The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota’s first full-length national racing schedule is in the rearview mirror. With new winners, a new champion and hundreds of thousands of dollars put back into the dirt Midget racing community, the 2023 season had several highlights and engaging storylines.
A NEW BEGINNING
The 10-race slate that birthed the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series’ presence on the national scene in 2022 evolved into its first full-length schedule for 2023 with 35 races planned and 29 completed.
Starting in March with the indoor debut at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, IL, the Series traveled to 21 different tracks in nine different states across the country, spanning eight months through the season finale in Oklahoma in October. In that span, a grand total of 150 different drivers appeared in at least one Series event, and seven attended all 29.
Over $600,000 in winnings, contingencies and other cash bonuses were paid out to over 100 different drivers and teams over the course of the season, including a championship points fund of over $65,000 with $25,000 going to the champion.
NEW PLACES, NEW FACES
Over the 29-race schedule, the top five drivers in the final points standings accounted for 22 Feature wins, or slightly over 75 percent of all races contested. The remaining seven races went to six different drivers – all of which were outside of the full-time roster and scored their first career Xtreme Outlaw victory in those races. Gavin Miller notched his first and second career Series wins this season, bringing the total up to seven first-time Series winners in 2023.
Newly crowned ARCA Menards Series champion Jesse Love got first dibs as a new winner in June, taking the checkered flag at Tri-City Speedway in his one and only start of the year with the Series. Oklahoman Daison Pursley was next, banking Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports’ first Series victory in the Appalachian Midget Week finale at Path Valley Speedway.
Young Californian Daniel Whitley took Abacus Racing to Xtreme Outlaw Victory Lane in July at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex, Karter Sarff broke through for two wins (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in August and Jacksonville Speedway in September) and Ryan Timms finally scored at Port City Raceway in October.
In the final weekend of the season, 19-year-old Hayden Reinbold broke through for his first career national Midget series win, leading all 30 Feature laps in the season finale at I-44 Riverside Speedway.
NEW HIGH SCORE
Chase McDermand set Series record for most wins in a single season with six this year. The 23-year-old from Springfield, IL, drove the McDermand Plumbing, Spike/Stanton #40 for Mounce/Stout Motorsports to back-to-back wins on three separate occasions in three different states.
His first back-to-back pairing happened in Kansas, scoring a trip to Victory Lane in the Series debut at Humboldt Speedway after taking the lead from Ashton Torgerson late in the race. The next night at Eighty-One Speedway, McDermand was best again, driving around then-points-leader Cannon McIntosh on the final restart late in the race to collect his second win in two days and sweep the Series’ debut in Kansas.
Pennsylvania was next to feel McDermand’s wrath, as he banked wins in the first two races of Appalachian Midget Week in August, leading 21 laps to win at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway before backing it up the next night at Action Track USA.
His last two wins came in his home state of Illinois, leading the final 21 laps en route to the win at Highland Speedway before doubling up again the next night on the red clay, 4/10-mile of Red Hill Raceway.
CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Throughout the course of the season, no one storyline entertained fans more than the yearlong points battle between Jade Avedisian and Cannon McIntosh. Midget racing’s tightest championship chase of the year came down to the final race to decide the championship, which also involved each of the top five drivers in the standings.
McIntosh was the first to strike, winning the season opener in Du Quoin before Avedisian returned fire, winning the indoor finale and taking the points lead after McIntosh suffered his first DNF. McIntosh bounced back, however, taking a commanding, 121-point lead in the standings heading into the summer break on the back of four wins and eight podium finishes in the first 10 races.
Coming back from the summer break, Avedisian sat fourth in the standings – 180 points behind McIntosh. Her next six races included three wins, five podiums and a worst finish of sixth – vaulting her into the points lead while McIntosh recorded two more DNFs in that span.
The two swapped the lead again after Avedisian took her lone DNF of the season in the Appalachian Midget Week opener in Pennsylvania. McIntosh held his advantage up until the penultimate weekend of the season, when Avedisian took the lead back once more following strong finishes in the tripleheader weekend in Illinois.
Going into championship weekend, Avedisian held an 11-point gap on McIntosh, while the rest of the top five in the standings stood within 100 points. Avedisian successfully defended the lead through the final race, while Zach Daum jumped into second, Gavin Miller into third, McIntosh back to fourth following his fourth DNF, and Chase McDermand held in fifth.
APPALACHIAN MIDGET WEEK
For the first time in two years, national Midget racing returned to the State of Pennsylvania with the Xtreme Outlaw Series’ inaugural running of Appalachian Midget Week, Aug. 8-12. The speedweek-style stretch of racing offered up a $2,500 bonus to the miniseries points champion and was set to visit five different tracks in five consecutive days.
