Cannon McIntosh took the lead on the opening lap and dominated the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series season opener as he led a Toyota one-two-three finish at the Belleville Short Track, Friday night. Daison Pursley would finish second, with Gavin Miller coming home in third.
The win is the 37th national midget feature win for McIntosh, leaving him just one behind Kyle Larson for third all-time among Toyota-powered drivers. It is his third overall victory of the season after winning a pair of Xtreme Outlaw Midget events earlier this season. With tonight’s triumph, McIntosh now leads both the USAC and Xtreme series point standings.
On Friday night, once McIntosh took the lead it quickly became apparent that the only thing that would slow him down was a caution flag.
He would immediately start to pull away from the field, opening up more than a second lead over Keith Kunz Motorsports teammate Miller by lap four, as CB Industries driver Pursley moved into third.
McIntosh pulled out to a 1.633-second lead by lap 10, only to see a caution bunch the field with 20 laps remaining. On the restart, Pursley would get by Miller for second, but was unable to reel McIntosh back in.
A lap 12 caution flag would bunch the field once more, but by the end of lap 15, McIntosh had pulled out to a commanding 2.8-second lead. The race would then run caution-free over the final 18 laps with McIntosh pulling out to a 3.911-second lead at one point.
He held a 3.19-second advantage at the checkered flag with Pursley finishing second and Miller third. Three more Toyota-powered drivers would earn top-10 finishes with Zach Daum placing sixth, followed by Justin Grant in seventh and Kale Drake in tenth.
The USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series is back at Belleville Saturday night before closing out the weekend at Sweet Springs (Mo.) Motorsports Complex on Sunday.
Toyota Quotes:
Cannon McIntosh, Keith Kunz Motorsports: I knew it would be important to get a good start with all the work they had done at the bottom. I was able to get by Gavin on lap one, then I just tried to minimize mistakes the rest of the way. This KKM crew gives me a fast car every night. Thanks to my family and everyone who supports me – and I have to thank Toyota and Gearwrench for giving me this opportunity.”
Daison Pursley: CB Industries: “We had a good starting spot and I was able to make the most of it. I can’t thank everyone at CB Industries. It was a good first night and something to build on for the rest of the season.”
Toyota-Powered Drivers USAC Belleville Friday Feature Results
Daison Pursley – 2nd
Gavin Miller – 3rd
Zach Daum – 6th
Justin Grant – 7th
Kale Drake – 10th
Jacob Denney – 11th
Gary Taylor – 13th
Ashton Torgerson – 14th
Ryan Timms – 15th
Zach Wigal – 17th
Toyota USAC PR
