WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Xtreme Midgets Ready for Doubleheader with World of Outlaws at I-55
First two of 11 Xtreme-POWRi Challenge Series races, Abreu makes Xtreme debut doing double duty
PEVELY, MO (April 10, 2023) – The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota gets back into action at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 this Friday-Saturday night, April 14-15, for the I-55 Outlaw Showdown weekend.
Racing alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, the Xtreme Outlaws team-up with the POWRi National Midget League for the first of 11 races on the newly announced Xtreme Outlaw-POWRi Challenge Series, which awards a $2,500 check to the winner of the miniseries.
The Midgets will take to the track for two consecutive nights, racing 30 laps for a $4,000 grand prize Friday night before a 35-lap, $5,000-to-win Feature on Saturday.
Tickets will be available at the gate on race day or can be purchased in advanced at the link below. If you can’t be at the track in person, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.
Here are the drivers to watch for and the storylines to follow this weekend:
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT – Jade Avedisian has some work to do if she wants to keep her 30-point gap in the Series points standings this weekend.
In the Series’ last venture out to I-55 last August, Avedisian struggled to find a rhythm, resulting in finishes of 15th and 14th in the two-day event. Those were two of her final starts for her former team at Chad Boat Industries and has since made the transition over to her new team at Keith Kunz Motorsports – a group which she’s already won with once in two Series starts.
After the first victory of the year in March at the Southern Illinois Center, she took that points lead out of the building, and in doing so broke another record, becoming the first female in dirt track racing history to lead the points standings of a national Midget tour.
A CHANCE FOR TWO – Chance Crum took home a big trophy after the Series’ debut at I-55 last year, winning the Friday night portion of the Ironman 55 weekend and picking up his first career Xtreme Outlaw victory.
He makes his return to Pevely this weekend on the heels of a fourth-place run in the Rudeen Racing #26 three weekends ago in Oklahoma with POWRi, leading the majority of the laps before falling back before the checkered.
The 25-year-old from Snohomish, WA, currently sits sixth in the Series points standings after finishes of 13th and fifth in Du Quoin last month.
SO CLOSE, NOT SO FAR – Only 0.3 seconds separated 20-year-old Karter Sarff from his first career Series victory at I-55 last year.
Sarff, of Mason City, IL, started third on the grid and stayed in the top-three the entire race, taking the lead early and leading laps 5-14 before giving it up to Crum at the halfway point. Sarff maintained pace with Crum and made it exciting with a last-ditch effort out of Turn 4 coming to the stripe on the final lap but was unsuccessful, settling for runner-up.
This weekend, he’ll get another chance at the Xtreme Outlaw field, as he saddles up his Provisio Partners #21K after making both Features last month in Du Quoin.
LOOKING UP – If his past starts at I-55 are any indication, Zach Daum has a lot to look forward to this weekend as he climbs back behind the wheel of his self-owned King Chassis #5d.
Daum, the defending Series champion from Pocahontas, IL, ended up +12 in position over Ironman 55 weekend last year with runs of ninth-to-fifth on Friday and 11th-to-third on Saturday. Though it wasn’t a win, Daum has been to I-55 Victory Lane before, taking the checkers in a POWRi event there in 2016.
I-55 comes at the right time for Daum, as he needs a couple strong finishes to get back in the hunt for his fifth national Midget championship. He currently sits 11th after a top-five and a DNF in Du Quoin.
BIG DEBUT – Fresh off his second win of the season against the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars on Saturday night, Rico Abreu is set for his Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series debut this weekend.
Abreu, the 2014 USAC National Midget Series champion and two-time Chili Bowl Nationals winner from St. Helena, CA, will take the wheel of a Tanner Thorson Racing entry for his first career Xtreme Outlaw Series appearance, while also piloting his own Rico Abreu Racing #24 Sprint Car with the World of Outlaws.
He’s had success in both divisions at I-55 in the past, sweeping both POWRi Midget events on Ironman 55 weekend in 2019 and capturing the coveted 55-pound dumbbell trophy as Ironman 55 victor with the Sprint Car in 2016.
THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
When and where
• Friday-Saturday, April 14-15 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO
On the internet
Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota
Twitter – @Xtreme_Outlaw
Instagram – @XtremeOutlaw
Facebook – @XtremeOutlawSeries.WRG
Live broadcast
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com. Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month.
Current championship points standings (view full standings)
1. Jade Avedisian (442pts); 2. Kyle Jones 412pts (-30); 3. Landon Brooks 409pts (-33); 4. Shane Cottle 402pts (-40); 5. Gavin Miller 397pts (-45); 6. Chance Crum 387pts (-55); 7. Thomas Meseraull 387pts (-55); 8. Cannon McIntosh 384pts (-58); 9. Mitchel Moles 381pts (-61); 10. Ethan Mitchell 364pts (-78).
Toyota Feature winners (2 drivers)
1 win – Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports); Jade Avedisian (Keith Kunz Motorsports)
Toyota Feature laps led (4 drivers)
26 laps – Thomas Meseraull
22 laps – Shane Cottle
14 laps – Jade Avedisian
8 laps – Cannon McIntosh
Whitz RC Racing Products Fast Time Awards (2 drivers)
1 Fast Time – Cannon McIntosh, Ethan Mitchell
Heat Race winners (9 drivers)
2 wins – Jade Avedisian
1 win – Austin Barnhill, Shane Cottle, Gavin Miller, Thomas Meseraull, Corbin Rueschenberg, Nick Drake, Kyle Jones, Chance Crum
High-points honors
1 honor – Gavin Miller, Chance Crum
Last Chance Showdown wins (4 drivers)
1 win – Kyle Jones, Landon Brooks, Karter Sarff, Howard Moore
DIRTVision Hard Charger Awards (2 drivers)
1 Award – Mitchel Moles, Chase Johnson
Podium finishes (6 drivers)
1 podium – Cannon McIntosh, Shane Cottle, Thomas Meseraull, Jade Avedisian, Chase McDermand, Kyle Jones
Top-10 finishes (16 drivers)
2 top-10s – Jade Avedisian, Kyle Jones, Landon Brooks, Gavin Miller
1 top-10 – Shane Cottle, Chance Crum, Thomas Meseraull, Cannon McIntosh, Mitchel Moles, Ethan Mitchell, Zach Daum, Taylor Reimer, Chase McDermand, Chase Johnson, Austin Barnhill, Corbin Rueschenberg
2023 Schedule & Winners – Race No. Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Fri, March 10 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Cannon McIntosh (1)
2. Sat, March 11 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Jade Avedisian (2)