WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Midget Champion to be Crowned in Oklahoma Tripleheader
Daum leads Wiedeman by 48 points as Series turns to Port City, I-44
TULSA, OK – Oct. 11, 2022 – The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota will crown its first-ever champion as the tour makes its debut in the Sooner State this weekend.
Port City Raceway kicks off the weekend with the third annual Donnie Ray Crawford Sooner State 55 on Thursday, Oct. 13, paying $5,555 to the winner. The race honors Donnie Ray Crawford – a multi-time champion and racer in the Oklahoma Micro Sprint and Midget ranks who passed away in 2012 at the age of 24.
The Series then heads to I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City for the 18th annual Charlene Meents Memorial on Fri-Sat, Oct. 14-15. This two-day event pays $4,000 to Friday’s winner and $5,000 on Saturday, honoring longtime MARA Midgets officer and race official Charlene Meents.
The $10,000 check and championship trophy will be hoisted at the conclusion of Saturday night’s events. Multiple drivers are still in the hunt to become the Series’ inaugural season champion, which is poised to come right down to the wire.
Tickets for all three events will be available at the gate on race day. If you can’t be at the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.
Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow this weekend:
JUST A NUMBER – In its first year of operation, the Xtreme Outlaw Midget circuit has seen a wide array of winners, boasting a list of seven different names going to Victory Lane in the first seven races.
Gavan Boschele (14), Taylor Reimer (22), Jade Avedisian (15), Chance Crum (25), Michael Pickens (39), Chase McDermand (22), and Bryant Wiedeman (17) have all graced Victory Lane thus far, combing for an average age of 22 years old. It’s a sign of youth that has defined the Midget world this year and offers a look toward the Series’ future leaders.
With the number of Oklahoma and other Midwest-based teams expected to enter this weekend’s events, the odds of an eighth, ninth, or even 10th different winner is considerable. Bixby, OK-driver Cannon McIntosh is the highest-ranked driver in the Midget realm without an Xtreme Outlaw win, and is poised to change that this weekend, having won a whopping 11 of 22 POWRi National Midget League Features he’s started this year.
FINISHING THE JOB – Consistency has been the name of the game for Xtreme Outlaw points leader Zach Daum. Top-10 finishes in all seven races has been the foundation for his 48-point lead over Bryant Wiedeman, while five top-five runs have held it into the final weekend of competition.
Though the 48-point gap is not grounds to crown him Series champion, Daum, of Pocahontas, IL, has managed the pressure of championship points chases before, having won the 2013, 2014 and 2016 POWRi National Midget titles – most of any driver.
Daum has been solid in POWRi competition this year as well, posting four top-five finishes in nine starts and is the only driver with less than 10 starts inside the top-20 in POWRi National points.
ON THE RISE – Posting his best finish in the most recent Series event at Davenport Speedway in August, Kyle Jones could be a contender for his first Xtreme Outlaw win this weekend.
Jones, the 29-year-old from Kennedale, TX, won the most recent Midget event held at Port City one month ago, besting “PCR Posse” members Jonathan Beason and Andrew Felker in POWRi West Midget League action. He’s also sitting fourth in Xtreme points with four top-10s in seven races and is one of five drivers to qualify for all seven Features thus far.
TWO TITLES? – Bryant Wiedeman rides 48 points out of the lead in the Xtreme Outlaw standings and is the most recent winner with the Series, taking the checkers on night #2 of the August doubleheader at Davenport Speedway.
Though he’s never won at Port City, he ran second to Buddy Kofoid at the POWRi National Midget event there in March. He does have a win at I-44, putting it in Victory Lane in a POWRi Outlaw Micro Sprint race there in October 2020.
The defending POWRi National Midget champion will need three strong runs this weekend if he wants to catch Daum in points and collect national Midget championships in consecutive years – an impressive feat for the 17-year-old Kansan.
GOT THE POWR – Currently sitting third in Xtreme Outlaw points, 16-year-old Brenham Crouch comes into the weekend as the POWRi National Midget points leader by a hefty 510 points over second-place Taylor Reimer with only four races remaining.
While he currently rides 93 points behind in the Xtreme standings, he’s not mathematically out of the title fight yet. With some good finishes and a few misfortunes from his competitors, Crouch could potentially walk out of Oklahoma with both national Midget titles in-hand.
THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
When and Where
Thursday, October 13 at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, OK
Friday & Saturday, October 14-15 at I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City, OK
On the Internet
Xtreme Outlaw Series
Twitter – @Xtreme_Outlaw
Instagram – @XtremeOutlaw
Facebook – Facebook.com/XtremeOutlawSeries.WRG
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month
CURRENT STANDINGS (7/10 Nights):
1. 9M-Zach Daum (1,464 PTS); 2. 01-Bryant Wiedeman (-48 PTS); 3. 97-Brenham Crouch (-93 PTS); 4. 7U-Kyle Jones (-143 PTS); 5. 25K-Taylor Reimer (-200 PTS); 6. 26-Chance Crum (-208 PTS); 7. 71K-Dominic Gorden (-291 PTS); 8. 84-Jade Avedisian (-331 PTS); 9. 72J-Sam Johnson (-389 PTS); 10. 61-Jacob Denney (-407 PTS).
TOYOTA FEATURE WINNERS (7 Drivers):
1 win – Gavan Boschele (Mooresville, NC) / Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian #5
1 win – Taylor Reimer (Bixby, OK) / Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian #25K
1 win – Jade Avedisian (Clovis, CA) / CB Industries #84
1 win – Chance Crum (Snohomish, WA) / Rudeen Racing #26
1 win – Michael Pickens (Auckland, NZ) / Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports #08
1 win – Chase McDermand (Springfield, IL) / Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ
1 win – Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, KS) / Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian #01
FEATURE LAPS LED (11 Drivers):
50 Laps – Bryant Wiedeman
39 Laps – Cannon McIntosh
31 Laps – Jade Avedisian
27 Laps – Jacob Denney
20 Laps – Chance Crum
18 Laps – Chase McDermand
10 Laps – Gavan Boschele
10 Laps – Karter Sarff
5 Laps – Michael Pickens
4 Laps – Jesse Love
1 Lap – Kyle Jones
WHITZ QUICKTIME AWARDS (5 Drivers):
2 QuickTimes – Michael Pickens, Taylor Reimer
1 QuickTime –Kyle Larson, Hayden Reinbold, Cannon McIntosh
HEAT RACE WINS (17 Drivers):
5 Heat Wins – Brenham Crouch
3 Heat Wins – Cannon McIntosh, Kyle Jones, Chase McDermand
2 Heat Wins – Bryant Wiedeman
1 Heat Win – Nick Drake, Ryan Timms, Jace Park, Taylor Reimer, Joe B. Miller, Jacob Denney, Michael Pickens, Karter Sarff, Cade Lewis, Jesse Love, Daison Pursley, Gavin Miller
K1 LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (7 Drivers):
3 LCS Wins – Ethan Mitchell
1 LCS Win – Kyle Larson, Brent Crews, Kaylee Bryson, Chase Briscoe, Dominic Gorden, Bryant Wiedeman
TJ FORGED HARD CHARGER AWARDS (6 Drivers):
2 Hard Chargers – Bryant Wiedeman
1 Hard Charger – Dominic Gorden, Rylan Gray, Zach Daum, Kyle Jones, Chance Crum
PODIUM FINISHES (15 Drivers):
4 Podiums – Zach Daum
3 Podiums – Jacob Denney
2 Podiums – Michael Pickens
1 Podium – Gavan Boschele, Nick Drake, Taylor Reimer, Jade Avedisian, Brenham Crouch, Ethan Mitchell, Chance Crum, Karter Sarff, Chase McDermand, Dominic Gorden, Bryant Wiedeman, Kyle Jones
TOP 10 FINISHES (32 Drivers):
7 Top 10s – Zach Daum
6 Top 10s – Bryant Wiedeman
5 Top 10s – Brenham Crouch, Jacob Denney
4 Top 10s – Taylor Reimer, Kyle Jones
3 Top 10s – Chance Crum, Chase McDermand
2 Top 10s – Nick Hoffman, Ethan Mitchell, Brent Crews, Karter Sarff, Michael Pickens, Dominic Gorden, Cannon McIntosh, Daison Pursley, Gavin Miller
1 Top 10 – Gavan Boschele, Nick Drake, Sam Johnson, Carson Kvapil, Kaylee Bryson, Rylan Gray, Chase Briscoe, Jade Avedisian, Jake Neuman, Joe B. Miller, Kaidon Brown, Jace Park, Jerry Coons Jr., Jesse Love, Mitchell Davis
2022 XTREME OUTLAW MIDGET SCHEDULE & WINNERS:
No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Tues, May 24 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Gavan Boschele (1)
2. Wed, May 25 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Taylor Reimer (1)
3. Sun, June 26 / Jacksonville Speedway / Jacksonville, IL / Jade Avedisian (1)
4. Fri, Aug. 5 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Chance Crum (1)
5. Sat, Aug. 6 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Michael Pickens (1)
6. Fri, Aug. 26 / Davenport Speedway / Davenport, IA / Chase McDermand (1)
7. Fri, Aug. 27 / Davenport Speedway / Davenport, IA / Bryant Wiedeman (1)