By Jordan DeLucia, Xtreme Midget Series (Oklahoma City, OK) -- He’s been one of the most dominant forces in Dirt Midget racing this season, and he’s just broken through with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jacy Norgaard
Cannon McIntosh led the last 22 laps of Friday’s portion of the 18th annual Charlene Meents Memorial at I-44 Riverside Speedway to collect his 15th national Midget win of the year. The victory also extended the different winners streak to nine in the first nine Xtreme Outlaw races.
Despite his success at the national level this year, McIntosh said it’s been tough sledding for he and the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports team as of late. They experienced engine issues in Thursday’s Feature event at Port City Raceway, taking them out of the running while contending for a win at the head of the field, but rebounded nicely with a backup car and a trip to Victory Lane Friday night.
“I feel like going into every Xtreme race, I had a shot to win and had a car to win; we just haven’t been able to put the cap on it,” McIntosh said. “To be able to rebound tonight and finally get the monkey off of my back was a good feeling.”
Taking the green from inside Row 2, McIntosh put himself in good position early. Inside of the first 10 laps, he was already chomping at the bit for the lead, hounding the tail tank of polesitter Jonathan Beason. Using the top side around the 1/5-mile track, McIntosh wound-up the momentum and surged past Beason to take the lead on Lap 9.
“I felt like we were carrying momentum up there,” McIntosh said. “The top seemed to have a little bit more speed early.
“Beason having to lift and getting tight there in the center – it was a little tricky getting by him with him running a wide lane down the strightaway. But once I was able to get by him, I was good.”
From there on out, it was all McIntosh out front. The 19-year-old from Bixby, OK, led each of the remaining 22 laps to score the $4,000 grand prize and complete a 180-degree turnaround from their 24th-place DNF on Thursday night.
“When we’re down, I think it’s been how well we’re able to turn it around and how fast we’re able to do that,” McIntosh said. “We turn things around pretty quick when things aren’t as good. Recently, we’ve struggled a little bit and kinda got out of rhythm. But tonight, we got back on the horse, pulled the backup car down and did what we needed to do.”
While McIntosh had things covered out front, the battle for position raged on behind him. Daison Pursley was going on a mission through the top-10, picking off one car every few laps until he was at the front of the field with only 10 laps to go.
“I felt like the top came in pretty good later in the race; the bottom slicked-off and I was kinda just the first one up there trying it,” Pursley said. “That definitely played to my advantage.”
Wading through several caution flags and restarts, Pursley held strong in battling with the top-five and was able to make the move for second on Beason after the final restart with three-to-go.
“I just had to be really patient with Beason,” Pursley said. “I probably waited a little bit too long; later in the race like that, you kinda gotta go. I feel like I kinda waited too long for Beason.”
Similar in style to Pursley’s runner-up finish, Chance Crum came to the front in similar fashion. From 15th on the starting grid, Crum drove the Rudeen Racing entry to the front in a hurry, advancing 10 spots inside of the first 20 laps.
“That middle lane started coming in toward the end,” Crum said. “In the second half of the race, I was able to keep my momentum up through there.
“A little bit of attrition helped, and I just kinda survived until the end.”
With three laps left, Crum was riding fifth, battling for position in a hornet’s nest with Beason, Pursley and Gavin Miller. He got around Miller for fourth on Lap 29 and nipped Beason at the finish line for the last podium spot – the second of his Xtreme Outlaw career.
“It definitely got hairy’ they were racing really hard,” Crum said. “A couple of them bounced-off each other, I think, so I was just trying to be patient, wait for a lane to open up, and it did.
“We were able to sneak by one, and then get Beason there at the line by like a foot. It was really close.”
Further back in the field was the scene for the two leading drivers in Xtreme Outlaw points – Zach Daum and Bryant Wiedeman. Daum was up front for the first half of the race, riding fifth when he suddenly lost power on his Bundy Built Motorsports #9m coming to the green on a Lap 18 restart.
