DirtonDirt Dispatches
Dispatches: Sprinter eyes WoO Late Model debut
Briggs Danner (joshjamesartwork.com)
Among the latest notes and quotes from Dirt Late Model action, including weekend regional action on the Schaeffer's Spring Nationals and Comp Cams Super Dirt Series (look for FloRacing tour and Lucas Oil Series coverage elsewhere):
Toe-dipping Danner
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is making a stop in the heart of sprint car country next week, and one of open-wheel racing’s bright young stars is set to join the action.
Non-winged sprint ace Briggs Danner will make his World of Outlaws tour debut May 13 at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway in the Lazer Chassis Racing No. 31. It’s the first of seven planned starts this season in the ride which Danner is sharing with big-block modified driver Billy Pauch Jr.
Danner, a 24-year-old Allentown, Pa., driver, won multiple quarter-midget championships before moving up into the SpeedSTR division at several area tracks. He went sprint car racing at age 19, winning almost immediately.
Danner won back-to-back USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series championships in 2022 and 2023, and his 32 victories make him the winningest driver in the tour’s history. He hit the road with the Amsoil USAC Sprint Car National Championship in 2024 and has since won eight races, most recently at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway on April 11.
But Danner has always had an itch to get behind the wheel of any race car he can get his hands on, and a conversation at the end of 2024 got the ball rolling on giving Super Late Models a try. He got connected with Lazar Chassis builder Jim Bernheisel and his racing partner Denny Superko, debuting in the division at Bridgeport (N.J.) Motorsports Park last June with a fourth-place finish. He made another start at Selinsgrove, finishing 16th.
While he doesn’t intently follow the division, Danner said he’s “always loved Late Models and just everything about them. The fenders, the aero, the four-link stuff, just everything about them, I’ve always loved. There’s just not a lot of it by us. To be able to get my feet wet in it with Denny and Jim and those guys was a pretty cool deal, and I’m willing to run as much as I can with them.”
Does he expect his sprint car seat time at Selinsgrove to give him an edge against WoO’s top Late Model drivers?
“It’s tough. Like, when I ran Bridgeport, obviously I knew the racetrack, but anything as far as driving the car was totally thrown out the window,” Danner said. “It didn’t mean anything to me, and in fact, anything I knew about driving a race car probably hurt me, honestly. It was like learning all over again. To go to a place like Selinsgrove where I don’t have too many laps, I have some laps there, but it’s just so much different in a big car, let alone a Late Model. We have a lot of good guys coming, obviously, so I’m going to have to try to figure it out pretty quick.” — Spence Smithback
Streaming schedule
Among upcoming Dirt Late Model special and sanctioned events available via live streaming:
Wednesday, May 6
• FloRacing Night in America at Spoon River Speedway in Banner, Ill. (FloRacing)
Thursday, May 7
• FloRacing Night in America at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway (FloRacing)
Friday, May 8
• Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway (FloRacing)
• Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals at Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Ky. (FloRacing)
• Comp Cams Super Dirt Series at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark. (ArrowVision Live)
Saturday, May 9
• Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway (FloRacing)
• Comp Cams Super Dirt Series at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark. (ArrowVision Live)
• Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals at Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, Ky. (FloRacing)
• Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway (Hunt the Front TV)
• Nutrien Ag Solutions Revival Super Dirt Series at Lawton (Okla.) Speedway (ArrowVision Live)
• 4 State Dirt Late Model Series at Springfield (Mo.) Raceway (Springfield Raceway TV)
Sunday, May 10
• Karl Chevrolet Premier Late Model Tour at Dubuque (Iowa) Speedway (Done Right TV)
