Gavin Miller cruises to Meents Memorial night 1 victory
Photo by Jacy Norgaard
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — He broke through to Victory Lane for the first time in August. Now, Gavin Miller is a two-time Feature winner with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.
The 16-year-old from Allentown, PA, wheeled the Eibach Racing, LynK/Toyota #97 for Keith Kunz Motorsports to I-44 Riverside Speedway Victory Lane in the first round of competition of the 19th annual Charlene Meents Memorial Friday night.
“I knew we had the speed all night – practice, Qualifying, Heat Race,” Miller said. “Just put a whole night together, really.”
The win vaulted him back into third-place in the Series points standings, where he now sits only 44 points out of the lead with one race left. Now a five-time winner between all three national Midget tours in 2023, Miller briefly reflected on his path to national Midget racing success since his debut in the division last year.
“I’m kind of at a loss for words; I feel like I’ve come so far in a short amount of time,” he said.
From inside Row 2 on the starting grid, Miller took advantage of a restart two laps in, throwing a slider on Karter Sarff to take second on Lap 3 and making beeline for polesitter Zach Daum leading the way.
“The yellow came out, and I just had to think, ‘Calm down, I know I’m just as good around that top,’” Miller said. “I knew I’d eventually get by him, and that’s what I did.”
Miller threw a slide-job first in Turns 3-4, then Daum returned fire in 1-2. But Miller was prepared, crossing Daum over with speed out of Turn 2 to take the lead heading into Turn 3.
From there, Miller was smooth sailing out front while the battle for a spot in the top five raged on behind him.
A caution flag at the halfway point paused the action and restacked the field, where seventh-starting Daison Pursley restarted from fourth in line. He, Daum and Thursday night winner Ryan Timms soon locked themselves into a lap-after-lap battle for second as the sliders went flying in every corner.
“I knew that [Timms] was going to try and slide Zach into Turn 1; I kinda just minded my time on the bottom,” Pursley said. “It wasn’t great down there, but as long as people got racing up there, you could just kinda just inch your way forward, like I’ve seen Zach Daum do.”
Pursley soon broke away from his opponents with a slide-job on Daum on Lap 18. Though Daum came back at him on the inside in Turns 3-4, Pursley kept the momentum up as he switched to the top side and skated around him to complete the lap and take second away for good.
With only Miller ahead of him now, Pursley pinned the throttle and made slight headway on the leader but was unable to catch him by the checkered. Instead, the native Oklahoman settled for runner-up and his second podium finish of the season with the Series.
“It was just a matter of how fast-paced Gavin got out there and set,” Miller said. “He was clicking off laps consistently; he got to the lead very quickly and was able to calm down and control the race.”
Further back in the field, Daum continued his efforts to stay inside the top five but encountered heavy resistance from Jade Avedisian, Cannon McIntosh and Chase McDermand with the laps winding down. A four-car battle ensued inside of five-to-go, with more sliders and lap-after-lap passes being made amongst each of them.
Avedisian was able to seal the fourth spot with a return slide-job on McIntosh in Turns 3-4 on Lap 26 and some good defense of the position through Turns 1-2. McDermand also got a piece of McIntosh before the checkered, laying down a slide-job of his own to take the fifth spot.
By the checkered, McIntosh had slipped back to sixth with Daum back in seventh.
Avedisian’s fourth-place run was enough to add an additional six points to her advantage in the standings before the final race of the season on Saturday. She’ll take a 17-point lead over McIntosh into the season finale in pursuit of her first national Midget series championship in her first year with Keith Kunz Motorsports.
UP NEXT
The 2023 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota season comes to a close on Saturday, Oct. 14, in the second night of the 19th annual Charlene Meents Memorial at I-44 Riverside Speedway. In conjunction with the POWRi National and West Midget Leagues, another $5,000 check will be on the line for the Feature winner, followed by a special championship presentation following the night’s events.
