All that Jacob Denney has done in 2025 is win.
The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (KKM) driver stood at the top of his car for the 10th time in the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota season at Highland Speedway to build on his record achievements and clinch his first career Xtreme Outlaw-POWRi Challenge Series title.
“It’s pretty sick,” Denney said. “I expected to win races and contend for the championship, but nothing like we’ve done this year. It’s been amazing, and something you dream about when you’re standing in the shower or something. I gotta thank Kaleb, Tanner, and Grant for that, and Keith for giving me the opportunity to do this. It makes me look good every night, and I can’t thank them enough for that.”
Starting from the Pole Position, Denney took immediate command as Chase McDermand battled Trifecta Motorsports drivers Michael Faccinto and Kameron Key for podium position in the early stages, passing Key for third on Lap 4.
While Faccinto and McDermand exchanged slide jobs around the 0.25-mile bullring, Denney’s No. 67 JBL Audio LynK Chassis benefitted from their duel as he created a massive gap of 4.8 seconds through the first half of the 30-lap Feature.
McDermand got clear with second on Lap 14 as Faccinto had to endure a second podium battle with Gavin Miller, who overtook Faccinto for third by performing a slide job through Turns 3-4 as the halfway signal was displayed.
When the yellow flag was thrown with eight laps remaining, McDermand and Miller each attempted a late-race charge at Denney for the win. While both drivers kept an equal distance to the leader, they did not have a chance to shorten the gap as Denney passed the twin checkered flags for the Saturday night win.
Denney’s double-digit Xtreme Outlaw Midgets triumph puts him in full ownership of second in all-time Series wins while he focuses on capping the year as the first Xtreme Triple Crown champion.
“I just didn’t want to overdo it and get ahead of myself,” Denney said. “Sometimes, when you’re out by yourself, you don’t feel like you’re going faster. But, I just tried to keep the pace I was going until I saw somebody, then turn it up if I need to. It’s a great car, it allows me to run in a comfortable zone all night long, and not really put myself in a risk for doing something dumb.
“Tonight was slick. It was just about getting your momentum as quick as possible, not having to use as much throttle, and keeping the car underneath you. And, I had a great car to do that once again.”
McDermand brought his No. 40X Toyota to the finish in second place, which helped him move up to fourth in the overall Series standings with four races left in the season. The Springfield, IL native also earned an extra $250 as he took the final spot in Challenge Series points.
“I knew I was better than Faccinto, but he just had the preferred lane choice,” McDermand said. “I feel like, on the original start, that allowed him to get clear, and I felt like I was losing a ton of momentum trying to slide him. I had to get him taken care of and get down the road because I felt like everybody was closing up on us, so it was tricky.
“Nobody was able to cross me over when I slid him in (Turn 2), but there was no catching Jacob, he had a really good car and drove a really good race. I was just trying to hit my marks and make sure that I didn’t have anybody coming up behind me.”
Miller finished in third for his second consecutive podium of the Challenge Series finale weekend aboard the No. 97 SoundGear LynK Chassis. The KKM driver from Allentown, PA finishes the 2025 Challenge Series with a fourth-place points standing.
“You just needed to make smart decisions to get by those guys,” Miller said. “I tried different lines at first until I figured out the top was really good and we got better there at the end. I was a little free there the duration of the race, but nonetheless, I thought the car was good. Beau, Phil Spencer and I have been on a roll lately, and I feel like its paying off.”
With the 2025 edition of the Challenge Series officially complete, the top five in the standings include Karter Sarff in the runner-up position and rookie Kameron Key in third place.
Recap Notes:
Smith Titanium Quick Time Award: Gavin Miller
Toyota Heat 1 Winner: Michael Faccinto
CASM Safety Products Heat 2 Winner: Chase McDermand
TJ Forged Heat 3 Winner: Kameron Key
High-Point Driver: Jacob Denney
Last Chance Showdown Winner: Kyle Jones
Summit Racing Equipment Hard Charger Award: Kyle Jones (+8)
Honest Abe Roofing 16th Place Finisher: Trevor Cline
Up Next: The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets enter the penultimate weekend of the 2025 season as the final Illinois trip of the year has the Series visiting Jacksonville Speedway for the Honest Abe Roofing Open Wheel Showdown on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 3-4.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App.
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 67-Jacob Denney[1]; 2. 40-Chase McDermand[4]; 3. 97-Gavin Miller[6]; 4. 9U-Kameron Key[5]; 5. 21K-Karter Sarff[7]; 6. 94-Hayden Wise[10]; 7. 16-Zach Daum[14]; 8. 5U-Michael Faccinto[3]; 9. 7X-Kyle Jones[17]; 10. 67K-Colton Robinson[15]; 11. 72-Alex Karpowicz[19]; 12. 32-Trey Marcham[13]; 13. 98K-Brandon Carr[9]; 14. 77-Joe Wirth[8]; 15. 71K-Brecken Reese[16]; 16. 55-Trevor Cline[11]; 17. 97X-Will Armitage[12]; 18. 44-Branigan Roark[18]; 19. 56X-Mark Chisholm[21]; 20. 91-Mitchell Davis[22]; 21. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[2]; 22. 05-Alex Midkiff[20]
