KUTZTOWN, Pa. — He wasn’t yet born when Saturday Night Fever was all the rage, but ask Briggs Danner what his favorite disco dance might be, and chances are he will say, “the Hustle.”
That’s because the Allentown, Pa., wheel-twister has made a habit of “doing the Hustle” as he treks back from USAC Sprint Car races in the Midwest to compete in SpeedSTRs and 600 Sprints here in the mid-Atlantic region.
And he’s making those all-night rides home pay off, too, as Danner captured his first River Valley Builders SpeedSTR triumph of the season at The Speedway at Pagoda MC on Sunday, May 17. It was actually Danner’s second consecutive SpeedSTR win, as he took the checkered two weeks prior during the season opener at Action Track USA.
“Yeah, I guess all this traveling back and forth to the Midwest is kind of a circus to some people,” said Danner after his win at Pagoda. “But we love to race so we do what we need to do, and we appreciate all the fans who come out and cheer us on.”
Danner also finished third in the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints A-main, crossing the line behind winner Brian Carber and runner-up Connor Gross.
EJ Hatch recorded his second straight All Star Slingshot victory on Sunday, while Aubrey Romig notched her second Junior Slingshot win of the season at Pagoda. Bryan Buono won a hard fought battle with Max Harvat in the Flat Track Motorcycle exhibition race.
The first 22 circuits of the River Valley Builders SpeedSTR feature went clean and green, with Scott Houdeshell slipping past Dan Lane Jr. on the second tour of the oval to grab the lead. Houdeshell then zipped out to a commanding advantage, while Lane ran all alone in second position. Danner, who took the initial green in 12th, was wrestling with the likes of Tim Buckwalter, Bobby Butler, Steve Drevicki, and others as he methodically sliced his way forward.
The Allentown throttle-stomper moved into fifth spot on lap 12, then stormed into third just one revolution later. Houdeshell and Lane had long since checked out on the rest of the field, but Danner went into “elbows up, full send” mode and began chopping into the huge deficit.
He was within several car lengths of Lane when the race’s first caution flag appeared with only eight trips remaining. Blasting by Lane for the runner-up spot with six to go, Danner had the leader squarely in his sights.
Utilizing the high side, he went around Houdeshell in turns three and four and pushed the nose of his No. 78 ahead of Houdeshell’s No. 5s to lead lap 25, which was scored as official just before another yellow flew for an incident involving Brad Arnold and Kenny Miller III.
“This thing tends to run hot, and it was getting hot as the race went on, so I was glad for that first caution,” said Danner in victory lane. “I was pushing pretty hard to try and catch those guys, so the yellow helped and I’m glad it (the engine) lasted to the end.”
Danner kept Houdeshell at bay over the final circuits to score the win, with Houdeshell recording a career best SpeedSTR finish of second. Tim Buckwalter, Lane, and Butler made up the top five.
