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WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Meseraull Set for Return; Avedisian, Sarff Aim for Repeats at I-55

Team Green Productions

The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota returns to Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 for one of its biggest paying events of the year during the Ironman 55 weekend, Aug. 2-3.

Co-sanctioned by the POWRi National Midget League, the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets will contest a 25-lap, $4,000-to-win main event Friday night before the richest race of the 2024 season Saturday – paying $7,500 to the winner and at least $500 to each starter of the 35-lap main event.

Racing alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, the two-day event will showcase the talent of the country’s best open-wheel racers, some of which will be competing in both divisions.

Both Series events also count as the seventh and eighth races of the 2024 Xtreme Outlaw-POWRi Challenge Series, which awards the points champion of the 10-race miniseries with a $2,500 bonus at the end of the season in September, in addition to checks for each of the top-five in final points.

Advance-sale tickets for both days of the Ironman 55 are available at the World of Outlaws website and will also be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t be at the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow this weekend:

GUESS WHO’S BACK – For the first time since the season opener in March, Thomas Meseraull is expected to be part of the Xtreme Outlaw Series roster, returning to the seat of the Engler Tool & Machine, EA-Stealth-powered MF1 Chassis No. 7x in Xtreme competition after being sidelined due to injury sustained in a Non-Wing Sprint Car crash at Paragon Speedway (IN) in late March.

Meseraull, the 43-year-old open-wheel veteran from San Jose, CA, won the 2024 Xtreme season opener inside the Southern Illinois Center in March. After taking several weeks off for recovery, Meseraull returned to Midget action for POWRi’s Illinois SPEEDweek in June and has since won twice with POWRi at Lake Ozark Speedway (MO).

When it comes to Midgets at I-55, Meseraull has had success at the 1/3-mile oval before, scoring a win during Ironman weekend in 2015 – POWRi’s first time as the support division in the marquee Sprint Car event.

DEFENDING WINNERS – The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets put on two exciting races during Ironman weekend one year ago, won by Karter Sarff and Jade Avedisian, both of whom are expected to be back in action with the Series again this weekend.

Sarff, 21, of Mason City, IL, scored his first career Series victory in Friday night’s main event last year, outrunning 2022 Series champion Zach Daum to bag the win. He’s won twice in Xtreme competition already this year – US36 in April and Millbridge Speedway (NC) in May – and will go for his fifth career Series victory this weekend piloting his own Provisio Partners, Spike/Toyota No. 21K.

Avedisian, the 17-year-old reigning Series champion from Clovis, CA, won the Saturday portion of the two-day event last year in a slide job-filled battle with Sarff late in the race to score her sixth career Series win. However, she has struggled throughout the 2024 season, appearing on the podium only once in 14 starts with a best finish of second at Atomic Speedway (OH) in May.

POINTS CHASE – A trip through Oklahoma this past weekend meant another Feature win for points leader Cannon McIntosh – his sixth of the season – and an expanded 160-point gap over teammate Ryan Timms in the championship standings.

McIntosh, 21, of Bixby, OK, is still in search of his first career national Midget series championship driving for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (KKM). He’s had success at I-55 in the past, winning the April 2023 visit, but couldn’t break the top five during the Ironman weekend last year with finishes of eighth and sixth.

Timms, 17, of Oklahoma City, OK, has trailed McIntosh in the standings for most of the season but has seen Victory Lane three times, most recently at Spoon River Speedway (IL) two weeks ago. Unlike McIntosh, Timms has not won at I-55, but finished third to Daum and McIntosh there in April 2023.

ILLINOIS BOYS – Zach Daum and Chase McDermand have also triumphed in Pevely in the past, both with the POWRi National Midget League.

Daum, 32, of Pocahontas, IL, won the Midget Feature during the Saturday portion of Ironman weekend in 2016, topping Kyle Jones and Dave Darland in the 24-car main event. More recently, he ran second to McIntosh at the Xtreme/POWRi show at I-55 in April 2023 and also claimed the runner-up spot on Friday during last year’s Ironman.

