INDIANAPOLIS — Cannon McIntosh passed Chase McDermand on lap 38 of 39 and held off teammate Jade Avedisian by .191 seconds to win Sunday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series’ Driven2SaveLives BC39 at the Dirt Track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The victory is McIntosh’s 44th national midget feature win with Toyota, tying him with Buddy Kofoid for second all-time behind only Christopher Bell. It marks his 10th midget feature win this season with three of those coming in USAC competition.
“Coming to the last lap, I was able to make the pass and win,” McIntosh said. “To do this in honor of Bryan Clausen and win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a special feeling. I’m just thankful for this opportunity.”
Fellow Toyota driver Daison Pursley led the first two laps of the event with McDermand running second, Kevin Thomas Jr. in third, Kale Drake in fourth, McIntosh in fifth, Justin Grant sixth and Avedisian in seventh.
McDermand was able to move past Pursley for the top spot on lap three and held down the position for much of the way. Behind him, the top five remained intact through lap 19.
It wasn’t until lap 25 when McIntosh would eventually move into the top four with Avedisian in fifth. Three laps Avedisian would thread the needle between Drake and McIntosh to take over the third position.
On lap 33, McIntosh would make a key move going from fourth to second, while Avedisian would also get by Pursley for third.
As the leaders came through turn three heading toward the white flag to begin the final lap, McDermand would hop on the low side and McIntosh quickly went to the top, inching past McDermand at the flag stand. McIntosh would then dive underneath his rival between turns one and two to take the lead heading down the backstraight, while Avedisian would go around McDermand to take second then made a run for the lead coming out of turn four, but McIntosh was able to hold her off for the victory.
Behind the top three Pursley was fourth and Gavin Miller was fifth.
USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Ind., Sept. 29, 2024
FIRST ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 2. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Kyle Cummins (#3G Styres), 4. Shane Cottle (#44 4 Kings), 5. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 6. Zach Wigal (#89 CBI), 7. Mitchel Moles (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 8. Bryce Massingill (#40x McDermand), 9. Stephen Schnapf (#11s Martin), 10. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 11. Gunnar Setser (#43 Arnold), 12. Frankie Guerrini (#63 F & F), 13. Glenn Styres (#0G Styres), 14. Kameron Key (#21J TKH), 15. Briggs Danner (#98 Schneider), 16. Brady Bacon (#21H TKH), 17. Drake Edwards (#3p Petty), 18. Todd Hobson (#75AU Griffiths), 19. Kevin Cook (#77 Cook), 20. Karter Sarff (#21K Sarff), 21. Jeff Schindler (#8x Giddy Up). NT
SECOND ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 2. Thomas Meseraull (#7x Engler), 3. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 4. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 5. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Tyler Edwards (#14s Mounce-Stout), 7. Darin Naida (#3R Binks), 8. Kaylee Bryson (#58 Abacus), 9. Emerson Axsom (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 10. Kevin Newton (16TH Second Law), 11. C.J. Leary (#54 4 Kings), 12. Zach Daum (#7u Trifecta), 13. Joel Myers Jr. (#1 Crouch), 14. Alex Karpowicz (#19 Mounce-Stout), 15. Cody Beard (#7B Beard), 16. Adam Taylor (#7T ATM), 17. Cameron La Rose (#3J Petty), 18. Kyle Jones (#27x Joyner), 19. Davey Ray (#15J Wimmenauer). 2:33.837
ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER: (15 laps, top-8 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Wigal, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Tyler Edwards, 5. Kaylee Bryson, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Zach Daum, 8. Kameron Key, 9. Bryce Massingill, 10. Frankie Guerrini, 11. Kevin Newton, 12. Gunnar Setser, 13. Hayden Reinbold, 14. Joel Myers Jr., 15. Briggs Danner, 16. Alex Karpowicz, 17. Cody Beard, 18. Glenn Styres, 19. Darin Naida, 20. Stephen Schnapf. NT
FEATURE: (39 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cannon McIntosh (6), 2. Jade Avedisian (5), 3. Chase McDermand (1), 4. Daison Pursley (2), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 6. Logan Seavey (12), 7. Gavin Miller (9), 8. Thomas Meseraull (10), 9. Kameron Key (24), 10. Tyler Edwards (20), 11. Jerry Coons Jr. (15), 12. Zach Daum (23), 13. Ryan Timms (16), 14. C.J. Leary (22), 15. Zach Wigal (17), 16. Kyle Cummins (11), 17. Emerson Axsom (19), 18. Kale Drake (3), 19. Justin Grant (8), 20. Mitchel Moles (18), 21. Kaylee Bryson (21), 22. Ethan Mitchell (14), 23. Shane Cottle (13), 24. Kyle Jones (25-P), 25. Jacob Denney (7), 26. Hayden Reinbold (26-P).