KUTZTOWN, Pa. — Hustling home after a two-race weekend with USAC in Indiana, Briggs Danner made it a worthwhile trip by winning the season opener for the River Valley Builders SpeedSTRs on Sunday night at Action Track USA on the Kutztown Fairgrounds.
“These cars and this series (SpeedSTRs) makes the trip worthwhile,” explained Danner in victory lane following his triumph. “It just makes sense to own one of these cars; we can run close to home and make some money with this car. And there’s a great group of drivers in them, too, like Pauch, Buckwalter, and Butler. I love running them and that’s why I made it back to race here tonight,” said Danner.
The Allentown resident started eighth in the 30 lap headliner and worked his way to third place by the halfway mark. Billy Pauch Jr. snatched the top spot from pole sitter Steve Drevicki on the initial trip around the oval and the defending point champion opened a sizeable lead during the first half of the race.
Danner had to battle Bobby Butler, Tim Buckwalter, and finally Drevicki before he maneuvered his way into the runner-up position and began his pursuit of the leader. He caught Pauch with ten to go and searched for the right spot to make his move. When Danner tried to sneak under the leader’s No. 1R in turn three, he wiggled badly and fell back by several car lengths.
But Danner’s No. 78 had speed on Sunday, and he soon motored to Pauch’s rear bumper once again. Working the high side of the speedway, Danner powered around the leader in three and four to claim the lead with four to go.
“The car was real good on the top in three and four, and it worked well down low in one and two,” noted Danner afterward. “He gave me the top and the car stuck up there, so we made it work.”
Danner raced home the winner, the 12th SpeedSTR triumph of his career at Action Track USA. Pauch chased him to the checkered for runner-up honors, with Tim Buckwalter finishing third. Dustin Morris and Drevicki completed the top five.
Joining Danner in the winner’s circle on Sunday night were Christian Bruno (Hyper Racing 600 Sprints); Dylan Hahn, (All Star Slingshots); and Landon McNichol (Junior Slingshots). During the afternoon matinee program, Korey Inglin was victorious in the Xcel Modified main and Brent Shearer captured the 270cc Micro Sprint feature.