McDermand, 24, of Springfield, IL, won with POWRi at I-55 in April 2022. He’s coming into the weekend as the most recent Feature winner, taking the checkered flag in the Series debut at Tulsa Speedway (OK) last Saturday night after leading all 30 laps of the main event.

HEY JOE – After coming a handful of laps away from his first career Xtreme Outlaw Series Feature win in the 2024 season opener, Joe B. Miller is projected to be back in action with the Midgets this weekend at I-55.

Miller, 33, of Millersville, MO, was leading late in Saturday’s Feature at the Southern Illinois Center this past March when he was involved in an incident while battling Meseraull for the lead. While he ended up scored 12th in the official finishing order, the speed and skill Miller showed in traffic that night demonstrated his abilities in the Midget, which he does not get to display often due to his Sprint Car and Micro Sprint schedule.

However, Miller has found success in the Midget at I-55 in the past, finishing runner-up to McDermand in the POWRi event in April 2022.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE


When and where
Friday-Saturday, Aug. 2-3, at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO


On the internet

Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota
Twitter/X – @Xtreme_Outlaw
Instagram – @XtremeOutlaw
Facebook – @XtremeOutlawSeries.WRG


Live broadcast

DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com. Annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month.


Current championship points standings (
view full standings)

  1. Cannon McIntosh: 3940 points | Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K
  2. Ryan Timms: 3780 points (-160) | Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67
  3. Chase McDermand: 3624 points (-316) | CMR-Mounce/Stout Motorsports #40
  4. Ashton Torgerson: 3575 points (-365) | Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K
  5. Zach Daum: 3438 points (-502) | Trifecta Motorsports #7U
  6. Hayden Reinbold: 3335 points (-605) | Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports #19AZ
  7. Trevor Cline: 3094 points (-846) | Cline Racing #55
  8. Gavin Miller: 2957 points (-983) | Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97
  9. Tyler Edwards: 2947 points (-993) | Mounce/Stout Motorsports #14S
  10. Karter Sarff: 2742 points (-1198) | Karter Sarff Motorsports #21K


Toyota Feature winners (7 drivers)

6 wins – Cannon McIntosh (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
3 wins – Ashton Torgerson (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K), Ryan Timms (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
2 wins – Karter Sarff (Karter Sarff Motorsports #21K)
1 win – Thomas Meseraull (Engler Racing #7x), Kale Drake (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97), Zach Daum (Trifecta Motorsports #7U), Chase McDermand (CMR-Mounce/Stout Motorsports #40)


Toyota Feature laps led (15 drivers)

108 laps – Cannon McIntosh
77 laps – Ryan Timms
72 laps – Ashton Torgerson
44 laps – Kale Drake
41 laps – Karter Sarff
35 laps – Joe B. Miller
30 laps – Chase McDermand
27 laps – Thomas Meseraull
25 laps – Zach Daum
29 laps – Hayden Reinbold
12 laps – Taylor Reimer
11 laps – Jade Avedisian
5 laps – Michael Pickens, Tyler Edwards
1 lap – Jason McDougal


Whitz RC Racing Products Quick Time Awards (11 drivers)
4 awards – Ethan Mitchell
3 awards – Kale Drake
2 awards – Karter Sarff, Ryan Timms
1 award – Cannon McIntosh, Kyle Jones, Trevor Cline, Zach Daum, Tyler Edwards, Hayden Reinbold, Chase McDermand


Heat Race winners (22 drivers)

7 wins – Ashton Torgerson
6 wins – Chase McDermand
5 wins – Kale Drake, Cannon McIntosh, Ryan Timms, Zach Daum,
4 wins – Tyler Edwards
3 wins – Gavin Miller, Trevor Cline
2 wins – Jade Avedisian, Nick Hoffman, Karter Sarff
1 win – Thomas Meseraull, Shane Cottle, TJ Smith, Kyle Jones, Taylor Reimer, Ethan Mitchell, Jason McDougal, Gunnar Setser, Hayden Reinbold


