Donald McIntosh made a surprise appearance at Smoky Mountain Speedway this past weekend to compete with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and had a solid showing, but it was also a special couple of days for him.

McIntosh had not been in the cockpit of a race car since March when he competed at Golden Isles Speedway with Billy Hicks Racing after he split with Coltman Farms Racing and Hicks split with Cory Hedgecock. He had planned to run the Gauntlet at the Gap at Volunteer Speedway with his 007 car, but instead found himself working with Garrett Alberson and the Roberts Motorsports team.

However, at Smoky Mountain Speedway he brought his family-owned 007 car where he had a solid showing for not being in a car since March and it being the first time the car had seen the track since 2020. McIntosh showed speed on Friday, qualifying 8th in Group B just four tenths off of Group B top qualifier Garrett Alberson. He would finish fifth in his heat race just a spot outside of the transfer position, but was set up to start second in his B-Main. Unfortunately, he had a bolt break and his radius rod was hanging.

On Saturday, he improved to fifth in Group A in qualifying and then finished fourth in his heat to advance to the feature. He would start 13th and run around the 16th position for much of the race, but would end up finishing in 22nd after exiting the race around the halfway mark.

McIntosh discussed his return to competition on Saturday with Richard Allen of Motorsports Report ahead of Saturday’s festivities telling him, “Honestly, [Smoky Mountain’s] close to home and just, man, had the bug. Being away from racing is really hard. Like I said, I’ve done it for a long time and I still love the sport and just had the itch. I had to feel some power.”

“It’s just kinda a way of life,” he continued. “I’ve been blessed to do it a lot for a lot of different people. And, man, to be back at the race track now, and doing it with dad, the 007, and the Buick is pretty special to me. Just happy to be back at the race track.”

As for his plans moving forward, he shared, “Early in the year, it wasn’t the greatest time to not be racing, but everything happens for a reason. Just part of it. And like I said it got me and dad back together working on this thing and that’s really special to me to work with my dad and be back at the race track with my dad.”

McIntosh also added in a post to Facebook, “I would like to start by saying happy Father’s Day to all fathers around but especially mine he has done so much for me over my career and helped me get to heights in racing I never dreamed I’d get to be.”

“We started racing together when I was 5 in 1998 and our last full year racing together was in 2014 and I’ve been blessed since then to drive for other great car owners. But this weekend we got to bring out our 007 car with the Buick power that he built and we were able to make the Saturday show at smokey mountain with her and qualified top 5 in our group. It is special to me to be able to race with my hero,” he concluded.

McIntosh also shared with StockCarReport.com what his plans are for the rest of the year, “I can only afford to race about one weekend a month at most in my own car so I’ll make it out 3-4 more weekends this year hopefully.”

However, as for when we might see him next, he’s “not sure at the moment.”

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