BELLEVILLE, Ill. – Although he’s not listed as an official rookie, there is no doubt that 16-year old Cannon McIntosh is one of the nation’s fastest-rising young guns with superstar potential.
Driving for his family-owned operation, Dave Mac Motorsports, McIntosh has committed to chase the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League championship this season.
McIntosh’s title pursuit will begin next week inside his home state, during the sixth annual Turnpike Challenge. A four-night adventure, the Bixby, Okla., native will literally be right at home, competing at three tracks he grew up racing at in the micro sprint ranks.
The action kicks off on Thursday, March 21 at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla., continues on March 22-23 at I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City and concludes on March 24 at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Okla., McIntosh’s true home track.
A champion of the iconic Tulsa Shootout in the Jr. Sprint division back in 2014, McIntosh’s ascension to the forefront of National Midget racing has been quick and sudden, almost overnight. He spent several years in the micro sprint ranks of Oklahoma before developing in the POWRi Lucas Oil West Midget League and now, racing on the national scale.
In 2017, McIntosh debuted with the POWRi West Midgets, competing in 12 features and earning his first-career victory at I-44 Riverside Speedway, which led to a fourth-place points finish on the strength of four top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
He ran 11 events in 2018, finishing sixth in points with a resume that included a win at Springfield (Mo.) Raceway, four top-five and six top-10 finishes.
Heading into next week’s Turnpike Challenge, McIntosh is red hot with back-to-back successes. In January, he made his Chili Bowl Midget Nationals debut, earning a top 10 on his preliminary night and making it to the B-Main on Saturday, falling just short of Rookie of the Year honors.
Just last week, McIntosh picked up his first-career national midget victory in DuQuoin, Ill., topping the USAC-sanctioned Shamrock Classic for a $4,000 score after passing defending NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series champion Logan Seavey.