BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. — It was a night of firsts at Grandview Speedway on Tuesday night as Pioneer Pole Buildings presented the Jesse Hockett Classic.
It was the first night of the 17th annual Eastern Storm, the first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship win for Briggs Danner.
“It’s so awesome to do this in front of this crowd and at this track,” Danner, who started racing NASCAR 358 Modifieds at the one-third-mile dirt oval, stated in victory lane. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had here, and maybe the longest 40-lap run of my life.”
Danner’s win marked the first USAC National Championship win for a Pennsylvania driver since 1999.
Carson Garrett led the 24-car field to the drop of the green flag and led the first 10 laps of the event, navigating lapped traffic with Danner right on his tail.
The two split a lapped car and swapped the lead four times before settling in just before the halfway point.
With lapped traffic, Brady Bacon, a five-time USAC winner at Grandview, and C.J. Leary closed on then-leaders Danner and Garrett igniting a four-car battle for the top spot.
Challenges from the best in the business were no match for Danner, as the Boulevard Truck Repair/E. Schneider & Sons Recycling No. 39 darted in and out of lapped cars widening the gap before a lap-30 caution closed the field.
Danner charged forward at the restart, pulling away from his competition and setting a comfortable pace before the yellow would fly for the final time with two laps remaining.
With one final circuit, Bacon would move into the second position but would not be able to get anywhere near Danner, who sailed onto victory aboard the Fran & Tim Hogue-owned No. 39 machine.
Bacon finished second, with Leary, Garrett and series point leader Logan Seavey completing the top five.
Danner’s win marked the first USAC National Sprint Car Series win for a Pennsylvania driver since Frankie Kerr found victory lane in 1999.
Bacon set a track record with a lap of 13.341 seconds during qualifying.
USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, Grandview Speedway, Bechtelsville, Pa., June 11, 2024
HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.341 (Track Record); 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.351; 3. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-13.420; 4. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.427; 5. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-13.443; 6. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.444; 7. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.444; 8. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-13.481; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.492; 10. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.522; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-13.529; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.546; 13. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-13.577; 14. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.589; 15. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-13.671; 16. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.722; 17. Steven Drevicki, 19, Drevicki-13.726; 18. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.799; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.833; 20. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-13.849; 21. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-13.887; 22. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-13.902; 23. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.941; 24. J.T. Ferry, 18J, Ferry-14.360; 25. Scott Frack, 39x, Frack-14.619; 26. Jason Cherry, 67c, Cherry-14.802.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Korbyn Hayslett, 9. Scott Frack. 2:17.996 (New Track Record)
ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Steven Drevicki, 5. Alex Bright, 6. Joey Amantea, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Jason Cherry, 9. Ricky Lewis. 2:21.349
T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Carson Garrett, 7. Tom Harris, 8. J.T. Ferry. 2:22.262
ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Tom Harris, 4. Hunter Maddox, 5. J.T. Ferry, 6. Korbyn Hayslett, 7. Scott Frack, 8. Jason Cherry. 2:55.244
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Briggs Danner (4), 2. Brady Bacon (6), 3. C.J. Leary (3), 4. Carson Garrett (1), 5. Logan Seavey (13), 6. Daison Pursley (10), 7. Robert Ballou (15), 8. Jake Swanson (16), 9. Joey Amantea (20), 10. Jadon Rogers (8), 11. Kyle Cummins (7), 12. Mitchel Moles (5), 13. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 14. Steven Drevicki (18), 15. Chase Stockon (17), 16. Matt Westfall (19), 17. Ricky Lewis (11), 18. Tom Harris (21), 19. Korbyn Hayslett (22), 20. Justin Grant (12), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (14), 22. J.T. Ferry (24), 23. Hunter Maddox (23), 24. Alex Bright (2).