Sprint Car World Loses It’s Female Kyle Larson as Gruelling Injury Forces 18-Year-Old Sensation to Press Pause on Her Career

"The sky is the limit for Jade," NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell remarked last year about a certain dirt racer. Jade Avedisian made jaws drop in 2023 when she won five Xtreme Outlaw midget races to become the first woman to win a national midget championship. Not only did she break down gender barriers, but she also shattered walls of speed—she easily outpaced her rival Zach Daum with fewer mistakes and greater consistency en route to the national midget title.

However, we may not see this Kyle Larson-esque speedster come back for a while. Avedisian's 2024 run was considerably less sensational than 2023, as she finished in the top five three times and made the podium once. Now, another tremendous setback has afflicted the teenager in the form of a health update, which will at least temporarily pause her promising racing pursuits.

Ailing health obstructing Jade Avedisian's windshield Raised in California's Central Valley as the daughter of a sprint car crew member, Jade Avedisian has visited dirt racetracks since she was a child. She watched Kyle Larson establish his racing career and soon embarked on her own milestones. At the age of 9, she won a national quarter-midget championship. Then Avedisian claimed a winged Outlaw micro sprint race at the 2020 John Hinck Championship in Missouri. She had only raced in that division once before and had no expectations, so everyone was shocked to see Avedisian leaving the racetrack with the $20,000 check in her hand. Now she drives under Keith Kunz Motorsports, the same team for whom Bell and Larson have driven midgets before.

Soon after clinching the national midget championship, Toyota signed her on to compete full-time in the Toyota GR Cup Series driving a Mobil 1-sponsored Toyota GR-86 car this year. However, Jade Avedisian's transition from dirt oval racing to asphalt racing in a sports car had to screech to a halt. The promising racer posted a concerning health update on X: "It's with a heavy heart that I've decided to step away from dirt racing for the rest of the year. I've been dealing with an injury since BC39 and despite working with amazing doctors, I need time to heal properly and avoid making things worse...I need to get my body back to 100%." Yet she dropped a sliver of hope: "I know I have years ahead of me, and this is the best decision."

Although Jade Avedisian recovered from a concussion she suffered in a hard crash at Farmer City Raceway in April, this new hindrance has proven crippling for her career. However, the 18-year-old's dreams are young, and there is a long way to go, as Kyle Larson pointed out earlier this year. "She's young. So she's got a long runway to keep improving and hopefully there is not much pressure on her or anything so she can just kind of be herself to learn and develop and get the experience she needs." He added, "She's got a very aggressive style and she's fun to watch," he said.

Larson's approval of her aggressive style speaks volumes, as Avedisian emulates her role model in handling situations.

As calm as the nascent storm Right before a thunderstorm, there is an overwhelming sense of calm. Similarly, Jade Avedisian does not react immediately to tense situations but waits to unleash a storm in her racing pursuits. This attitude closely resembles Kyle Larson 's behavior whenever tensions escalate with another racer. Denny Hamlin nudged him to seize the victory at Pocono last year. Although Larson expressed his severe displeasure, he never confronted Hamlin for a tussle. Avedisian faced a similar situation at Northern California's Placerville Speedway in 2022. Her No. 84 car got squeezed into the wall and suddenly went flipping. Her car rode the fence and cartwheeled several times before disappearing out of view.

The driver behind the wreck is Tanner Karrick, driving the No. 71 dirt midget car. After emerging from her damaged vehicle, Jade Avedisian marched to the 71 as the audience waited for a heated confrontation. Yet Avedisian simply exchanged a fist bump and walked away. As a 16-year-old, she had already honed her ability to handle situations well. "Obviously, I was pretty mad, but you can't lose your head in those situations," she said of the Placerville incident. "As much as I wanted to go scream at him, you can't. (The fist bump) was my best option to still do something but not blow it up to where people were saying, 'What is she doing?' If it's a bad look for me, it's a bad look for your sponsors as well."

Evidently, Jade Avedisian's cool composure is one of a kind. Her fiery mindset may propel her back to racing in no time, as soon as her ailing health recovers.