He went to the work area, made repairs under yellow and was able to race back to a 12th-place finish. Meanwhile, Wiedeman was quietly advancing positions, but was only able to make up five points on Daum in the points standings with a ninth-place finish.
UP NEXT
The inaugural season finale for the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets hits I-44 Riverside Speedway Saturday night, Oct. 15, in the conclusion of the 18th annual Meents Memorial, where a champion will be crowned. Tickets will be on sale at the track on Saturday, and if you can’t be there in person, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.
RESULTS
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 08-Cannon McIntosh[3]; 2. 71-Daison Pursley[8]; 3. 26-Chance Crum[15]; 4. 55-Jonathan Beason[1]; 5. 71M-Gavin Miller[6]; 6. 97-Brenham Crouch[17]; 7. 7U-Kyle Jones[12]; 8. 71K-Dominic Gorden[21]; 9. 01-Bryant Wiedeman[14]; 10. 32T-Trey Marcham[22]; 11. 21-Emilio Hoover[24]; 12. 9M-Zach Daum[2]; 13. 84-Jade Avedisian[4]; 14. 25K-Taylor Reimer[5]; 15. 17B-Austin Barnhill[10]; 16. 11A-Andrew Felker[20]; 17. 57-Daniel Whitley[19]; 18. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[16]; 19. 71E-Mariah Ede[23]; 20. 81G-Greyson Springer[18]; 21. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[7]; 22. 61-Kale Drake[13]; 23. 06-Rylan Gray[9]; 24. 14J-Jody Rosenboom[11]
Last Chance Showdown 1 (12 Laps): 1. 97-Brenham Crouch[3]; 2. 57-Daniel Whitley[1]; 3. 71K-Dominic Gorden[2]; 4. 14X-Chelby Hinton[4]; 5. 71E-Mariah Ede[10]; 6. 72J-Sam Johnson[6]; 7. 80-Josh Hawkins[5]; 8. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky[8]; 9. 80HD-Joshua Hanna[9]; 10. 52J-Corey Joyner[7]; 11. 29K-Brian Harvey[11]
Last Chance Showdown 2 (12 Laps): 1. 81G-Greyson Springer[2]; 2. 11A-Andrew Felker[1]; 3. 32T-Trey Marcham[6]; 4. 21-Emilio Hoover[7]; 5. 50-Daniel Adler[4]; 6. 00-Talin Turner[8]; 7. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[3]; 8. 8X-Austin Shores[5]; 9. 59-Richard Harvey[9]; 10. 40-Chase McDermand[10]
Toyota Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 9M-Zach Daum[2]; 2. 08-Cannon McIntosh[4]; 3. 61-Kale Drake[1]; 4. 7U-Kyle Jones[3]; 5. 11A-Andrew Felker[5]; 6. 80-Josh Hawkins[6]; 7. 32T-Trey Marcham[7]; 8. 00-Talin Turner[10]; 9. 80HD-Joshua Hanna[8]; 10. 29K-Brian Harvey[9]
TJ Forged Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 84-Jade Avedisian[3]; 2. 06-Rylan Gray[5]; 3. 14J-Jody Rosenboom[6]; 4. 01-Bryant Wiedeman[2]; 5. 81G-Greyson Springer[7]; 6. 8X-Austin Shores[9]; 7. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[1]; 8. 97-Brenham Crouch[4]; 9. 59-Richard Harvey[8]
Shoenfeld Headers Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 71-Daison Pursley[1]; 2. 55-Jonathan Beason[3]; 3. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[4]; 4. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[5]; 5. 57-Daniel Whitley[2]; 6. 14X-Chelby Hinton[6]; 7. 72J-Sam Johnson[8]; 8. 21-Emilio Hoover[7]; 9. 71E-Mariah Ede[9]