Chase McDermand quickly became the story of the week, winning the first two races of the week at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway and Action Track USA. Daison Pursley won the final event of the week at Path Valley Speedway while McDermand finished third, awarding him the miniseries championship in his first venture racing in the Keystone State.
Officials are working toward a return of Appalachian Midget Week to the schedule in 2024, again housing a speedweek-style lineup of events with even more purse money on the line.
2023 SEASON STATS
Final championship points standings (view full standings)
- Jade Avedisian: 5994 points | Keith Kunz Motorsports #71
- Zach Daum: 5935 points (-59) | Trifecta Motorsports #7U
- Gavin Miller: 5934 points (-60) | Keith Kunz Motorsports #97
- Cannon McIntosh: 5911 (-83) points | Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports #08
- Chase McDermand: 5848 points (-146) | Mounce/Stout Motorsports #40
- Taylor Reimer: 5679 points (-315) | Keith Kunz Motorsports #25K
- Hayden Reinbold: 5205 points (-789) | Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports #19AZ
- Austin Barnhill: 3251 points (-2743) | Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports #17B
- Karter Sarff: 3085 points (-2909) |Karter Sarff Racing #21K
- Ethan Mitchell: 2962 points (-3032) | Bundy Built Motorsports #19M
Toyota Racing Feature winners (11 drivers)
6 wins – Chase McDermand (Mounce/Stout Motorsports)
5 wins – Jade Avedisian (Keith Kunz Motorsports), Zach Daum (Trifecta Motorsports)
4 wins – Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)
2 wins – Karter Sarff (Karter Sarff Racing), Gavin Miller (Keith Kunz Motorsports)
1 win – Jesse Love (Chad Boat Industries), Daniel Whitley (Abacus Racing), Daison Pursley (Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports), Ryan Timms (Keith Kunz Motorsports), Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports).
Toyota Racing Feature laps led (19 drivers)
126 laps – Ryan Timms
112 laps – Chase McDermand
101 laps – Jade Avedisian
95 laps – Cannon McIntosh
92 laps – Zach Daum
71 laps – Gavin Miller
59 laps – Daniel Whitley
46 laps – Karter Sarff
41 laps – Hayden Reinbold
33 laps – Kyle Jones
30 laps – Daison Pursley
26 laps – Thomas Meseraull
22 laps – Shane Cottle
21 laps – Ashton Torgerson
6 laps – Taylor Reimer
4 laps – Jesse Love
1 lap – Nick Drake, Brayton Lynch, Trey Marcham
Whitz RC Racing Products Quick Time Awards (15 drivers)
8 awards – Chase McDermand
4 awards – Cannon McIntosh
2 awards – Ethan Mitchell, Daniel Whitley, Zach Daum, Ryan Timms, Taylor Reimer
1 award – Gavin Miller, Hayden Reinbold, Jesse Love, Kevin Thomas Jr, Joe B. Miller, Corbin Rueschenberg, Briggs Danner, Jade Avedisian
Heat Race winners (26 drivers)
13 wins – Chase McDermand
10 wins – Jade Avedisian, Cannon McIntosh, Zach Daum
6 wins – Hayden Reinbold
4 wins – Gavin Miller, Daison Pursley, Ethan Mitchell
2 wins – Chance Crum, Nick Drake, Corbin Rueschenberg, Andrew Felker, Daniel Whitley, Ryan Timms, Kyle Jones
1 win – Austin Barnhill, Shane Cottle, Thomas Meseraull, Rico Abreu, Briggs Danner, Chase Johnson, Daniel Adler, Taylor Reimer, Brayton Lynch, Gunnar Setser, Karter Sarff
High-points honors (15 drivers)
5 honors – Cannon McIntosh, Chase McDermand
2 honors – Daniel Whitley, Jade Avedisian, Gavin Miller
1 honor – Chance Crum, Rico Abreu, Landon Brooks, Briggs Danner, Hayden Reinbold, Kyle Jones, Andrew Felker, Daison Pursley, Zach Daum, Ryan Timms
Last Chance Showdown wins (15 drivers)
2 wins – Kyle Jones, Corbin Rueschenberg, Cannon McIntosh
1 win – Landon Brooks, Karter Sarff, Howard Moore, Ryan Timms, Taylor Reimer, Henry Chambers, Chance Crum, Chase Briscoe, Mitchell Davis, Daniel Adler, Gavin Miller, Ace McCarthy, Daison Pursley
DIRTVision Hard Charger Awards (20 drivers)
3 awards – Taylor Reimer
