It’s been 76 years since Sara Christian created history and became the first female driver to race in NASCAR, back in 1949 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. She might not have won a race during her time, but she opened the door for many female drivers to come and compete in the male-dominated world of motorsports. One such young talent, Jade Avedisian, has followed in Christian’s footsteps and made history by winning the zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model race at New River All-American Speedway.
However, the manner in which she got the crown has become a topic of discussion. So much so that the co-owner of the CARS Tour Dale Jr. himself had to clear the air stating that Avedisian was the rightful winner.
The 18-year-old Toyota Racing development driver, Jade Avedisian, was fighting for a win at the CARS Tour last Sunday with T.J. DeCaire and Spire Motorsport’s Tristan McKee, in a 3-way tussle for the win. It was a nail-biter of a finish, with the three drivers deciding to give it their everything on the 2-lap dash to the finish line, DeCaire had a good launch off the line with Avedisian following closely behind him. DeCaire crossed the finish line first, also setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap with Avedisian securing a runner-up finish.
But as always, no motorsports story is complete without any twist in the tale, and it was true here as well, DeCaire was disqualified from the race when his car failed a post-race weight inspection check, and Avedisian was awarded the win. And this seemed to have caused a stir among the fans. Well, we saw something similar last year in the Cup Series race at Charlotte Roval. Alex Bowman was disqualified after the race, allowing Joey Logano to advance further in the playoffs and eventually clinch the championships.
So this was a sort of flashback for the fans from last year that led to a backlash against Avedisian’s win. But, unlike Logano, she was right up there contending for the win and therefore deserved the victory. Even Dale Jr. agreed with this sentiment. “Jade Avedisian…she was second in when they crossed the finish line but the leader got thrown out for left side weight…she was she was right on his a—…no matter how it falls down, you know, she earned it…so congratulations to her,” Earnhardt Jr, said on his podcast.”
𝑱𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 – @JadeAvedisian inherited the season-opening @CARSTour Pro Late Model victory, which makes her the first woman to win a CARS Tour race in the Tour’s 11-year history in any division.
She caught up with our @RobBlount to explain what it means pic.twitter.com/jdtR6ywJlQ
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) March 2, 2025
“Obviously I want to be the first to cross the finish line but a win is a win. I’ll take it. I’m very proud of everyone behind me. Everyone on this 24 car did a really great job over the past few days and it obviously shows,” Avedisian said when asked on the way she won the race.
Now that Dale Jr. had weighed in on this discussion the chatter and noise might boil down and allow Jade Avedisian to enjoy her moment. This is also a big win for TRD and Toyota camp. Hopefully, they can build on their run and elevate his racecraft. They can’t afford the rival camps such as Ford and Chevy to poach their young talent as they did with Hailie Deegan. And we all know how that story ended.
Overcoming Adversity: Jade Avedisian’s Path to Glory
This historic win was even more remarkable if you look at the challenges Avedisian has conquered to reach where she is. Back in 2023, after dominating in the Xtreme Outlaw Midget championship, she had a horrific accident at the City Circle where she flipped multiple times before slamming into the wall.
Then in 2024, she had a major crash in the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget-sanctioned BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which saw her sidelined from racing due to her injuries. For most racers of her age, such severe crashes might be the sign to hang their boots and walk away from the world of racing, but not Avedisian, she’s built different.
She not only recovered from her injuries and got back to racing again, but she performed well and secured a multi-year deal with Toyota in their developmental driver program. Opening up new and exciting avenues for her future.
“She showed incredible poise over the course of the last year and a half or so. We’re excited just to watch that continue to develop and see how she does,” Tyler Gibbs, Toyota Racing Development General Manager said when asked about her future.
“My goal is to make it to the NASCAR Cup Series racing on Sunday,” Avedisian admitted, “I’m going to leave it to the people at Toyota to hopefully put me in the right spot.” With the backing of a world-class manufacturer like Toyota, combined with her skills, she just might be able to the new face of female driver in the premier NASCAR series.
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