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Seven races, seven winners: Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series could have perfect record of first-timers

McDermandCrouch_byJacyNorgaard

Seven races are in the books and three are on tap this weekend for World Racing Group’s Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series as the series concludes their inaugural season with a chance for three more first-time winners.

Winless, Zach Daum holds a 48-point advantage over Bryan Wiedeman, who earned his first Xtreme Midget win in the most recent race for the series on August 27th at Davenport Speedway. Both Daum and Wiedeman achieved their spots with consistency. In seven races, Daum swept the top 10; Wiedeman has six such finishes.

Each can pad their total on Thursday as the tiny .125-mile Port City Raceway kicks off the finale weekend in Tulsa, Okla. On Friday and Saturday, the season closes out on the .2-mile I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City.

A little less than $15k is on the line for winning the three races and $10k will be paid to the champion, but the money is secondary to the potential prestige of being named the first Outlaw Midget title holder for the same sanctioning body that hosts the World of Outlaws Sprint and Late Model Series.

Daum already boasts three POWRi National Midget titles, in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

“Hopefully, we can go and win all three,” Daum said in a release. “That would be ideal. We haven’t won in a Midget all year. We’ve given a few away. Not just with the Xtreme deal. I feel like in USAC, too, we’ve given a few away that maybe if the stars aligned should have won. Those hurt a little bit. I’d like to get a couple more wins before the end of the year. Just get something. I hate being the guy that wins the championship but doesn’t win the race.”

“It can be done and there is a model for consistency in that but at the end of the day the only thing that matters in racing is winning. I would really like to get Bundy (Mitchell, his team owner) a win. That would mean a lot to me.

Wiedeman needs to pressure Daum on all three nights. He has not yet won at Port City, but ran second to Buddy Kofoid in a Micro Sprint race in March. He won in that same series at I-44 in October, 2020.

Brenham Crouch also has a shot at the championship, but will need the others to have trouble.

As one of the lowest rungs on the Outlaw Sprints ladder system, most of the winners this season have been in their teens or early 20s. Michael Pickens, 39, is the oldest winner after taking the checkered flag at I-55 Speedway in Pevely, Mo. Winning the season opener at Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, N.C., 14-year-old Gavan Boschele is the youngest.

Two female drivers won in the first three round. Taylor Reimer won at Millbridge with Jade Avedisian taking the checkers at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway. Altogether, the average age of Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series winners is 22.

As Daum and Wiedeman take center stage battling for the championship, the series has a chance to end with 10 unique winners in 10 rounds. Daum is still seeking his first win and in the next three nights, some great local drivers will challenge.

Cannon McIntosh is perhaps the strongest Midget driver without an Xtreme Outlaw win. He’s won half of the races he started in POWRi National Midgets.

Kyle Jones earned a career-best, third-place finish in the most recent Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series race at Davenport behind Wiedeman and Daum. He also won the recent Midget event held at Port City one month ago. He is also one of five drivers to advance to all seven features in the Xtreme Outlaws.