2 awards – Hayden Reinbold, Kyle Jones, Zach Daum, Cannon McIntosh, Chase McDermand, Jade Avedisian, Ryan Timms
1 award – Mitchel Moles, Chase Johnson, Chance Crum, Gavan Boschele, Shane Cottle, Cooper Williams, Jerry Coons Jr, Steve Buckwalter, Gavin Miller, Trevor Cline, Brayton Lynch, Karter Sarff
Podium finishes (18 drivers)
13 podiums – Zach Daum
11 podiums – Chase McDermand, Jade Avedisian
10 podiums – Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller
7 podiums – Taylor Reimer
5 podiums – Ryan Timms
3 podiums – Daniel Whitley, Hayden Reinbold, Karter Sarff,
2 podiums – Shane Cottle, Kyle Jones, Daison Pursley
1 podium – Thomas Meseraull, Ashton Torgerson, Landon Brooks, Jesse Love, Jerry Coons Jr, Gunnar Setser
Top-10 finishes (51 drivers)
27 top-10s – Gavin Miller
26 top-10s – Jade Avedisian
24 top-10s – Cannon McIntosh, Zach Daum
23 top-10s – Chase McDermand
20 top-10s – Taylor Reimer
12 top-10s – Hayden Reinbold
9 top-10s – Chance Crum, Ryan Timms, Karter Sarff, Kyle Jones
7 top-10s – Ethan Mitchell
5 top-10s – Landon Brooks, Daniel Whitley, Austin Barnhill, Cooper Williams, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley
4 top-10s – Gavan Boschele, Corbin Rueschenberg
3 top-10s – Chase Johnson, Briggs Danner, Trevor Cline, Mitchell Davis
2 top-10s – Shane Cottle, Chase Briscoe, Kevin Thomas Jr, Branigan Roark, Andrew Felker, Jerry Coons Jr, Mariah Ede, Tim Buckwalter, Kyle Beilman, Brayton Lynch, Gunnar Setser, Trey Marcham
1 top-10 – Mitchel Moles, Daniel Adler, Sam Johnson, Rico Abreu, Ashton Torgerson, Don Droud Jr, Nick Drake, Jesse Love, Joe B. Miller, Preston Lattomus, Bryan Stanfill, Dekota Gay, Joe Wirth, Elijah Gile, Ace McCarthy
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 (1)
3. Fri, April 14 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Cannon McIntosh (2)
4. Fri, May 5 / Humboldt Speedway / Humboldt, KS / Chase McDermand (1)
5. Sat, May 6 / 81 Speedway / Park City, KS / Chase McDermand (2)
6. Tue, May 22 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Cannon McIntosh (3)
7. Wed, May 23 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Cannon McIntosh (4)
8. Thu, June 1 / Tri-City Speedway / Pontoon Beach, IL / Jesse Love (1)
9. Fri, June 2 / Wayne County Speedway / Wayne City, IL / Zach Daum (1)
10. Sat, June 3 / Wayne County Speedway / Wayne City, IL / Zach Daum (2)
11. Fri, July 21 / Doe Run Raceway / Doe Run, MO / Zach Daum (3)
12. Sat, July 22 / Southern Illinois Raceway / Marion, IL / Jade Avedisian (2)
13. Sat, July 29 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH / Jade Avedisian (3)
14. Sun, July 30 / Brushcreek Motorsports Complex / Peebles, OH / Daniel Whitley (1)
15. Fri, Aug. 4 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Karter Sarff (1)
16. Sat, Aug. 5 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Jade Avedisian (4)
17. Tue, Aug. 8 / Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway / Newmanstown, PA / Chase McDermand (3)
18. Wed, Aug. 9 / Action Track USA / Kutztown, PA / Chase McDermand (4)
19. Fri, Aug. 11 / Path Valley Speedway Park / Spring Run, PA / Daison Pursley (1)
20. Fri, Aug. 25 / Davenport Speedway / Davenport, IA / Zach Daum (4)
21. Sat, Aug. 26 / Davenport Speedway / Davenport, IA / Gavin Miller (1)
22. Fri, Sept. 1 / Paragon Speedway / Paragon, IN / Zach Daum (5)
23. Sat, Sept. 2 / Paragon Speedway / Paragon, IN / Jade Avedisian (5)
24. Fri, Sept. 15 / Jacksonville Speedway / Jacksonville, IL / Karter Sarff (2)
25. Sat, Sept. 16 / Highland Speedway / Highland, IL / Chase McDermand (5)
26. Sun, Sept. 17 / Red Hill Raceway / Sumner, IL / Chase McDermand (6)
27. Thu, Oct. 12 / Port City Raceway / Tulsa, OK / Ryan Timms (1)
28. Fri, Oct. 13 / I-44 Riverside Speedway / Oklahoma City, OK / Gavin Miller (2)
29. Sat, Oct. 14 / I-44 Riverside Speedway / Oklahoma City, OK / Hayden Reinbold (1)
