Toyota development driver Jade Avedisian earned the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series championship on Saturday night with a third-place finish at I-44 Riverside Speedway to become the first woman in history to win a major national midget or sprint car series championship.
The 17-year-old Avedisian earned five victories and 16 top-five finishes in 29 Xtreme Outlaw events on the way to the championship. She is tied for the most career wins in Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series history with seven with her first coming last season at the age of 15.
“This means the world to me,” said Avedisian. “Winning races means a lot to me but winning the Xtreme championship means a little bit more. Championships are so hard to win, you have to be good night in and night out and if something doesn’t go your way early, you just have to figure out how to salvage your night and come away with as many points as you can. Winning a championship at 17 hopefully sets the tone for many years to come. This Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) team is out here every night giving us cars to win and I know it means a lot to them as well. It’s really special to win this for KKM, Toyota and Mobil 1. And winning $25,000 for the championship is just the cherry on top.”
The Xtreme title is the latest milestone for the Clovis, Calif. native as she is a three-time Quarter Midgets of America national champion (the only driver to ever win a West, East and DIRT National title in the same year – 2015). She also earned the 2017 USAC Jr. Sprint national championship, the 2020 Tulsa Shootout Restricted championship, the 2020 NOW600 national Restricted and A-Class championships in Micro Sprints and earlier this year was named the 2023 Chili Bowl Nationals Rookie of the Year.
“Congratulations to Jade Avedisian on earning the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series championship just one month after her 17th birthday and being the first woman to win a national Midget series championship.” said Tyler Gibbs, General Manager of TRD, U.S.A. “Jade’s a unique talent and we are so pleased to have her as part of the Toyota Driver Development program. We’re excited to see where her future path leads. None of this would be possible without the likes of Keith Kunz, Pete Willoughby, and Keith Kunz Motorsports. Toyota and TRD value this truly special partnership that has resulted in 12 national midget championships dating back to 2013.”
Toyota-powered drivers have now won 17 overall national midget series championships since 2013 with nine in USAC competition, seven in POWRi and one in Xtreme Outlaw.
To date, 13 different Toyota-powered drivers have combined to win 36 national midget feature events in 2023 with six USAC races still remaining.
Toyota racing PR
