When Briggs Danner won the BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 1, he was speechless at first.

After winning his first USAC National Midget race and kissing the bricks, Danner relished the moment on the 1/4-mile clay oval and declared there was “Nothing like this.” 

But 2026 has been a season of firsts for the 24-year-old third-generation racer from Allentown, Pa. 

Danner, who also scored his first Silver Crown victory on pavement at Winchester Speedway in dominating fashion on July 19, became the first driver in 2026 to win in all three of USAC’s national tours. 

On Thursday, the driver of the No. 39 Hogue Racing Enterprises sprint car could become the first racer to sweep USAC events on Brickyard dirt in the same year. Justin Grant, the defending Sprint Car winner at IMS, won the BC39 in 2023.

“Anytime you get to race inside Indianapolis, that's just such a cool facility to participate in,” Danner said. “The BC39, as far as an event itself, is a little bit more special. 

“But if you can, especially for myself, to go and if we could win tonight at IMS and I guess you could say sweep the shows at IMS with the midget and the sprint car, that'd be pretty cool.”

Danner is far from an overnight sensation. He won consecutive USAC East Coast Sprint titles in 2022 and 2023, the latter with his current team owners, Fran and Tim Hogue.

Winning the 2024 USAC National Most Improved Driver award foreshadowed his future success. In his 10th Silver Crown series start, Danner won at Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson, Kan., and finished the season 11th in the standings. 

Given the previous success of Doran Swanson Racing’s success at Winchester—with five poles and four wins prior to last Sunday’s Rich Vogler Classic—Danner had plenty of confidence entering the event. Seat time on pavement at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Racing Park and World Wide Technology Raceway fueled his efforts.

“We went to Gateway for the first race and were really good right off the bat,” Danner said. “We had a shot to win that race and ended up breaking a motor. 

“But I learned how hard I'm able to push the car while still conserving tires. To be good at the end of the race as well, I feel like that's the two biggest things that I learned at IRP and Gateway. 

“Obviously, you want to push hard and go fast, but you got to save your stuff for the end of the race, too, being 100 laps. So at Gateway, I feel like we were just as good at the end of the race as I was at the beginning. And I feel like I did a pretty good job of that.”

After the win at Winchester, Danner is fourth in the Silver Crown Standings.

Danner won three USAC National Sprint Car Series races in 2024. If 2025 was his breakout year on the tour, with four wins and a sixth-place finish in the standings, 2026 is Danner’s sprint car coming out party. 

In 26 starts, Danner has four victories, equaling last year’s total. Over the last two seasons, he has concentrated on patience and consistency while dialing in his race craft.

The 39th annual USAC Indiana Sprint Week, which starts today at IMS, sets up strong for Danner. He won both Kokomo Speedway races last year and has already scored victories at Lawrenceburg Speedway (4/11) and Circle City Raceway (5/21) this year.

Certainly, a victory at The Dirt Track at IMS could fuel Danner and Hogue Racing’s momentum for the next eight races. 

“I feel pretty good,” Danner said. “I enjoy the kind of small track kind of deal with the sprint car stuff. Obviously, it's a lot different than a midget there, but I think as long as we have a little bit of luck on our side, I think we'll be in pretty good shape.

“I’d like to say the track will be similar—that would put on the best racing. But each night is different. The biggest thing is you’ve got put yourself in a good spot to start up front as far as qualifying efforts go.”

The quarter-miler isn’t nearly as forgiving for the sprint cars as it is for the midgets. While Danner believes the Dirt Track will be the same, the complexion will change as the racing progresses, due to the size of the sprint cars.

“The racing is a lot tighter in a sprint car there, just because you don't have as much room to make stuff happen,” Danner said. 

“And racing situations like a midget race there, you can be three-wide and probably make it out of both ends. If you're three-wide in a sprint car there, it might not end well.” 

Danner is currently fourth in the Sprint Car standings as well. Like his fellow competitors, he is chasing defending champion Kyle Cummins (1,814 points). Mitchell Moles (1,697) and Justin Grant (1,697), are second and third, respectively behind Cummins. 

Halfway through the season, Danner trails Cummins by 215 points. How does he close the chasm?

“It’s tough, because if I have a really good night and Kyle Cummins has a bad night, that means I won and he probably finished fourth,” Danner said. “So, it's tough to make up points on somebody like that. 

“Yeah, it's just a tough spot to try to make up ground like that, but we're just going to try. Every time we go out there, we’ll try our best. Qualifying pays points, heat races pay points. 

“So just go out there and do our best and the rest will play out.”