It went well. However, Robert still had the urge to race himself, and with Jason McDougall at the controls his car had shown some speed. He wasn‘t ready to immediately switch gears, but he wisely was willing to listen. “Cannon ran second to Kyle Larson at Millbridge,” Robert says. “And we had a lot of fun working together. We clicked. Then Dave talked to me in Florida. It didn‘t seem like he was happy with the direction of his program.”
Dalby joined the team for a bit of an audition at Monarch Motor Speedway in Texas, and then at I-44 Speedway in Oklahoma City. Over the course of four races, McIntosh ran up front, and Dalby consented to move to Oklahoma.
Thus far he is pleased with the move. “Dave is as good as you can ask for,” Robert says, “He does a great job running this team. He makes sure we have the tools we need to succeed and put these cars up front every night.” As for the transition from driver to mechanic, he feels this has gone smoothly. “I like it a lot. There is a lot of satisfaction. Here it‘s more of a team effort and that aspect is great.”
No, they didn‘t immediately set the world on fire. In fact, the annual Indiana Midget Week was a bit of a disappointment. When the team ran second on the opening night of the mini-series at Paragon Speedway there was a great deal of optimism, but it proved to be the high water mark. One thing McIntosh and Dalby both agree on is that there is nothing quite like going through a grueling run of races to reveal your strengths and weaknesses as a team.
To survive in racing, one must be resilient, and when the Dave Mac Motorsports team headed west to POWRi‘s midget week they were prepared to make some noise. Cannon won the second round of the series at Lincoln Speedway and, in the end, was the Illinois Speedweek champion. It was exactly what the doctor ordered, but it also underscored that success is always predicated on both attitude and hard work. “It was hard in the early part of the year,” Cannon admits. “It really was. Being in Keith‘s car last year we had the speed and we could compete every night. I was definitely frustrated, but at some point you have to give it up and say, ‘This is what we have, this is what I am in, and let‘s make the most of it and see what we can do.‘”
As he considers the turnaround in the program, Dalby is quick to share the glory. “It was a group effort,” he says. “We had only minimal races together, so we are going to get better every week. We are all getting better. I have to do my job of getting the car faster, and Cannon has to minimize his mistakes on the track.”
As for his driver, Dalby sees nothing but an upside. “He is very mature,” Robert says. “He does a good job of wanting to get better, and he is center focused. He knows what he needs to do to get better. He isn‘t like most 18-year-olds. He doesn‘t panic when things aren‘t going well.” For McIntosh, there is an obvious reason he is communicating well with his crew chief. “He has torn up plenty of stuff too,” Cannon said. “So, he knows what is going on because he has been around it. When he tells me something, he knows what he is talking about.”
As for his future, he just wants to stay in racing, and he is thankful for the support he gets from Toyota. “They have a good program and people to work with,” he says. “They have nutritionists and trainers, and we have people communicating with us at least once a week. They stay on top of it, and I am grateful to be a part of their program.”
As part of his development, he tested a stock car at Hickory Motor Speedway. But if he branches out beyond the midget at this moment, it is likely to be in a sprint car. He reached out to successful owners Steve and Carla Phillips and immediately scored a non-sanctioned win at Bloomington Speedway in June. While a USAC debut at Indiana‘s Plymouth Speedway ended in a mishap, he turned it around with two fine performances in back to back races at Lincoln Park Speedway.
When it comes to his opportunity in the Phillips car, McIntosh can hardly hide his excitement. “It‘s big for me,” he says. “This is a whole other window to open up. I‘m just learning about these big old things with all this power. Some people say it is just a big midget, but it is twice the power and heavier. It‘s an animal. I had to learn to use the throttle to turn the car. I just need to keep racing and learning.”
He knows where he wants to go.
Sure, he would like to follow in the footsteps of Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson, but he understands if he can help build this team it is always there for him. Oklahoma University student/cheerleader Taylor Reimer is revitalizing her racing career with the team and, along with Robert Dalby, crewmembers Robby McQuinn and Ritchie Burcik, a solid nucleus is in place. Cannon‘s girlfriend Brooklynn Nelson not only handles merchandise, but is a rock that is there to deal with the ups and downs in a racer‘s world.