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07/20/2026

Danner Wins Rich Vogler Classic in First Attempt
Sunday at Wi******er in Doran-Swanson Racing No. 77

WI******ER, Ind., July 20 — The driver was different but the results were the same as they have been for the previous four years, as a Doran Racing-prepared USAC Silver Crown car led all 100 laps of the 34th annual Rich Vogler Classic Sunday at Wi******er Speedway.

This time it was Briggs Danner of Allentown, Pa., behind the wheel of the Doran-Swanson Racing No. 77 sponsored by E. Schneider & Sons Inc. Recycling, Fuelmart, and Sennebogen. The 24-year-old driver hadn’t even seen the half-mile high-banked oval before he tested here on Saturday, but he won the pole and led wire to wire to triumph in only his third USAC Silver Crown pavement race ever.

(Kody Swanson, who led all 400 laps of the last four Rich Vogler Classics at Wi******er driving a Doran Racing-prepped car, is not competing in the series this year since he became its director in the off season.)

There were four caution flags in the first 70 laps of Sunday’s race which kept the top runners close, especially the top three of Danner, point leader C.J. Leary, and Dakoda Armstrong.

Three of the four yellows were for cars which developed flat right-rear tires. The first flew from laps 14-17 for Ryan Newman, who slowed with his flat coming out of Turn 2 while running fourth.

The second waved from laps 31-34 when Kaylee Bryson slowed on the backstretch while running 11th after her tire let go.

The third full-course caution came out from laps 48-57 when Nathan Byrd had a problem with his car’s front end while running sixth and crashed into the outside wall between Turns 1 and 2. He was not injured but his car required a wrecker.

The final yellow waved from laps 67-70 when Kyle Steffens’ car got a flat tire at the exit of Turn 2 while he was seventh.

Leary and Armstrong kept the pressure up on Danner on all the restarts. At the one-quarter mark Danner had a 0.578-second lead with the No. 77, which is powered by a Doran Toyota.

His USAC sprint car carries the No. 39, and he set the fastest lap of anyone in Sunday’s race on lap 39 with a time of 15.897 seconds.

He was able to pad his advantage to over a second (1.045) for the first time on lap 45, only to have the field accordion up behind him for another yellow.

Following the restart on lap 71 Justin Grant passed Mario Clouser for fourth on lap 72. At the three-quarter mark Danner had a 0.675-second lead over Leary, with Armstrong right behind.

Still, Danner was able to increase his advantage to over 1 second again by lap 79, and with no more restarts he was able to increase it to 2 seconds in the race’s late stages. But there were still challenges ahead.

Armstrong passed Leary for second with a move to the outside on the backstretch working lap 93, and immediately focused on catching Danner. Lapped traffic cut Danner’s advantage to only 0.538 on lap 96, but once he was clear of them he was able to hold off Armstrong and march onward. He had a 1.415-second margin of victory over Armstrong at the checkered. It was his second career USAC Silver Crown victory and first on a paved track.

Leary finished third and Grant and Clouser rounded out the top five. The top five were the only drivers to complete all 100 laps.

Brian Tyler was the hard charger after starting 11th and finishing sixth even though his car lost its brakes at the end. Tyler Roahrig, Robert Tyler, Steffens, and Bryson rounded out the top 10.

Danner won the pole by 0.151 over Leary with a time of 14.972 seconds. It was the sixth consecutive time this particular car has won the pole at this race, and it was Danner’s first pole ever in the series.

Danner was eighth in the first practice session with a 15.673 but he topped the final practice session with a 15.167.

“I was a little nervous with the lapped traffic once when they were running three wide ahead of me,” Danner said. “I only passed lapped cars today, which I guess is good, but C.J. and Dakoda kept the pressure up. I felt really good the longer a run went on though.

“I knew where they were because Kevin [Doran] told me on the radio, and at the end I knew Armstrong was pushing hard. The last 15 laps I just tried not to do anything dumb and bring it home.

“Yesterday in practice I didn’t feel like I had a grasp of this track, but I felt better as the day went on today. I put a good amount of pressure on myself over Kody’s great record of leading this whole race for the last four years. To be able to continue that for this team is a cool deal.”

How do you like Wi******er Speedway?

“I like it a lot!”

Sunday’s race, like all USAC Silver Crown events, was streamed live on Flo Racing.

