Life in the Fast Lane: Meet Young Racing Sensation, Shannon McIntosh

by Rob Tiongson for Bleacher Report

Miamisburg, December 16, 2009: America's Midwest region has produced some of racing's finest talents, like Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, and Tony Stewart. These trio of former open wheelers have gone on to have illustrious careers in NASCAR, garnering race victories while Gordon and Stewart have won a combined six championships.

It has also produced female racing stars like Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher, and perhaps most notably, Danica Patrick. Each of these drivers are Indy 500 veterans, making their claim to fame in IndyCar vehicles.

Well, Midwest America ought to make room for another female driver who's been tearing up its tracks as a hard-charging, aggressive, and tremendously skilled racer. With 100 combined victories in various racing divisions throughout her 15 years of racing, 20-year-old Shannon McIntosh has made tremendous strides in living out her racing dreams.

Hailing from Miamisburg, Ohio, McIntosh's young racing career could be described as determined and tenacious. She has worked hard and diligently, competing in quarter-midgets, micro-sprints, and the USAC Midget Series, winning races and the respect of her peers and fans at the tracks.

I had the opportunity to talk with McIntosh recently and found that she's very cordial and respectful. You get the sense that she truly loves the sport of racing and that she's bound to make it to the top of the motorsports ladder, no matter where it leads her.

Whether she pursues a career in stock cars or sticks with open wheel action, one thing is certain: Shannon McIntosh will be a household name for many years to come. Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy getting to know this young sensation who's bound to be the next hot racing star to follow!

Rob Tiongson: When I took a glance at your website and read your biography, I was absolutely floored that you have driven racing cars for 15 years. Normally, that's the kind of stat that a veteran has for their storied career. Tell the B/R Creatures how you cut your teeth in motorsports.

Shannon McIntosh: When I think about how long I’ve been racing, the number 15 at age 20 blows my mind. Interestingly, there is no racing background in my family. My dad’s interest is kind of how we got started and at age four my parents took me to a Quarter Midget race.

A funny story they always tell is about how they couldn’t find me anywhere at one point that day, and after looking all over they finally found me all alone sitting in the stands watching the races.

It was that day that I vividly remember sitting in a car for the first time, and telling my dad, “I want to race!” So, we got a Quarter Midget, a motor home, and by the time I was five and my sister was a newborn baby, we started racing every weekend and it’s been history ever since!

RT: Now, I read that you have 100 combined victories! Pretty stellar I'd say for someone who's just 20 years old! Which victory, in your young career, is your favorite as well as your most memorable?

SM: My favorite thus far was The Brennan Kaylor Memorial race in 2004. This was a 270cc Micro Sprint race at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana. Brennan was a young boy who lost his battle to cancer the previous year.

While battling cancer though, his dream to race was made true when the year before he raced in the same event, before it was a “memorial” and won! It was very honorable to be able to win a race that was in memory of Brennan.

RT: Growing up relatively close to the Midwest, you're right smack dab in the middle of open wheel racing's prominent reaches, from the drivers to the tracks. Would you say that you were bitten by the racing bug relatively easy when you were growing up in Ohio?

SM: I would definitely say that being in the Midwest has been a blessing in helping propel my career. Having race tracks nearby, and “The Racing Capital of the World” (Indianapolis) only two and a half hours away, everything has been of close reach and easily accessible to be exposed to.

RT: As a racer, how do you prepare yourself mentally to go out there on the track, knowing it's such a dangerous yet exciting sport?

SM: I think as a racer, you know the risk, take it into consideration and put it at the back of your mind. We know that to be successful, we don’t relish on the danger, (but rather) we focus on winning.

Preparing mentally for me, is really just about getting focused and putting all else out of thought. Most people are surprised by the difference in my state of mind and the intensity of my focus when I’m at the races compared to my everyday upbeat, spunky personality.

RT: Who were some of your racing idols when you started up?

SM: You just reminded me of a t-shirt I used to have that was signed by Tony Stewart when I was about 13. And it made me think that “I need to find that!” (I haven’t seen it in quite some time!)

Tony Stewart has always been the driver I’ve looked up to and wanted to take after. For many reasons: The raw talent that he has and the fact that he can and will win in anything he drives is so admirable to me. The fact that he raced his way to the top and is a true racer at heart puts him down as number one in my book.

RT: One of your nicknames is "Ms. Excitement." Sounds like to me that you're the hard charging, aggressive type driver. Is that a product of open wheel racing, where the races are basically a mad dash to the front?

SM: I’d say that the type of racing I’ve grown up doing has produced that style of driving but I think it’s just a natural thing as well. Some drivers, no matter what they drive are just edgier than others and it is easily recognizable and more "exciting" for someone watching in the stands.

RT: What kind of driver would you say you are: the kind who's content with a solid finish after a day of adversity or the one who's disappointed to finish second after leading the most laps in an event?

SM: My competitive spirit won’t allow me to be content with anything but a win. However, I’d say that after starting in the back of the field and racing my way to the front for a top-three sometimes feels like more of an accomplishment than starting on the pole and staying there the entire race.

RT: Your path up the motorsports ladder reminds me a bit of some fellow named Jeff Gordon. Are your eyes set on NASCAR stock cars or with moving further up the open wheel ranks?

SM: It’s really interesting that you mention JG. My dad has always said that my career has unintentionally modeled Jeff’s. My dad’s interest actually came after he started watching USAC’s Thursday Night Thunder when Jeff’s career was budding and he was sweeping all the races in USAC. My dad has been a Jeff Gordon fan ever since.

Another interesting fact that I never knew is that Jeff always wanted to race IndyCars. As we all know, his career took a different path and led him to NASCAR. So, I would have to say that as a driver, I have an open mind and am set on a winning career at any of the top levels of racing.

Coincidentally, I’ve met some very incredible people who have introduced me to Jeff, John Bickford, and the people at the Jeff Gordon Foundation. I've had a number of very promising discussions with the staff at JGF and I hope to be able to establish a relationship with JGF under which I can help make even more race fans aware of what Jeff and his foundation are doing.

RT: Free Association time, Shannon. Hope you're ready for it! Here goes...tell me the first thing that comes to your mind with the following:

The fast lane.

SM: NASCAR 98 that I had on the old PlayStation. It played the instrumentals of “Life in the Fast Lane” by The Eagles! (laughter)

RT: Recession.

SM: A non-funded racers worst nightmare.

RT: USAC.

SM: LOVE.

RT: Rivalries.

SM: Hamlin and Keselowski.

RT: Favorite music.

SM: Depends on the mood. Anything upbeat, catchy and motivating, lots of Indie-Rock, Pop-Rock, and Acoustic.

RT: Patience.

SM: Something I don’t do well with and am constantly trying to improve on.

RT: Family.

SM: The backbone of my racing career and values. Without them, I’d be nowhere.

RT: If you could race at any circuit in any world class racing vehicle, which facility and car would it be?

SM: Growing up, I always said it was my dream to race at Eldora Speedway, which consequently is now owned by my racing idol, Tony Stewart! I’d love to race a USAC Midget at Eldora.

RT: What's a real racer's track: dirt or asphalt?

SM: DIRT! All the way!

RT: Off the track, what do you enjoy doing? Any particular hobby you enjoy or place you like to get away when things get hectic?

SM: I’m a workout fiend. So as much as possible, I’m at the gym and when I don’t have time, I get withdrawal symptoms. Seriously!

I am also a huge coffee lover and love the coffee-shop atmosphere and love relaxing or doing work at Starbucks. Oh, and what girl doesn’t love shopping!