PLANS COME TOGETHER: Chase McDermand Looking Toward Future with Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports
A chat at Millbridge Speedway led to a new partnership for the 2024 Xtreme Outlaw season
CONCORD, NC (Dec. 1, 2023) – Chase McDermand is coming back in 2024 with a new team, a new home base and a new plan for the future.
The 23-year-old is relocating from his home in Springfield, IL, to join Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports (DMD) in Mooresville, NC, and pilot the team’s flagship Toyota-powered Spike Chassis for the 2024 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota campaign.
As fate would have it, their partnership was forged at the birthplace of the Series – Millbridge Speedway. McDermand and team owner Dave McIntosh paired for a Micro Sprint event at the North Carolina oval in October, and it was there they spoke and discovered a shared vision for 2024.
“They kind of aligned, what both of us wanted to do,” McDermand said. “I was looking for something different and he was having a fresh start with things. That kinda meshed, and that’s where it started.”
McDermand landed in the hunt for his first national Midget series championship this year, scoring the most Feature wins, most Quick Time awards with a fifth-place finish in points in his second season with Mounce/Stout Motorsports. But he felt it was time for a change, and it just so happened McIntosh did as well.
Following the departure of son Cannon McIntosh from DMD in September, Dave was in need of a new driver to fill the seat for the upcoming season. And with crew chief and business partner Robert Dalby taking up an opportunity in NASCAR next year, the team was in need of some multi-faceted help.
McDermand is a two-way racer, excelling both as a driver and his own crew chief. It’s an attribute few other young drivers in the pit area possess, and one that has always stood out to McIntosh.
“When we started thinking and talking about Chase – this is a guy that can take on more,” McIntosh said. “I think we’ve made it pretty clear that he’s coming to drive for our team, but he’s gonna be a very crucial part of the day-to-day stuff as well.”
Wrenching on and maintaining his own equipment is how McDermand has built his career, going back to his days as a multi-time D2 Midget champion. He’ll do the same in his new position at DMD, trying to gain an advantage on his competition.
“Being a driver and a crew chief, I feel like both of them help each other,” McDermand said. “You can apply things differently when you look at it from a different angle.”
During the week, McDermand will be hands-on with DMD’s newly formed Micro Sprint division, Dave Mac-Barnhill Motorsports, preparing the team’s fleet of Micro Sprints for weekly competition at Millbridge in addition to his Midget. Heading into year two of operation, the team is aiming to handle an influx of new Micro Sprint racers even greater than they hosted in 2023.
“We want to work with drivers and see them develop from our Micro program and carry that on into a prepared racecar driver that’s ready to go race Midgets,” McIntosh said. “I look back on working with Cannon when he was little and some other drivers we worked with, just seeing when it all clicks – that’s what it’s all about for me.”
Likewise, McDermand has plans to become an owner, and feels his time at DMD will also help in laying down the foundation of principles on which he’ll build his own team in the future.
“My ultimate goal is to give someone an opportunity that may not be able to afford one or have the right connections to work something out,” McDermand said. “It’s what I’ve done in the past a few times this year, and I really enjoyed doing that alongside racing myself.”
But until then, McDermand is focused on his own driving career. His next step – debuting with Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports at the season opener inside the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, IL, March 15-16, where his path to a first Xtreme Outlaw Series championship begins.
“I’m confident that we have everything we need to win the championship with Xtreme next year,” McDermand said. “We just need to put all the pieces together, and I’m really confident that we can do that.”
“I don’t think we’d be doing this if we didn’t feel like we could compete for a title,” McIntosh said. “We share that same drive, and that’s what we’re pushing for.”
Stream all 30 races of the 2024 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota campaign live on DIRTVision.
The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series is brought to fans by important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Toyota (Title sponsor of the Midgets Series), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier) and SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider). Other partners include: TJ Forged and Whitz Racing Products.
Sources: Jordan DeLucia, Xtreme Outlaw Series PR
Photo credit – Jacy Norgaard
June 01, 2023: Xtreme Outlaw Midgets at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois. (JNP/Jacy Norgaard)