DMI Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 17B-Austin Barnhill[1]; 2. 25K-Taylor Reimer[3]; 3. 71M-Gavin Miller[4]; 4. 26-Chance Crum[2]; 5. 71K-Dominic Gorden[5]; 6. 50-Daniel Adler[6]; 7. 52J-Corey Joyner[7]; 8. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky[8]; 9. 40-Chase McDermand[9]
Qualifying 1 (3 Laps): 1. 08-Cannon McIntosh, 00:10.835[9]; 2. 7U-Kyle Jones, 00:11.024[5]; 3. 9M-Zach Daum, 00:11.066[3]; 4. 61-Kale Drake, 00:11.093[10]; 5. 11A-Andrew Felker, 00:11.109[1]; 6. 80-Josh Hawkins, 00:11.563[7]; 7. 32T-Trey Marcham, 00:11.612[6]; 8. 80HD-Joshua Hanna, 00:11.667[4]; 9. 29K-Brian Harvey, 00:14.334[2]; 10. 00-Talin Turner, 00:30.000[8]
Qualifying 2 (3 Laps): 1. 97-Brenham Crouch, 00:10.773[2]; 2. 84-Jade Avedisian, 00:10.902[9]; 3. 01-Bryant Wiedeman, 00:10.948[6]; 4. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg, 00:11.077[4]; 5. 06-Rylan Gray, 00:11.100[5]; 6. 14J-Jody Rosenboom, 00:11.271[3]; 7. 81G-Greyson Springer, 00:11.404[8]; 8. 59-Richard Harvey, 00:30.000[1]; 9. 8X-Austin Shores, 00:30.000[7]
Qualifying 3 (3 Laps): 1. 19M-Ethan Mitchell, 00:10.935[2]; 2. 55-Jonathan Beason, 00:10.960[8]; 3. 57-Daniel Whitley, 00:10.961[9]; 4. 71-Daison Pursley, 00:10.984[4]; 5. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold, 00:11.080[6]; 6. 14X-Chelby Hinton, 00:11.237[1]; 7. 21-Emilio Hoover, 00:11.272[5]; 8. 72J-Sam Johnson, 00:11.294[7]; 9. 71E-Mariah Ede, 00:11.514[3]
Qualifying 4 (3 Laps): 1. 71M-Gavin Miller, 00:10.903[8]; 2. 25K-Taylor Reimer, 00:11.120[3]; 3. 26-Chance Crum, 00:11.140[5]; 4. 17B-Austin Barnhill, 00:11.147[6]; 5. 71K-Dominic Gorden, 00:11.150[7]; 6. 50-Daniel Adler, 00:11.439[1]; 7. 52J-Corey Joyner, 00:11.744[2]; 8. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky, 00:11.787[9]; 9. 40-Chase McDermand, 01:00.000[4]
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JOHN BARNARD WINS WITH POWR1OUTLAW MICRO LEAGUE IN MEENTS MEMORIAL NIGHT ONE
By POWRi PR (Oklahoma City, OJ) -- John Barnard would secure not only rookie of the year honors but also a season championship as well as notching his first career feature victory in the Friday night feature event with the POWRi Outlaw Micro League presented by Engler Machine and Tool in support of the Night One in the Meents Memorial at I-44 Riverside Speedway.
Entering a stout field of competitors in the POWRi Outlaw Micro League at I-44 Riverside would find John Barnard start the night quickest with an 11.432-second hot-lap time as Talin Turner would earn the heat race victory.
Racing into the feature event would witness high-point qualifier and inside front-row starter Talin Turner battle with the front-row companion and point-leader John Barnard as Barnard would seize the lead on the opening lap.
Maintaining perfection on the track as well as his front-end run for the entire feature, John Barnard would not be denied in victory while claiming his first career league win in an action-packed feature with Talin Turner resulting in a terrific runner-up finish.
“I was just trying to hit my marks and just see how good my car was. We’ve been trying so hard to get a win and it makes this one even more special,” said John Barnard in the I-44 Riverside Speedway winner’s circle.
