After 3 close finishes, Cannon McIntosh hopes to become youngest Chili Bowl winner ever
TULSA, Okla. -- The Lucas Oil Chili Bowl presented by General Tire has a knack for turning young drivers into veterans. If they are going to be successful, young men and women have to mature quickly.
Oklahoma’s own Cannon McIntosh is a prime example of this.
“I think you mature fast in this sport," the Toyota-powered McIntosh told AutoRacingDigest.com. "You learn a lot of things very fast and learn how to have just a different mindset than you would doing anything else. It becomes a lifestyle.”
At 20 years old, McIntosh is already considered a veteran, this week competing in his fifth Chili Bowl, an event he’s attended every year since he was a 13-month-old infant. Wins here matter for anyone, but it has their own level of added importance when it’s in your own backyard.
“For me, it's the biggest race of the year," McIntosh said. "I grew up watching it here [from the SageNet Expo Center], so it’s the Super Bowl for me. You have the best of the best competing and when it's the biggest race for someone that's in the Cup series, that tells you what it would mean for someone who actually grew up here. There’s nothing more special than to be able to not only compete here but to win here.”
They call him "Mr. Monday"
McIntosh has made a name for himself as Mr. Monday, taking home three preliminary wins in four years. This year’s was the third after two consecutive in 2020 and 2021.
He took Monday’s victory by leading all 30 laps. The win did not come without pressure as with three laps to go, his right rear tire began to deflate, with rivals Chris Windom and Shane Golobic closing in on his tail.
"I ran Wednesday the first year I ran and then we transitioned the first year I ran for Keith (Kunz Motorsports),” McIntosh said about his repeated Monday prelim success, “ Everything was smooth and natural.
"So, I just felt like after we had such a good run the first year, there wasn’t a reason to change. I like getting the week out of the way early and being able to just relax and watch the races.”
Success on Saturday Nights
In 2020, McIntosh started racing for Keith Kunz Motorsports and made his presence known in the 2020 Chili Bowl finishing on the podium of Saturday’s big event only behind NASCAR stars Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. McIntosh was newly 17 at the time. In 2021, he nearly repeated, finishing fourth in Saturday’s A Main feature.
The time Mcintosh spent at KKM gave him the chance to focus only on driving, with everything else being run by a seasoned group.
“I was with the best team at the time and it was pretty much just up to me to perform on the racetrack,” McIntosh said. “It was a little different [than his prior experience with his family team], not really as much hands-on, just getting in and driving. I learned to pretty much race and not worry about anything else. So it was definitely a different experience.”
Having the time to focus on his racing alone led to success in the 2020 season, but where KKM is a great incubator for young talent, the allure of building something competitive at his home shop was hard to pass up.
Growth of DMD
After leaving KKM to go full-time for his family-owned team, McIntosh and his group went through growing pains in 2021 and early in 2022, all the way up to June. Then, as if a switch was flipped, the young driver went on a tear on the way to winning 15 national midget features, second only to Kofoid.
Cannon is, of course, one of the two other Toyota-supported drivers.
Robert Dalby joined the McIntosh family team last December as the family team transitioned from Dave Mac Motorsports (DMM) to Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports (DMD). Dalby and McIntosh had a natural connection that has become a building block of the team.
“It was different at first, just trying to get used to it and it wasn't always smooth right away," McIntosh said, “We definitely made a lot of changes since the start, with the cars, the staff and everyone involved. It's just a whole different ballgame now."
Naturally, more is expected out of McIntosh now that he’s back at the helm as lead driver and partial owner on a newer and smaller team. DMD is a young team that looks to be a major factor in the midget scene and to stay in Tulsa while doing so. There are no other race shops in the area.
“We've come a long way since I've come back,” McIntosh said. “And I think now, it's taken time, but we're to the point where we're a championship team and a team that can be there at the end and in the fight to win a race on any given night.”
The team will take this attitude into Saturday night's A Main event at the Chili Bowl -- with McIntosh ready to set history as the Bowl's youngest winner ever -- and throughout the season as they aim to win the USAC midget championship.