TULSA, Okla. — Cannon McIntosh was a man on a mission Monday night inside the Tulsa Expo Center.
McIntosh, who won the last two Monday Cummins Qualifying Night features during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, was unable to start his heat race due to a throttle return issue.Â
As a result, the Bixby, Okla., driver had to start at the back of the first of two C mains, where he would be required to finish in the top four if he wanted to keep racing.
McIntosh raced from 12th to finish second in his C main, earning a starting spot in the first of two B mains.
Starting 12th, McIntosh raced to a runner-up finish to lock himself into Monday’s Cummins Qualifying Night feature.Â
The determined driver started 19th in the 30-lap feature and finished sixth, making him the hard charger during Monday’s race. While the finish didn’t lock him into Saturday’s 55-lap finale, McIntosh secured a spot in one of Saturday’s B mains.
Seven drivers from each B main will advance to Saturday night’s finale.
• A trio of NASCAR Cup Series drivers competed Monday night, with two of them qualifying for the feature.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman was the highest finishing of the trio. After finishing fourth in his heat and winning his qualifier, Bowman earned a ninth-place finish in the feature. He’ll be in a C main on Saturday.
Next was Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, who finished 11th after a runner-up heat-race finish and a qualifier victory. Like Bowman, Briscoe’s Saturday will start in one of the C mains.
Lastly, was 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, who won his heat and finished fifth in his qualifier. He was unable to advance from his B main, where he finished eighth. He’ll start Saturday in an F main.
• Kevin Rudeen, owner of the Rudeen Racing sprint car driven by Cory Eliason, made his Chili Bowl debut Monday. His evening came to an end in the first C main when he flipped, resulting in a 15th-place finish.
Rudeen is fielding three Chili Bowl midgets with Eliason and Chance Crum also driving.
• Justin Grant’s victory in the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions was more than a confidence booster. The victory provides Grant with a guaranteed starting position in next year’s Chili Bowl main event.
Christopher Bell, who won the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions, has a guaranteed starting spot in Saturday’s main event based on that triumph. He begins his Chili Bowl adventure Thursday evening.
• After one day of racing, the World Wide Technology Raceway Flip Count sits at eight. Casey Hicks was the first driver to flip in the opening heat of the day. He recovered and managed to advance from his C main to finish 14th in the second B main.