Staying in the hunt for the front all event, Daryn Stark would notch a solid third with Hayden Harvey placing fourth as Brant Woods rounded out the top-five finishers in the POWRi Outlaw Micro League presented by Engler Machine and Tool feature in support of Night One in the Meents Memorial at I-44 Riverside Speedway.
I-44 Riverside Speedway | POWRi Outlaw Micro League | 10/14/22:
Hoosier Racing Tire Quickest Hot-Lap Time: B8-John Barnard (11.432)
Advanced Racing Suspensions Heat Race 1 Winner: 10T-Talin Turner
MVT Services High Point Qualifier: 10T-Talin Turner
Toyota Racing Development Hard Charger: 5E-Bobby Chapa
Lucas Oil/Engler Machine A-Feature Winner: B8-John Barnard
Lucas Oil A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. B8-John Barnard[2]; 2. 10T-Talin Turner[1]; 3. 55S-Daryn Stark[3]; 4. 55H-Hayden Harvey[5]; 5. 83-Brant Woods[4]; 6. 5E-Bobby Chapa[8]; 7. 28S-Daniel Smith[7]; 8. 5W-Cody Wiegert[6].
Advanced Racing Suspension Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 10T-Talin Turner[3]; 2. 83-Brant Woods[1]; 3. 55S-Daryn Stark[5]; 4. B8-John Barnard[8]; 5. 55H-Hayden Harvey[7]; 6. 5W-Cody Wiegert[4]; 7. 28S-Daniel Smith[2]; 8. 5E-Bobby Chapa[6].
Next up for the POWRi Outlaw Micro League presented by Engler Machine and Tool will be the continuation of the end-of-season Oklahoma swing with a final visit to I-44 Riverside Speedway on October 15 in the Annual Meents Memorial.
Follow along for more information such as race recaps, updates, full results, and press releases online at http://www.powri.com, on Twitter & Instagram at @POWRi_Racing, or on Facebook at POWRi.
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POWRI NON-WING MICROS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 83-Brant Woods[5]; 2. 54-Trey Gropp[8]; 3. 55A-Aidan Lewis[3]; 4. 5E-Bobby Chapa[10]; 5. 78C-Chance Cody[16]; 6. 2B-Brandon Boggs[2]; 7. 42-Luke Anderson[11]; 8. 21C-Case Piper[4]; 9. 10K-Koda Oller[18]; 10. 55-Dalton Burley[12]; 11. (DNF) 16-Brady Amos[17]; 12. (DNF) 18-Brayden Kongdara[6]; 13. (DNF) 20X-David Nix[14]; 14. (DNF) 16X-Danny Davidson[13]; 15. (DNF) 17-Talon McConnell[1]; 16. (DNF) 60-Bryan Nebgen[19]; 17. (DNS) 28S-Daniel Smith; 18. (DNS) 8-Coleten Agee; 19. (DNS) 11T-Taitum McElvany; 20. (DQ) 26-Chase McDermand[7]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Talon McConnell[2]; 2. 21C-Case Piper[1]; 3. 26-Chase McDermand[6]; 4. 5E-Bobby Chapa[4]; 5. 16X-Danny Davidson[3]; 6. 78C-Chance Cody[5]; 7. 10K-Koda Oller[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2B-Brandon Boggs[2]; 2. 83-Brant Woods[4]; 3. 54-Trey Gropp[5]; 4. 42-Luke Anderson[6]; 5. 20X-David Nix[1]; 6. (DNF) 60-Bryan Nebgen[3]; 7. (DNS) 11T-Taitum McElvany
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 55A-Aidan Lewis[2]; 2. 18-Brayden Kongdara[5]; 3. 28S-Daniel Smith[4]; 4. 55-Dalton Burley[3]; 5. 8-Coleten Agee[6]; 6. 16-Brady Amos[1]