Jade wins at New Smyrna Saturday Night!
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Jade Avedisian’s No. 24 Mobil 1 Toyota featured some noticeable battle scars at the end of the World Series of Asphalt’s second Super Late Model feature Saturday evening.
The car also was parked in New Smyrna Speedway’s Victory Lane.
Avedisian rebounded from wall contact in the first race a day prior to secure her first checkered flag in a Super Late Model. Both events provided Avedisian several valuable lessons ahead of her ASA STARS National Tour debut Tuesday against many of the same drivers she has competed against so far this week.
With the World Series marking the beginning of a busy 2026 schedule for Avedisian, she wanted to set the tone by being efficient across her planned Super Late Model races. Prevailing Saturday against 26 other drivers validated the faith Avedisian had not only for Toyota and Donnie Wilson Motorsports, but in her own driving ability.
“[This win] definitely gives me a lot of confidence for sure,” Avedisian said. “Even if I didn’t win [on Saturday], I walked into this week with a lot of confidence knowing how well my team did last year at [New Smyrna]. [Saturday] helped my confidence, but I was already confident when I walked in this week.”
Saturday's 60-lap feature at New Smyrna Speedway marked Jade Avedisian‘s first victory in a Super Late Model.
Avedisian knows how to handle tough competition. She battled many veterans and fellow young prospects alike during her time in dirt midget competition, earning plenty of victories while also making the Chili Bowl Nationals A-Main in 2023.
The adjustment to pavement racing was never going to be seamless. While she could carry over some aspects of dirt racing onto asphalt tracks, approaching them would require Avedisian to adopt a different mindset, which involved leaning on the support system she had as a Toyota development driver.
Avedisian’s first venture into the World Series last year was as much a test session as it was a championship pursuit. The Pro Late Model prepared by Donnie Wilson was more than capable of contending for the title that year, but Avedisian needed to figure out her own limits in the car before winning races became a priority.
The results were solid for Avedisian. She completed every possible lap across the six Pro Late Model events and tallied three top-five finishes, enough for her to place fourth in the final standings.
One year has passed since her maiden World Series season, and Avedisian believes she has found her comfort zone in full-bodied stock cars. She has especially taken a liking to the Super Late Model, which possesses more raw speed compared to the Pro Late Model she drove throughout 2025.
“I feel like the list [of things I’ve learned] is 10 chapters long,” Avedisian said. “Maybe [the Super Late Model] fits a little bit closer to my style. What I grew up racing [had] a lot of horsepower. It’s been a great start to the week so far.”
Avedisian felt she could find Victory Lane in a Super Late Model after tallying three Pro Late Model wins since the end of 2024. The biggest hurdle standing in the way of her goal would be the competition, with the World Series Super Late Model field featuring plenty of established veterans and a handful of full-time NASCAR drivers.
A promising start for Avedisian on night one nearly turned disastrous. While attempting to pass veteran Spencer Davis on the outside after a restart, the two ended up making contact that sent Avedisian into the outside wall. Avedisian managed to save the car, but she was forced to settle for a disappointing seventh with the damage on her car.
Instead of lingering on how her World Series Super Late Model debut unfolded, Avedisian immediately turned her attention to the second race Saturday, one that would have a more positive outcome.
“I didn’t really care,” Avedisian said. “I woke up [in the] morning with a fresh mind, only worried about winning. That was the only thing on my mind, which was to qualify good and figure out a way to win [on Saturday]. It didn’t affect me at all.”
Davis would be one of the two drivers Avedisian needed to pass Saturday to reach the front of the field. Once she navigated her way around Davis, the next driver in front of Avedisian was Casey Roderick, whose resume included an ASA STARS National Tour title along with victories in the All American 400, Snowflake 100 and World Crown.
Utilizing the speed of Wilson’s car, Avedisian applied heavy pressure to Roderick’s back bumper after overtaking Davis, patiently waiting for the ideal opportunity to pounce. A strong run off Turn 2 allowed Avedisian to pull alongside Roderick before she swiftly took control of the lead after moving Roderick out of the groove.
The group of drivers Jade Avedisian bested for the victory Saturday included Super Late Model champions and other NASCAR prospects.
No other driver got within range of Avedisian through the rest of the 60-lap feature. She maintained a comfortable, steady pace through lapped traffic to cruise into Victory Lane with the scuff marks from the night before still visible, a reminder of what she and the team had to overcome.
Avedisian joined Becca Kasten as the only other woman to win in a Super Late Model during the World Series, but that milestone was not at the forefront of her thought process. The ASA STARS National Tour race was up ahead, an event that would feature one of the toughest fields Avedisian has faced in her brief pavement career to date.
“It’s definitely cool to put my name in that category,” Avedisian said. “I wake up every day striving to be the best that I can. I just care about winning. [Saturday] is done. My focus is on Tuesday and figuring out how to win that one.”
The onslaught of events does not let up for Avedisian once she is done with the World Series. She is set to contest the entire 12-race ASA STARS National Tour schedule and will also run a handful of events with Nitro Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series.
Nothing would make Avedisian happier than to emerge victorious after 200 laps Tuesday evening and build momentum heading into the rest of the season. Avedisian already has one win against stout competition at New Smyrna this week; she knows she can earn another.
Credit: NASCAR
