It had been nearly nine years since the last occasion of an Arizona native becoming a first-time USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature winner.

On Wednesday night, the last and the newest Arizonans to grab a victory with the series were standing side-by-side in victory lane as the winning driver and car owner following the 14th running of the Chad McDaniel Memorial at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds Raceway in Beloit, Kansas.

The driver, Drake Edwards (Peoria, Arizona), took the lead on the second lap and paced the remaining 29 circuits at the wheel of his car owned by Chad Boat (Phoenix, Arizona) to capture victory in Wednesday’s second round of Mid-America Midget Week.

As a driver himself, Boat became a first-time winner with the series in August of 2016. Interestingly, Boat also scored his first victory during Mid-America Midget Week in neighboring Nebraska at Fairbury’s Jefferson County Speedway.

For Boat, it was his 45th career series win as a USAC National Midget car owner, tying him with USAC Hall of Famers Bob & Gene Shannon, who tallied 45 victories between 1958-1976.

As for Edwards, it was his first after he had been knocking on the door for victory throughout his initial full-time season with the series, finishing third twice at Sweet Springs and Kokomo, a race in which he led a race-high 13 laps.

But on Wednesday night, the 2024 USAC Western States Midget series runner-up and Rookie of the Year made his mark on the national scene and stamped his name in the record books in just his 23rd career USAC National Midget feature start.

“I was really worried about taking all year long or not even getting (a win) at all,” Edwards stated. “This is a really, really hard deal and all these guys are really good. It’s been a learning curve, for sure. I think it’s huge. Just for me, it’s a confidence booster. I think we can carry this momentum onto the rest of the week and hopefully the rest of the year and maybe pick up a few more of these things.”

In the process, Edwards sported the No. 83 on his ride, which won its first USAC National Midget feature in nearly 47 seasons. Bobby Olivero was the most recent, taking Bill Raney’s No. 83 to the win on August 12, 1978 at Ohio’s Limaland Motor Speedway.

USAC National Midgets Results: Mitchell County Fairgrounds Chad McDaniel Memorial

1. Drake Edwards (1)

2. Cannon McIntosh (4)

 3. Jacob Denney (11)

4. Logan Seavey (6)

5. Justin Grant (2)

6. Kale Drake (9)

7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13)

8. Gavin Miller (5)

9. Daison Pursley (3)

10. Chelby Hinton (8)

11. Hayden Reinbold (14)

12. Steven Snyder Jr. (7)

13. Cale Coons (19)

14. Gunnar Setser (15)

15. Brecken Reese (17)

16. Ethan Mitchell (12)

17. Zack Merritt (18)

18. Caiden Warren (23)

19. Trey Zorn (21)

20. Mark Chisholm (20)

21. Kyle Jones (16)

22. Mack Leopard (10)

23. Blake Spicer (24)

24. Jeff Stasa (22). NT