To try to accomplish these twin goals has not always been easy. Cannon had shown the ability to race and win in 600 micros, and the time had come for him to move to midgets. It‘s a tough game, as it is, when you are trying to bring up a young racer, and even more so when it is a father and son operation. Both men admit there were growing pains that had to be worked through.
“It hasn‘t always been as easy as it is now,” Dave says. “There were some early moments where it would try my patience. We were a young team, and we had a 15-year-old kid driving. I was out hustling and working, trying to make the money to rebuild the car when he tore it up. I am a fireball of energy. So, we learned to not talk at times, and I learned to give him time to get out of the car and calm down.”
As Cannon assesses matters today, he says, “Throughout the years it was up and down. The first year we went midget racing it was tough. He was passionate, and when we didn‘t have good results, it showed. We have developed a better relationship. He has gotten more to the side of supporting me. He is learning along with me, but from a different side of it.”
Cannon was still winning in 600‘s, but the midget results tended to be what one might expect from a relative neophyte. In late August 2017 Cannon grabbed a win at the Mo-Kan Shootout at Missouri‘s Springfield Speedway, and over the next two seasons he posted credible runs and even got a taste of 360 sprint car racing.
In 2019, things really began to change and it all started with an impressive fifth-place finish in a Chili Bowl preliminary. While that might have flown under the radar for some, what happened next caused even knowledgeable fans to search for his name on the internet. On March 9, 2019 the USAC National series was set to compete indoors at the Southern Illinois Center for the Shamrock Classic. It was a race with a predictable roster of heavy hitters all geared up for a 50-lap feature on
the tight bullring.
Things did not start off well. A fuel leak during hot laps turned into a serious inferno that reached as high as Cannon‘s eyes. He escaped with a painful burn on his ankle and was forced to borrow crew member Grady Chandler‘s driving suit in order to compete. After all the passing points were tabulated, it was determined that he would start on the pole. Cannon would lead the first 19 circuits before being overhauled by Logan Seavey.
Undaunted, McIntosh would squeeze by Seavey on a restart to reclaim the lead and stayed out front for the final 20 rounds to score an improbable first USAC win. Dave McIntosh watched it all unfold and was incredulous. “It was a special night,” he says. “I can remember Grady Chandler running across the infield and jumping on the top of that race car with him. I was in tears.”
Recalling the moment, Cannon says, “That was crazy for us. Of course, you win your second USAC race and that raises the bar and the expectations way higher than they needed to be for as young as a team we were. But it was cool. We competed in a lot of races that year and we competed for wins. I ran second to Justin Grant at Gas City, so it was a pretty good year. It was kind of a coming out time for the team, and I tried to get my name out there. When you win the first USAC race of the year it‘s like all eyes are on you.”
Cannon had a solid year in both USAC and POWRi competition, and he ended on a high note. Competing in the famed Turkey Night Grand Prix, he led the most laps, finished second to Kyle Larson, and easily nailed down Rookie of the Race honors. He could hardly wait for the 2020 season to unfold.
Then his career got a real jolt. Cannon had dinner plans with his father when an unexpected thing happened. McIntosh is part of a large blended family. His parents had divorced, and were building new lives of their own but were both deeply committed to their children. Remembering the night, Cannon says. “Dad and I went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and my mom and her fiancé showed up too. I thought this is weird. Then we sat down and my dad reached out and shook my hand and said, ‘Congratulations, you are driving for Keith Kunz this year at the Chili Bowl.‘
“It was like, wow. I was dumbfounded. I didn‘t see it coming at all. They said they saw my performance at Turkey Night and that had opened their eyes, so Keith reached out to my dad.”
Then more magic happened.
The Chili Bowl is a unique experience for all racers, but when you are from Oklahoma the event takes on extra significance. McIntosh was a young man, but the race was already a big part of his life. “For as long as I can remember I have gone to the Chili Bowl,” Cannon says. “Me and my brother and my dad always went. I would get out of school and head to the races.”
As a young fan, he gravitated toward Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, more so the latter given that they shared the same home state. He had shown that he belonged given his 2019 performance, but now he was with Keith Kunz. He knew what was expected of him and, amazingly, wasn‘t fazed. “I enjoyed the high expectations,” he says. “That was so cool for me when I went to the Chili Bowl for the first time with them. You know there are eyes on you and you are expected to run well. It was like, alright, let‘s do this. In the back of your mind, you know you are going to have close to the best car every night.”