SELINSGROVE, Pa. — The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision 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 in on the action.
Non-winged sprint car ace Briggs Danner will make his fendered World of Outlaws debut on Wednesday, May 13, at Selinsgrove 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.
The 24-year-old Allentown, Pa., native won multiple Quarter Midget championships before moving up into the SpeedSTR division at several area tracks. He went Sprint Car racing at age 19 and started 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 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.
“I met Jim Bernheisel and the guys out at PRI,” Danner said. “Tim Hogue, who I drive a Sprint Car for, introduced me to them. They’ve known each other for a while, I guess, and I’ve always had an interest in Late Models and interest in trying one out anyway. So, I got in touch with them and they said that they were willing to put some sort of deal together to run a local show or two last year, which we did. It ended up working out. Jim Bernheisel used to run the car, Denny Superko’s car, they’re kind of in as a partner deal with it. Denny wants to run a couple shows, and he really likes Selinsgrove and he wants to go run with the Outlaws.”
Once the deal was done, Danner made his Late Model debut last June at Bridgeport Motorsports Park and earned an impressive fourth-place finish. His next start a month later at Selinsgrove was more of a struggle, as Danner crossed the line 16th.
“I ran Bridgeport for my first race, and that’s definitely a track that I’m comfortable with in Modified shows and Sprint Cars, Winged and Non-Wing and all kinds of stuff,” Danner said. “Being comfortable there definitely helped. We finished fourth there, so that was great, right off the bat to run that good. We qualified well, just kind of getting my feet wet trying to get it figured out, we had a good run.
“Selinsgrove didn’t quite go as good for us. Ran a Sprint Car there a few times, but it’s just a lot different. It was slick that night, and that’s just a whole new ball game for me to try and get accustomed to. I definitely have some room to grow for sure, but I’m super excited for the opportunity to try to figure it out.”
It’s easy for a Sprint Car driver to turn a blind eye to any type of racing that doesn’t involve open wheels and push trucks, but that’s never been who Danner is. He’s always respected anyone with a passion for making cars go fast, and his interest in the Late Model side of the sport has only grown as he’s gotten more involved in it.
“I’ve always paid attention to [Late Model racing], but never like a super big follower of it,” Danner said. “But I’ve 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.”
A driver from the Sprint Car world dipping their toe in the Late Model waters, or vice versa, is nothing new. But the list of drivers who have been successful in both cars is much shorter. Does Danner expect his seat time in a Sprint Car at Selinsgrove to give him any sort of upper hand against the World of Outlaws next week? He’s not convinced.
“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.”
Despite a solid debut last summer, Danner is keeping his goals in check ahead of his first national Late Model start.
“I don’t exactly know what my expectations are,” Danner said. “A solid night would be just being competitive and being in the mix of things. If we have a decent showing in the Feature, qualify, not wreck stuff up or not be too far out to lunch, I’ll be pretty happy.”