RESULTS
Toyota Racing Development Feature (30 Laps): 1. 97-Gavin Miller[3]; 2. 19A-Daison Pursley[7]; 3. 67-Ryan Timms[4]; 4. 71-Jade Avedisian[5]; 5. 40-Chase McDermand[8]; 6. 08-Cannon McIntosh[6]; 7. 7U-Zach Daum[1]; 8. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[11]; 9. 21K-Karter Sarff[2]; 10. 25K-Taylor Reimer[19]; 11. 13-Elijah Gile[17]; 12. 14R-Jonathan Beason[10]; 13. 28-Ace McCarthy[16]; 14. 43-Gunnar Setser[13]; 15. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[15]; 16. 97K-Cooper Williams[21]; 17. 5U-Peter Smith[12]; 18. 98-Ryan Padgett[18]; 19. 19K-Riley Kreisel[14]; 20. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky[22]; 21. 7M-Kyle Jones[20]; 22. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[9]
Max Papis Innovations Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 Laps): 1. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[2]; 2. 13-Elijah Gile[3]; 3. 97K-Cooper Williams[1]; 4. 25K-Taylor Reimer[6]; 5. 15C-Carter Chevalier[5]; 6. 07-Cade Cowles[7]; 7. F5-Devin Simmons[10]; 8. 77-Bret Klabunde[11]; 9. 7-Shannon McQueen[4]; 10. 84S-Shaun Shapel[12]; 11. 7D-Michelle Decker[9]; 12. (DNS) 59-Bobby Chapa
Max Papis Innovations Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 Laps): 1. 28-Ace McCarthy[1]; 2. 98-Ryan Padgett[3]; 3. 51B-Joe B Miller[8]; 4. 27-Casey Friedrichsen[2]; 5. 7W-Henry Chambers[5]; 6. 1G-Caden McCreary[6]; 7. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky[11]; 8. 00-Ryder Laplante[10]; 9. 31K-Kyle Beilman[7]; 10. 77J-John Klabunde[9]; 11. 7M-Kyle Jones[4]
JDoyle Enterprises Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7U-Zach Daum[2]; 2. 97-Gavin Miller[4]; 3. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[5]; 4. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[1]; 5. 28-Ace McCarthy[3]; 6. 7W-Henry Chambers[6]; 7. 59-Bobby Chapa[10]; 8. F5-Devin Simmons[9]; 9. 77-Bret Klabunde[7]; 10. 84S-Shaun Shapel[8]
JDoyle Enterprises Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 71-Jade Avedisian[3]; 2. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[2]; 3. 40-Chase McDermand[4]; 4. 97K-Cooper Williams[5]; 5. 27-Casey Friedrichsen[1]; 6. 7M-Kyle Jones[6]; 7. 1G-Caden McCreary[9]; 8. 51B-Joe B Miller[7]; 9. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky[8]
Millenium Components Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 08-Cannon McIntosh[4]; 2. 19A-Daison Pursley[3]; 3. 14R-Jonathan Beason[5]; 4. 19K-Riley Kreisel[1]; 5. 13-Elijah Gile[6]; 6. 15C-Carter Chevalier[7]; 7. 07-Cade Cowles[8]; 8. 77J-John Klabunde[9]; 9. 25K-Taylor Reimer[2]
Millenium Components Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 21K-Karter Sarff[2]; 2. 67-Ryan Timms[4]; 3. 43-Gunnar Setser[1]; 4. 5U-Peter Smith[3]; 5. 98-Ryan Padgett[6]; 6. 7-Shannon McQueen[5]; 7. 31K-Kyle Beilman[9]; 8. 7D-Michelle Decker[8]; 9. 00-Ryder Laplante[7]
Hoosier Tire Qualifying 1: 1. 97-Gavin Miller, 00:11.177[1]; 2. 28-Ace McCarthy, 00:11.360[7]; 3. 7U-Zach Daum, 00:11.395[9]; 4. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg, 00:11.599[4]; 5. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold, 00:11.614[8]; 6. 7W-Henry Chambers, 00:11.995[6]; 7. 77-Bret Klabunde, 00:12.369[5]; 8. 84S-Shaun Shapel, 00:13.409[10]; 9. F5-Devin Simmons, 01:00.000[3]; 10. (DNS) 59-Bobby Chapa, 01:01.000
Hoosier Tire Qualifying 2: 1. 40-Chase McDermand, 00:10.916[5]; 2. 71-Jade Avedisian, 00:10.987[6]; 3. 19M-Ethan Mitchell, 00:11.227[7]; 4. 27-Casey Friedrichsen, 00:11.284[8]; 5. 97K-Cooper Williams, 00:11.330[1]; 6. 7M-Kyle Jones, 00:11.403[2]; 7. 51B-Joe B Miller, 00:11.412[9]; 8. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky, 00:11.617[3]; 9. 1G-Caden McCreary, 00:11.626[4]
Hoosier Tire Qualifying 3: 1. 08-Cannon McIntosh, 00:10.937[6]; 2. 19A-Daison Pursley, 00:11.123[8]; 3. 25K-Taylor Reimer, 00:11.154[3]; 4. 19K-Riley Kreisel, 00:11.213[4]; 5. 14R-Jonathan Beason, 00:11.258[1]; 6. 13-Elijah Gile, 00:11.429[5]; 7. 15C-Carter Chevalier, 00:11.593[9]; 8. 07-Cade Cowles, 00:12.015[2]; 9. 77J-John Klabunde, 00:12.282[7]
Hoosier Tire Qualifying 4: 1. 67-Ryan Timms, 00:11.025[4]; 2. 5U-Peter Smith, 00:11.059[2]; 3. 21K-Karter Sarff, 00:11.166[6]; 4. 43-Gunnar Setser, 00:11.383[7]; 5. 7-Shannon McQueen, 00:11.435[3]; 6. 98-Ryan Padgett, 00:11.639[9]; 7. 00-Ryder Laplante, 00:11.664[5]; 8. 7D-Michelle Decker, 00:11.781[8]; 9. 31K-Kyle Beilman, 01:00.000[1]
==========================================================================================================================
KUYKENDALL TAMES I-44 RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAYWITH POWRi OUTLAW MICRO NON-WING WIN
ByPOWRi PR - OKLAHOMA CITY< Okla. -- Tyler Kuykendall would hold steady on the high line to claim his second feature win of the year with the POWRi Outlaw Non-Wing Micro League presented by Engler Machine & Tool at I-44 Riverside Speedway, in Oklahoma City Oklahoma, in a fantastic Nineteenth Annual Charlene Meents Memorial presented by Driven2SaveLives support division twenty lap feature event.
Entering a stout field of twenty-four POWRi Outlaw Non-Wing Micro competitors, Joe B Miller would clock an overall hot lap quick-time with an 11.756-second lap as Brant Woods, Jim Woods, and Kale Drake would earn the heat racing victories as well as Jim Woods gaining the night’s high-point qualifier accolade after racing from sixth to first in heat race action.
Securing the front in the final five laps of the feature from starting fifth, Tyler Kuykendall would claim his second career micro win in an intense and action-packed feature. Staying close to the lead the whole race would find Alex Midkiff fly to finish runner-up from starting seventh with Brody Brown finalizing the podium placements from starting tenth.
“Those quick few changes we made before the feature rolled out really made the difference to be here tonight I believe,” said feature winner Tyler Kuykendall in the I-44 Riverside Speedway victory lane ceremonies. Adding, “I’m so thankful to be here in victory lane with the help of everyone to make this car so fast.”
Remaining within the contending pack all race would find hard-charger Dalton Burley fly past fifteen competitors to finish fourth as the one-time leader of five laps Jim Woods would round out the top-five finishers after starting pole position in the POWRi Outlaw Non-Wing Micro League feature event at I-44 Riverside Speedway in support of the Meents Memorial.