High-points honors (12 drivers)

3 honors – Cannon McIntosh, Ryan Timms
2 honors – Zach Daum, Ashton Torgerson, Chase McDermand
1 honor – Tyler Edwards, Karter Sarff, Gavin Miller, Kale Drake, Michael Pickens, Hayden Reinbold


Last Chance Showdown wins (10 drivers)

1 win – Taylor Reimer, Gunnar Setser, Austin Torgerson, Gavin Miller, Shane Cottle, Ethan Mitchell, Ashton Torgerson, Ryan Timms, Kyle Jones, Mitchell Davis


Hard Charger Awards (14 drivers)

3 awards – Hayden Reinbold, Ryan Timms
1 award – Will Armitage, Ryan Timms, Kayla Roell, Gunnar Setser, Jade Avedisian, Chase McDermand, Elijah Gile, Zach Daum, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller, Jacob Denney, Ashton Torgerson


Podium finishes (16 drivers)

13 podiums – Cannon McIntosh
8 podiums – Ryan Timms
7 podiums – Zach Daum
5 podiums – Chase McDermand
4 podiums – Ashton Torgerson
3 podiums – Karter Sarff, Kale Drake, Gavin Miller, Hayden Reinbold
1 podium – Thomas Meseraull, Taylor Reimer, Jade Avedisian, Michael Pickens, Trevor Cline, Jacob Denney, Jason McDougal


Top-10 finishes (37 drivers)

18 top-10s – Cannon McIntosh
16 top-10s – Chase McDermand, Ryan Timms
14 top-10s – Ashton Torgerson
13 top-10s – Zach Daum
10 top-10s – Karter Sarff, Gavin Miller
9 top-10s – Hayden Reinbold
8 top-10s – Kale Drake, Jade Avedisian
7 top-10s – Trevor Cline
5 top-10s – Taylor Reimer, Tyler Edwards, Kyle Jones
4 top-10s – Mitchell Davis
3 top-10s – Ethan Mitchell, Gunnar Setser
2 top-10s – Shane Cottle, TJ Smith, Sam Johnson, Jacob Denney, Jason McDougal
1 top-10 – Joe B. Miller, Thomas Meseraull, Will Armitage, Trey Marcham, Rylan Gray, Todd McVay, Kevin Thomas Jr, Elijah Gile, Brayton Lynch, Nick Drake, Jacob Dykstra, Briggs Danner, Michael Pickens, Andrew Felker, Drake Edwards, Jonathan Beason


2024 Schedule & Winners – Race No. Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Fri, March 15 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Thomas Meseraull (1)
2. Sat, March 16 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Cannon McIntosh (1)
3. Fri, April 5 / US 36 Raceway / Osborn, MO / Karter Sarff (1)
4. Sat, April 6 / Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex / Sweet Springs, MO / Kale Drake (1)
5. Fri, April 12 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL / Ryan Timms (1)
6. Sat, April 13 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL / Ashton Torgerson (1)
7. Fri, May 10 / Humboldt Speedway / Humboldt, KS / Ashton Torgerson (2)
8. Sat, May 11 / 81 Speedway / Park City, KS / Cannon McIntosh (2)
9. Tue, May 21 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Karter Sarff (2)
10. Wed, May 22 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Zach Daum (1)
11. Fri, May 24 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH / Ryan Timms (2)
12. Sat, May 25 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH / Cannon McIntosh (3)
13. Thu, May 30 / Doe Run Raceway / Doe Run, MO / Cannon McIntosh (4)
14. Fri, May 31 / Coles County Speedway / Matoon, IL / Ashton Torgerson (3)
15. Fri, July 19 / Spoon River Speedway / Lewistown, IL / Ryan Timms (3)
16. Sat, July 20 / Spoon River Speedway / Lewistown, IL / Cannon McIntosh (5)
17. Fri, July 26 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK / Cannon McIntosh (6)
18. Sat, July 27 / Tulsa Speedway / Tulsa, OK / Chase McDermand (1)