Red brings early gold for Danner in USAC Bettenhausen at state fair

Briggs Danner’s best trait in Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown Series Bettenhausen 100  might’ve been patience.

Yes, the Allentown, Pennsylvania driver had a good car and drove a clean race at the historic mile dirt track on the Illinois State Fairgrounds , but in order to secure the win, he had to patiently wait through three attempts to start the race, and a scary wreck on the 97th lap when Danny Jennings of Norman, Oklahoma took a crazy tumble.

“This is my first 100-lap straight with no fuel stop, so I was nervous how we were going to be on fuel,” Danner said. “I knew my tires were in pretty good shape. The car was so good and these races are so much fun.

“It sucks winning a race like that.”

Jennings said something on his car must’ve broken because it suddenly pulled left. By the time his car came to a rest, some of the roll cage was destroyed. He told FloRacing after being released by medical officials he was OK — besides being sore — but his season is likely over with costly and significant repairs needed to his ride.

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The Illinois State Fairgrounds shares the grandstand area with USAC and ARCA Racing Series events and evening concerts. Races are allotted time to race, but when Jennings wrecked, officials knew they didn’t have time to finish and ended it four laps early. As track officials made the announcement, a chorus of boos erupted from the grandstand crowd, many who had already vocalized their displeasure at the clouds of dirt which may have helped cause the first two wrecks on the start attempts.

The Chicks , a country music act, was scheduled to perform at the 7 p.m. concert. Calder Allen was the opening act. Equipment for the show, including drum sets, keyboards, and microphones were being set up before and during the race. The road crew scrambled to cover as much as possible to protect it from the clouds of dust and dirt that left a gritty brown layer all over the stage.

Danner took the lead with 13 laps to go when Justin Grant, of Ione, California, suddenly experienced engine failure on lap 88. Danner managed to stay in front until the red flag came out with four laps left.

“With Justin, me and him were racing really hard,” Danner said. “It would’ve been interesting if he had finished: I know I was there to try to do something with it, but passing him is a whole other deal. I would’ve liked for the race to finish under green.”

It wasn’t how Danner wanted to win, but he’s happy to walk away with his second win in his last three races.

“It feels awesome,” Danner said. “I really like these mile races, 100 laps on a mile, laying rubber and strategy with tires and strategy with fuel is such a big deal. I kind of really enjoy that kind of racing and I feel like I can be patient with stuff and it’s just something I enjoy.”

He won the July 19 race at Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana. Saturday marked Danner’s first time winning a Silver Crown race on a date other than July 19. His first win on the circuit came on July 19, 2025 at the Kansas State Fairgrounds. This is his third win on the series.

Grant led all 87 laps to that point.

On the first attempt to go green, Lincoln’s Bret Tripplett, who qualified 12th but was forced to start from the back because he needed a push to start, hit a slow car in front of him on the front stretch. The start of the race kicked up so much dust, it was difficult to see the track.

“I wish I had a vantage point and I could tell you,” Tripplett said when asked by FloRacing about the wreck. “When you put me behind all the slow guys like that, I was trying to find an open lane and all of a sudden, there’s parked cars. A little disappointed with how this shook out.”

On the next attempt to get the first lap underway, Springfield’s Joey Moughan again hit a slower car as he was moving up on the inside. Like Tripplett, he too came to rest upside down, but also walked away seemingly unscathed.

The third time, as they say, was the charm, but green-flag racing only lasted until the 13th lap when the caution came out after the transponder fell off of Chase Stockon’s car. It was reattached and the Fort Branch, Indiana driver finished eighth.

The race suffered three more cautions before the final red flag.

Jake Swanson, of Anaheim, California, finished second while Jerry Coons Jr., of Tucson, Arizona, was third.

“At the end of the day, my job is to be consistent and do my job as a race car driver and try to do the same thing every single time and every single lap,” Swanson said when asked how the triple attempts at the start impacted him. “I did a pretty good job playing with the cards I was dealt.”

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Coons said he had a good shot at getting the runner-up spot, but made a mistake.

“We were good, the car was decent, we were just kind of riding all day,” Coons said. “There at the end, I just made a mistake in lapped traffic. I thought I could get around (Hayden Reinbold, of Gilbert, Arizona) and beat him to the rubber in the corner and just was a couple of feet too late. That cost us a second-place finish.”

Shane Cockrum was the highest Illinois finisher. The Benton native ended in ninth while Auburn’s Mitchell Davis was 14th and Elkhart’s Chris Urish was 15th. Another Auburn driver, Mario Clouser, was 21st. Moughan was 24th, Tripplett was 27th and Colten Cottle of Kansas, was the final Illinois driver in 28th.

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, [email protected], Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →