayes Racing will field a non wing pavement sprint car. The team has consistently fielded teams for the USSA Kenyon Midget Series. Not only will this be their first season for the team, but it will also be the first time Macenko gets behind the wheel of a sprint car in any capacity.

Brad Hayes Racing is an established, open wheel racing team owned by Brad Hayes. From a young age, Hayes began attending Anderson Speedway with his father. The love of racing shared between the two translated to a love of R/C cars, and then saw Hayes get into road racing before a move to the West Coast. There, Hayes worked for an electric car startup company - Tesla. In the summer of 2019, he moved back to central Indiana and resumed racing as a car owner. Along with his Formula 1600 team, he acquired a Kenyon Midget. In his first season, Aryton Houk won the season championship for Brad Hayes Racing. Following the 2021 season, Brad and wife Nancy purchased the Mel Kenyon Midget Series from Don & Mel Kenyon. From there, they say, the rest is history.

“I always went to the Little 500 as a kid,” said Brad Hayes. “The timing is right to get a sprint car. Me and Tony Fox have always wanted to do a sprint car together. And one of our goals with the Kenyon Midget Series is to help our racers progress up in their racing careers. With the partnership in scheduling between the Kenyon Midgets and 500 Sprint Car Tour, and with a driver already on the team that is ready to move up, the timing makes sense. We are excited to help Jackson make the step up to sprint cars in 2023.”

Since purchasing the Kenyon Midget Series, Brad Hayes Racing has gone all in on grassroots oval racing. His racing stable now houses five Kenyon Midgets for the series, and new for 2023, a non-wing pavement sprint car. Joining Brad as chief mechanic is longtime friend Tony Fox. Tony and his son Dustin have been working with Brad for many years on his race cars. 2023 will boast a brand new Beast chassis built from the ground up for their pavement sprint car efforts. Climbing behind the wheel of this new machine will be 18 year old racer from Cincinnati, Jackson Macenko.

“I think about racing in a sprint car everyday,” said Jackson Macenko. “The speed, power and competition to run against drivers like (Kyle) O’Gara, (Bobby) Santos III, and (Tyler) Roahrig is very exciting. All of the drivers are very good, but seeing the individual growth of a driver like Kyle O’Gara is something I have paid attention to.”

Jackson Macenko in the #24 Kenyon Midget at Anderson Speedway. (Aaron Skillman photo)

With his recent success in the USSA Kenyon Midget series, Macenko propelled his name to the top of the potential drivers list for Brad Hayes Racing. In 2021, Macenko finished the Kenyon Midget season in third place in the points standings. Along the way, he scored nine top 5’s, five top 3’s, and one trip to victory lane. He followed suit in 2022, improving his final standing position to second with eight top 5’s, seven top 3’s, and four victories. His victories came on both dirt and pavement, showcasing his ability to be a diverse driver.

“My goal for this season is to finish as many laps as possible,” said Macenko. “The team is new to sprint car racing. I am excited to run new tracks as I have never been to any of the tracks on the 2023 schedule except Anderson.”

The Jackson Macenko and the Brad Hayes Racing team receive support from J.T.M. Food Group, Brockman Signs, Jet’s Pizza, Valley Interior Systems Inc, American Scaffolding Company Inc., Robert Jones Plumbing, William Lang & Sons Co., Ecorsa Motorsport, Redline Ace, Vahlco Wheels, and Wilwood Brakes.

The 500 Sprint Car Tour will run a 10 race schedule from early April through mid October. Nine of the 10 races are points earning events with the 75th Annual Lucas Oil Little 500 presented by UAW (Saturday, May 27th, 2023) being a non-points earning special event. For more information on the 500 Sprint Car Tour visit: 500sprintcartour.com and be sure to follow on social media (Facebook: 500 Sprint Car Tour | Twitter: @500SprintTour | Instagram: @500sprintcartour).