OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Gaige Weldon would race from the third starting position to earn his first feature victory with the POWRi National and West Midget Leagues at I-44 Speedway.
He led the final 10 laps of the 30-lap feature in Night Two of Throwdown in Thunder Town to conclude the 2026 points season.
Launching the feature field would find high-point qualifier Cash Lacombe, making his POWRi National Midget League debut, and Kale Drake leading the field to the green flag. Lacombe would gain the initial advantage as Drake encountered a rollover incident on the opening lap, ending the newly crowned champion’s evening.
Returning to green flag racing, Cash Lacombe would establish himself as the early leader, pacing the opening 20 laps as action intensified throughout the field. Gaige Weldon, Hank Soares, Karter Sarff, Frank Flud, Drew Sherman, Mack Leopard, Brecken Reese, Kyle Jones, and Cullen Hutchison would all battle for positions inside the top five.
Closing the gap on the leader as the feature progressed, Gaige Weldon would make his move on lap twenty, overtaking Cash Lacombe for the top spot. Lacombe would remain in contention as Karter Sarff and Drew Sherman continued to battle within striking distance of the leaders.
Maintaining his momentum around the top side of I-44 Speedway, Weldon would lead the remaining 10 laps to secure his first career POWRi National Midget League feature victory. Lacombe would finish an impressive second in his series debut, with Sarff completing the podium.
“This is unreal; it feels so cool to get the victory in the final season event with such a great team,” said Weldon. “I didn’t want to see that last caution, but I knew I just had to hit my marks because we had the fastest car out here all night.”
Remaining competitive throughout the feature, Sherman would finish fourth, while Jones would advance eight positions to round out the top five.
Toyota driver Kale Drake officially clinched his first POWRi National Midget League championship at I-44 Riverside Speedway Saturday night. It marks the first national midget championship for both Drake and the RMS Racing team.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 35L-Gaige Weldon[3]; 2. 8B-Cash Lacombe[1]; 3. 7U-Karter Sarff[7]; 4. 19AZ-Drew Sherman[6]; 5. 27X-Kyle Jones[13]; 6. 40X-Mack Leopard[14]; 7. 3U-Hank Soares[4]; 8. 83H-Cullen Hutchison[8]; 9. 40D-Drake Edwards[9]; 10. 938-Bradley Fezard[17]; 11. 20Q-Brecken Reese[5]; 12. 25-Frank Flud[10]; 13. 32C-Wout Hoffmans[11]; 14. 7-Reed Whitney[19]; 15. 8L-Cooper Miller[12]; 16. 6-Brylee Kilmer[21]; 17. 11S-Shyla Ernst[15]; 18. 76-Zane Lawrence[16]; 19. 98P-Ryan Padgett[18]; 20. 00-Hank Davis[23]; 21. 07-Tim Kent[20]; 22. 4-Kale Drake[2]; 23. 19K-Riley Kreisel[24]; 24. 27-Michael Hubert[25]; 25. (DNS) 75-Deekan McRoberts
