By Richie Murray
Rossburg, Ohio (September 24, 2026)………Thursdays at Eldora Speedway belong to Briggs Danner.
One year after capturing Thursday night’s 4-Crown Nationals Presented by NKTELCO opener at the Rossburg, Ohio 1/2-mile dirt oval, Danner did the deed again, leading all 30 laps en route to victory at the helm of his Hogue Racing Enterprises/E. Schneider & Sons – Keystone Cap/DRC/Rider Chevy.
Whereas Danner (Allentown, Pennsylvania) duked it out to lead the final 13 laps of last year’s contest, this one was pretty much no contest for the majority of the 30-lapper. That is, until the final laps when lapped traffic carved into his lead and allowed Brady Bacon to enter the frame.
Danner’s victory was the second of his USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship career at Eldora. Furthermore, it was his fifth series win of the season and the 12th of his career, tying him with Eric Gordon and Mitchel Moles for 49th place on the all-time list.
Although Danner was set on repeat in this particular outing, in his estimation, there is no comparison between the two victories. Especially considering the fact that the track received quite a bit of rain during the week, thus making the surface extra moistrous. And when you mix in the sudden cool temperatures, it made for a heavy racetrack.
“It was a lot different,” Danner admitted. “I mean, I kind of knew going into tonight that with the way the track was going to be, the groove that we started early on in hot laps and time trials was going to be where it was at. It was fast.”
How fast was it? Justin Grant’s lap of 14.979 seconds during LearnLab Fast Qualifying was the first lap in the 14-second bracket turned by a USAC National Sprint Car at Eldora in 14 years, not since Bobby East in 2012. The quick time was Grant’s 48th career with the series, sixth most on the list.
Adding to it, Cale Coons’ heat race victory resulted in a new eight-lap track record for USAC National Sprint Cars at Eldora. His time of 2:03.892 topped Robert Ballou’s time of 2:05.51, which had stood since 2012. Gunnar Setser added to the fun with a new 12-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record during his semi-feature victory. Setser’s time of 3:06.323 shattered the former record of 3:10.23, which Jay Drake had held since 2006.
While the track surface was blazing fast, Danner had conflicting thoughts. Conversely, he described the race as a long one. That fact came to fruition due to his loss of brakes just around midway point. Despite it all, he still kind of made it look easy. But it was by no means easy any way you dissect it, as Danner explained.
“That was the longest 30 laps,” Danner explained. “I felt like I lost brakes about halfway and I found out when I needed them, which made lapped traffic very difficult. I couldn’t get tear offs pulled. I don’t know what I messed up there. I was fighting just to stay out front. It was not that easy.”
With 10 laps remaining, Danner’s lead was a half-straightaway over Bacon and he was cruising as his torrid pace allowed him to lap all the way up to 11th place. But that particular battle for 10th and 11th between Jake Swanson and C.J. Leary was doubled up in front of Danner, and Bacon was able to reel in Danner to within about a five car length span.
Couple that with his lack of brakes, and the fact that you’re ripping around Eldora Speedway at the highest speed in a decade or two, that makes for a bit of a hairy situation. But Danner put the puzzle together and figured it out.
“It was tough,” Danner acknowledged. “Just steering it with the throttle when you’re going that fast, there’s not many options for you to turn when you get tight and just with how rough it was. There were a couple of times that I got in with lapped traffic and I was just trying to keep it going in a circle, which was difficult. I didn’t really know where Brady (Bacon) was, but I know he’s really good here, obviously, and on any 1/2-mile. To race against guys like him and Justin (Grant), and to be able to stay out front and run as good as we did, is a feat in itself.”
Bacon wasn’t able to draw any nearer to Danner over the past couple of laps as Danner finished off his triumphant performance with a 0.656 second margin of victory. Justin Grant crossed the line in third with Kyle Cummins fourth and Jacob Denney fifth.
It was a welcome respite for Danner who has tallied an average finish of 13th with the series over the past two months, with nary a single top five in that 14-race span. In fact, the Eldora victory was Danner’s first top-five finish with the series since the USAC Indiana Sprint Week opener at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23, and his first feature win since the Eastern Storm finale on June 21 at Action Track USA.
For his efforts in leading each and every one of the 30 laps in the feature, Danner also earned the night’s K & N Filters Clean Air Award.
Meanwhile, Jakeb Boxell advanced seven positions from 19th to 12th during the feature, which earned him the Rod End Supply Hard Charger award.
Two drivers got upside during the night’s program. Max Adams ramped over the right rear wheel of Jakeb Boxell after the checkered flag during the third heat race, resulting in Adams violently flipping a major distance down the back straightaway. Adams was able to walk away.
During the feature, the rear axle on Robert Ballou’s car suddenly snapped in turn two, sending him flipping on lap three of the main event. He was able to climb out of his car and walk away. He was running in the 10th position at the time.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 24, 2026 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – BeFour the Crowns
LEARNLAB QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.979; 2. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-15.024; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, BBI-15.036; 4. Jacob Denney, 87, CBI/Spire-15.062; 5. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-15.072; 6. Brady Bacon, 20, Dyson-15.076; 7. Gunnar Setser, 5G, Setser-15.079; 8. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-15.154; 9. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming Swanson-15.192; 10. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-15.225; 11. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-15.230; 12. Shawn Westerfeld, 4J, Fischesser/Owen-15.235; 13. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-15.277; 14. Keith Sheffer II, 86, Sheffer-15.343; 15. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling/Curb-Agajanian-15.351; 16. Stevie Sussex, 3R, Rock Steady-15.378; 17. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-15.407; 18. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-15.440; 19. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-15.448; 20. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-15.466; 21. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-15.488; 22. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-15.498; 23. Jakeb Boxell, 54, Westfall-15.510; 24. Todd Hobson, 44, Soudrette-15.512; 25. Chance Crum, 83c, Crum-15.538; 26. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-15.581; 27. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-15.611; 28. Rylan Gray, 1, Gray-15.623; 29. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-15.705; 30. Chad Wilson, 6w, Wityk-15.762; 31. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-15.796; 32. Caleb Shietze, 2B, 2B Racing-15.838; 33. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-15.843; 34. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-15.918; 35. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-15.930; 36. Nate Carle, 14c, Carle-16.015; 37. Cody Trammell, 34T, Trammell-16.131; 38. Dustin Ingle, 2DI, Ingle-16.146; 39. Paul Dues, 87x, Dues-16.201; 40. Bryce Dues, 23D, Dues-16.205; 41. Jack James, 99, James-16.235; 42. Brian Heitkamp, 22, Heitkamp-16.323; 43. Derek Hastings, 32m, Marshall-17.132; 44. Tim Kent, 79, TFK-19.606.