POWRI OUTLAW
Toyota Racing Development A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 8K-Tyler Kuykendall[5]; 2. 11-Alex Midkiff[7]; 3. 15-Brody Brown[10]; 4. 55-Dalton Burley[19]; 5. 83W-Jim Woods[1]; 6. 5P-Luke Porter[14]; 7. 77-Cooper Sullivan[17]; 8. 66-Jayden Clay[20]; 9. 29-Trent Dixon[24]; 10. 17-Talon McConnell[23]; 11. 83-Brant Woods[3]; 12. 01-Kaden Weger[11]; 13. 24U-Tristan Ullstrom[18]; 14. 51B-Joe B Miller[12]; 15. 14J-Jett Nunley[4]; 16. 59-Bobby Chapa[16]; 17. 5W-Cody Wiegert[21]; 18. 3G-Lathe Griggs[8]; 19. 26K-Kale Drake[2]; 20. 29X-Mason Daugherty[15]; 21. 5-Ryder McCutcheon[6]; 22. 24T-Glenn James Bratti[9]; 23. 16B-Brady Amos[13]; 24. 101-Tobias Midkiff[22]
Advanced Racing Suspension Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 83-Brant Woods[1]; 2. 8K-Tyler Kuykendall[2]; 3. 3G-Lathe Griggs[4]; 4. 15-Brody Brown[6]; 5. 29X-Mason Daugherty[3]; 6. 59-Bobby Chapa[5]; 7. 66-Jayden Clay[7]; 8. 101-Tobias Midkiff[8]
Auto Meter Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 83W-Jim Woods[6]; 2. 5-Ryder McCutcheon[2]; 3. 14J-Jett Nunley[5]; 4. 16B-Brady Amos[1]; 5. 5P-Luke Porter[4]; 6. 55-Dalton Burley[3]; 7. 77-Cooper Sullivan[8]; 8. 17-Talon McConnell[7]
Schure Built Suspension Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 26K-Kale Drake[3]; 2. 11-Alex Midkiff[2]; 3. 24T-Glenn James Bratti[4]; 4. 01-Kaden Weger[5]; 5. 51B-Joe B Miller[6]; 6. 5W-Cody Wiegert[1]; 7. 24U-Tristan Ullstrom[8]; 8. 29-Trent Dixon[7]
=========================================================================================================================
JUNIOR SPRINT MICROS
Industrial Machine Company A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 81-Braxton Flatt[2]; 2. 11S-Sawyer McBride[1]; 3. 9S-Braxton Stewart[4]; 4. 14-Chase Buntin[3]; 5. 27-Brody Stewart[7]; 6. 12P-Collin Pruitt[5]; 7. 4G-Ryker Griggs[9]; 8. 98-Mason McBride[6]; 9. 55K-Kayden Anderson[10]; 10. 90-Maxwell Norick[12]; 11. 22-Ryker Jones[13]; 12. 80-Braxton Helms[8]; 13. 65-Bryton Buoy[11]; 14. 57-Kaden Gramm[15]; 15. 10-Bentley Helms[18]; 16. 21-Tanner Thompson[14]; 17. 56L-Giovanni Lucito[16]; 18. 66-Buoy Brooks[17]; 19. 82-Peyton Buntin[19]
Advanced Racing Suspension Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 9S-Braxton Stewart[1]; 2. 12P-Collin Pruitt[3]; 3. 14-Chase Buntin[6]; 4. 4G-Ryker Griggs[4]; 5. 80-Braxton Helms[7]; 6. 55K-Kayden Anderson[8]; 7. 57-Kaden Gramm[2]; 8. 21-Tanner Thompson[9]; 9. 56L-Giovanni Lucito[10]; 10. 82-Peyton Buntin[5]
Auto Meter Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 81-Braxton Flatt[4]; 2. 98-Mason McBride[1]; 3. 11S-Sawyer McBride[9]; 4. 27-Brody Stewart[5]; 5. 90-Maxwell Norick[3]; 6. 65-Bryton Buoy[8]; 7. 22-Ryker Jones[7]; 8. 66-Buoy Brooks[6]; 9. 10-Bentley Helms[2]
Our Partners
.png)
