Gavin Miller, topped the field in the 30-lap main event, leading all but two laps to score his first Midget win of 2024 and third career Series victory.
Before Saturday, Miller, 17, of Allentown, PA, had not won a Midget race since Xtreme Outlaw Series championship weekend in 2023. He battled injury in the beginning of the season and was forced to take time off, but soon recovered and for championship weekend was paired with veteran KKM crew chief Beau Binder.
Together, the duo put together one of the car’s strongest showings of the season.
“I felt amazing, thanks to Beau with this new pairing coming into this weekend and knowing that he communicates very well to me, and all his drivers in general,” Miller said. “He got the car where I liked it, and it felt great.”
From the drop of the green, Miller was strong, passing polesitter Ethan Mitchell on the outside lane on Lap 3 — right-rear tire leaning hard on the 1/4-mile bullring’s cushion. Miller soon sped off, opening up a gap of over two seconds as he entered lapped traffic near the halfway point.
When second-place Corbin Rueschenberg brought out the caution with 14 laps complete, Miller was tasked with surviving the one and only restart of the race with Chase McDermand and Mitchell on his tail.
“I felt confident that I could put that car wherever I needed to be on that racetrack,” Miller said. “I didn’t really know where anybody was when I got to lapped traffic, but luckily the lapped cars were on the bottom, so I felt confident enough where I could just circle the top and they wouldn’t be able to slide me if they were behind me.”
Miller handled the restart with great skill, keeping the field behind him as McDermand and McIntosh — who made the pass on Mitchell to take third on the restart — began to mount a charge for the lead.
When McDermand and McIntosh engaged in a slidejob-filled battle for the runner-up spot in the closing laps, Miller pulled away and crossed underneath the checkered flags to secure the $5,000 check.
Shut out of Xtreme Victory Lane for almost a full year, Miller said he had begun to question his abilities in the driver’s seat, but kept his trust in the process and has finally made it back.