K1 RACEGEAR FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mitchel Moles (4), 2. Justin Grant (6), 3. Brady Bacon (5), 4. Trey Osborne (1), 5. Stevie Sussex (3), 6. Saban Bibent (2), 7. Nate Carle (8), 8. Brian Ruhlman (7), 9. Jack James (9). 2:04.174
TJ FORGED SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Robert Ballou (2), 2. Hunter Maddox (1), 3. Shawn Westerfeld (4), 4. C.J. Leary (6), 5. Gunnar Setser (5), 6. Logan Seavey (3), 7. Caleb Shietze (7), 8. Cody Trammell (8), 9. Brian Heitkamp (9). 2:07.588
K & N FILTERS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Rylan Gray (1), 2. Briggs Danner (5), 3. Hayden Reinbold (3), 4. Jakeb Boxell (2), 5. Max Adams (4), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 7. Troy Carey (7), 8. Dustin Ingle (8), 9. Derek Hastings (9). 2:06.240
INDY POWERSPORTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jacob Denney (6), 2. Todd Hobson (2), 3. Jake Swanson (5), 4. Chase Stockon (3), 5. Brandon Mattox (1), 6. Ryan Barr (7), 7. Paul Dues (8), 8. Tim Kent (9), 9. Keith Sheffer II (4). NT
K1 RACEGEAR FIFTH HEAT: (8 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cale Coons (4), 2. Kyle Cummins (6), 3. Chance Crum (2), 4. Ricky Lewis (3), 5. Chad Wilson (1), 6. Jadon Rogers (5), 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr (7), 8. Bryce Dues (8). 2:03.892 (New Track Record)
COOK OUT C-MAIN: (8 laps, top 4 transfer to the semi, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Caleb Shietze (1), 2. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (3), 3. Nate Carle (4), 4. Dustin Ingle (8), 5. Cody Trammell (7), 6. Brian Ruhlman (6), 7. Tim Kent (9), 8. Brian Heitkamp (11), 9. Derek Hastings (12), 10. Paul Dues (5), 11. Jack James (10), 12. Troy Carey (2). NT
FIVE STAR BODIES SEMI: (12 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Gunnar Setser (2), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 3. Stevie Sussex (3), 4. Jadon Rogers (6), 5. Caleb Shietze (10), 6. Brandon Mattox (4), 7. Saban Bibent (8), 8. Logan Seavey (7), 9. Ryan Barr (9), 10. Chad Wilson (5), 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (11), 12. Dustin Ingle (13), 13. Nate Carle (12). 3:06.323 (New Track Record)
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Briggs Danner (1), 2. Brady Bacon (2), 3. Justin Grant (6), 4. Kyle Cummins (3), 5. Jacob Denney (4), 6. Cale Coons (8), 7. Gunnar Setser (12), 8. Mitchel Moles (7), 9. Jadon Rogers (14), 10. Jake Swanson (13), 11. C.J. Leary (5), 12. Jakeb Boxell (19), 13. Stevie Sussex (16), 14. Hayden Reinbold (17), 15. Chance Crum (20), 16. Shawn Westerfeld (15), 17. Hunter Maddox (22), 18. Trey Osborne (21), 19. Rylan Gray (10), 20. Robert Ballou (9), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 22. Todd Hobson (24), 23. Chase Stockon (18), 24. Ricky Lewis (23). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Briggs Danner.
**Max Adams flipped after the checkered flag in the third heat. Robert Ballou flipped on lap 3 of the feature.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-2939, 2-Justin Grant-2745, 3-Mitchel Moles-2691, 4-Jake Swanson-2418, 5-Briggs Danner-2357, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2321, 7-Chase Stockon-2178, 8-C.J. Leary-2171, 9-Robert Ballou-2167, 10-Logan Seavey-2162.
USAC PARALLAX GROUP NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.-137, 2-Hayden Reinbold-133, 3-Justin Grant-129, 4-Robert Ballou-115, 5-Briggs Danner-108, 6-Cale Coons-108, 7-Jacob Denney-102, 8-Chase Stockon-98, 9-Jake Swanson-91, 10-Kyle Cummins-83.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 26, 2026 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 44th 4-Crown Nationals Presented by NKTELCO
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Kyle Cummins (15.164)
LearnLab Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (14.979)
K1 RaceGear First Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles
TJ Forged Second Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
K & N Filters Third Heat Winner: Rylan Gray
Indy Powersports Fourth Heat Winner: Jacob Denney
K1 RaceGear Fifth Heat Winner: Cale Coons
Cook Out C-Main Winner: Caleb Shietze
Five Star Bodies Semi Winner: Gunnar Setser
Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Jakeb Boxell (19th to 12th)
K & N Filters Clean Air Award: Briggs Danner (30 laps led)