Note: The Penske Entertainment editorial staff is looking back at the 10 biggest moments of 2024 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in this year-end series, with one installment appearing on the site per day in countdown fashion from Dec. 22-31.
Cannon McIntosh passed pole sitter Chase McDermand on the final lap of the 39-lap feature to win the Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by Avanti Windows & Doors on Sept. 30 at The Dirt Track at IMS. The USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship race was delayed by rain for one day.
McIntosh had finished second in the BC39 in 2022, in a preliminary feature race in 2023 and in the prelim feature on Sept. 27 on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 at IMS.
McIntosh, from Bixby, Oklahoma, earned $20,039 for what he called the biggest victory of his career.
The jubilation for McIntosh was met with dismay for McDermand, who dominated the 39-lap feature from the top starting spot.
He lost the lead in his family-owned No. 40 machine on Lap 1 to Pursley in the No. 86 CB Industries machine. But McDermand regained the lead on Lap 2 and kept the top spot on five ensuing restarts.
Meanwhile, McIntosh worked his way from the sixth starting position to second with eight laps to go but didn’t look like he would threaten McDermand, who won the 30-lap preliminary feature Thursday night for his first USAC victory.
But heartbreak struck for McDermand on Lap 38. His car got hung up in a rut at the bottom of Turn 4, slowing his momentum. That let McIntosh power even with McDermand on the outside of the main straightaway with the white flag in the air, and McIntosh’s momentum carried him under McDermand in Turn 2 for a lead he would not surrender in the final two corners.
“I ran 38 decent laps and one really, really bad one,” a dejected-yet-classy McDermand said. “It stings, it really stings.”
Jade Avedisian finished second to Keith Kunz Motorsports teammate McIntosh, with McDermand hanging on for third. Daison Pursley finished fourth, with Kevin Thomas Jr. rounding out the top five.
Avedisian turned her No. 71 Keith Kunz Motorsports car into a thrill ride for most of the feature. She started fifth, next to McIntosh on the third row, and was one of the first drivers to try the treacherous high line.
The gamble worked. Avedisian, 17, started to gain ground quickly, sliding inches from the concrete wall in the corners. She passed Pursley for third with seven laps to go and had momentum exiting Turn 4 on the final lap, falling short of catching McIntosh at the line.
Both preliminary night winners scored first career wins, too. McDermand picked the most famous racetrack in the world to earn his first USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory Thursday night. Rookie Kale Drake earned his first USAC victory by capturing the 30-lap feature that preceded the BC39. The feature was rained out Friday and Saturday.
