ALLENTOWN, Pa. – In a span of a year, Briggs Danner has metamorphosed from Pennsylvania modified racer to dazzling newcomer within the open-wheel racing scene.
This evening, Danner – the 20-year-old entering his sophomore season driving sprint cars – takes the wheel of a midget the very first time under the dirt-smogged lights of River Spirit Expo Center part of Chili Bowl Nationals Qualifying Night.
Danner collected 14 total wins in roughly 60 races last year in which he branched out from his modest family modified race team.
Now he’s on-board for a lofty Chili Bowl pursuit in the Heffner Racing Enterprises No. 27 with experienced crew chief Sean Michael.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” Danner said. “The car count … it’s pretty nuts, the cars they have coming. I’d like to get Rookie of the Year, so we’ll see how that goes. We’ll see how that goes. With the whole age restriction thing, they have a lot of kids coming in that are good.”
The intensity that comes forth with the Chili Bowl Nationals has ballooned to new heights.
Not only are the 395 entries an event record, but amends to the long-standing age restriction that allow top young talent – a la 13-year-olds Brent Crews and Gavan Boschele – to compete with the Kyle Larsons and Christopher Bells of the midget game have spun the 36th Chili Bowl with greater intrigue.
Danner is one of those 99 rookies this week, pitting himself against the most talked about, laudable young drivers the sport has to behold.
He, and his sprint car crew chief Curt Michael – who hired Danner at the start of last year for a full USAC East Coast sprint car run – know there’s plenty of room to compete.
Last year, Danner rattled off nine non-wing sprint car wins and finished second to Chili Bowl regular Alex Bright in the USAC East Coast standings.
Before Danner coursed a full sprint car season last year, he raced his modified for his family at Pennsylvania dirt tracks.
“The future is bright for Briggs, for sure,” said Curt Michael, a 10-time United Racing Club champion himself. “I kind of see myself in him a little bit. I never had the opportunities he is able to have at such a young age. I didn’t start driving a sprint car until I was 24 years old.
“I really want to give him the experiences that I didn’t get a chance to. I want the team to grow with him, and obviously we’re in Central Pennsylvania territory with the wings and everything. I’d like to see him be a Sunshine, [Tyler Courtney], if we can all grow together. Where we’re racing Central PA 410s a lot and filling in with the USAC Eastern Storm and stuff like that.
“We definitely want to grow with him and grow this team with him.”
Curt Michael is a sprint car veteran, driving many years for car owner Bill Gallagher, who died last summer due to complications from COVID-19.
Mike Heffner then stepped in and bought the team, and that’s how Danner ended up in Heffner’s familiar No. 27 midget this week in Tulsa, Okla.
“Where we’re at now, a year ago I would have never expected we’ve gotten that far,” said Danner, who actually won his sprint car debut Nov. 2020 at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park on a go-ahead slide job around Bright with two laps remaining.
That’s not the only instance Danner’s produced immediate results. Last summer he finished second to Anthony Macri in his winged sprint car debut in a URC-sanctioned show at Bridgeport Motorsports Park.
He also set quick time honors with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway.
Heffner’s presence should only raise expectations for Danner and the Michael-led team this year, which has an ambitious schedule ahead.
“I know Mike Heffner wants to get a USAC national win this year,” Danner said.
All told, Danner has roughly 85 races mapped out, all filled around another full-time run with the 33-race USAC East Coast sprint car series.
The team wants to hit USAC shows at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, the first six races of Indiana Speedweek, more 360 winged sprint car races and set out into Central Pennsylvania’s fervent 410 ranks. Danner will also run weekly micro sprints at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa.
If all goes planned, Danner will make his World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series debut Tuesday, May 17, at Bridgeport Motorsports Park.
First, however, a Chili Bowl Nationals qualifying night, versus perhaps the toughest preliminary field of the week versus Kyle Larson, Buddy Kofoid, Donny Schatz, Tim McCreadie and a slew of others, stands between.
“The biggest thing is, now, he might have a little pressure going into this year,” Curt Michael said. “Like you said, he wasn’t on the radar. Now he’s surprised people. Now he has a little bit of expectations. We have to keep his head on straight, not let the pressure of keeping up with last year.
“You have to get that one win out of the way and not press too much. Hopefully things will fall together with the wingeles thing, so we can start teaching him a little better with the wing on, which might be easier for him, winged, because there won’t be any expectations.
“Wingless, he kind of puts that on himself. The guys that can handle that are the ones that ride to the top.”