The next USAC Silver Crown race is Saturday, Aug. 8 at another new track for Danner, Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. That weekend also sees the ARCA Menards Series (Friday), the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (Saturday), and the NASCAR Cup Series (Sunday) in action on that 0.875-mile paved oval.

For more information see DoranRacing.com and USACRacing.com, and follow Doran Racing and Briggs Danner Racing on Facebook.

Photo credit: Doran Racing photo

07/06/2026

Cottle’s Top-Four Run Is Thwarted
When Doran-Swanson No. 77 Loses Power
Sunday at Terre Haute and Ends Up 14th

TERRE HAUTE, Ind., July 7 — Shane Cottle was a solid fourth and preparing for a late kick during a restart with 63 laps complete in the 100-lap Sumar Classic USAC Silver Crown race Sunday night at the Terre Haute Action Track. Unfortunately an unknown gremlin caused the Doran-Swanson Racing No. 77 to shut off going into Turn 1 on the restart and bring out another yellow. Cottle was able to get out of the racing line and avoid contact with anyone else. He was even able to refire the car and return to the field in tenth place, still on the lead lap. However, the same problem occurred again and he was forced to retire the entry with 69 laps complete for a 14th-place finish.

It was a disappointing end to the evening for the driver from Kansas, Ill., and the Lebanon, Ohio-based team after Cottle qualified fifth, just 0.423 off the pole, and ran mostly in fourth or fifth place for more than two-thirds of the race on the half-mile dirt oval. It was the 22nd edition of the Sumar Classic and the 500th USAC Silver Crown race ever held. It was also Cottle’s first time driving the car, which carries the colors of Doran Enterprises, Rosewood Machine & Tool, and TJ Forged.

Cottle set his fastest lap of the race early, on lap three, with a time of 22.338 after qualifying with a lap in 21.050. That was the third-fastest lap in the early going, and even at the end of the race it was the sixth-fastest lap run by anyone.

He was fifth for the first five laps, which included a red flag with four laps down when the 17th-place driver, Patrick Bruns, flipped and hit the wall in Turn 1. Luckily he wasn’t hurt.

Cottle got by Kyle Cummins for fourth with a move to the outside going into Turn 1 following a restart with seven laps down, but another yellow flew shortly thereafter and he had to give the position back. He remained in fifth until lap 23 when C.J. Leary got by. Chase Stockon passed him on lap 29 to push him to seventh, but he passed Stockon back on the very next lap to regain sixth.

He was back in the position he started, fifth, on lap 34 when both Cummins and he passed Justin Grant. By the halfway point he was still fifth, 1.009 seconds behind the driver in fourth, Leary, and 1.283 seconds ahead of the driver in sixth, Grant.

Four laps later he moved back into fourth when he passed Leary. He remained in fourth for the next 10 laps until the mechanical issue surfaced.

Polesitter Mitchel Moles led all but one lap and finished more than 2 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Hayden Reinbold. Leary, Grant, and Jake Swanson rounded out the top five. Bill Rose was the hard charger, as he came from 18th to finish sixth. Steve Gennetten, Mario Clouser, Gregg Cory, and Cummins rounded out the top 10.

“There was no warning; the car just shut off,” Cottle said after the race. “It was running well before that.

“I had some close calls. Probably the closest was when one guy stalled on a restart right in front of me.

“I had a good battle with a couple of guys; probably the one with Cummins was the best.

“The track was really technical tonight. Turns 1 and 2 were good, but 3 and 4 were a little rough.”

Doran-Swanson Racing is fielding a car for Briggs Danner in the series’ races on paved tracks. One of them is next on the schedule, as the series visits Wi******er (Ind.) Speedway July 19. Cottle’s next race with the team is Aug. 22 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

For more information see DoranRacing.com and USACRacing.com, and follow Doran Racing on Facebook.

Photo credit: Cody Vaught

06/26/2026

Danner Runs in Top Four in Hoosier Hundred
Thursday at IRP in Doran-Swanson Racing No. 77

BROWNSBURG, Ind., June 26 — Briggs Danner competed in his first race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park ever Thursday night and diced with some of the biggest stars of the USAC Silver Crown division in one of the series’ biggest races, the 69th annual Hoosier Hundred. The Allentown, Pa.-based series rookie appeared to be on his way to at least a top-five finish, but unfortunately a driveline failure knocked his Doran-Swanson Racing No. 77 out while he was running fourth just after the halfway point.

He ended up 17th in the 23-car field, but before he dropped out he came out on top during great battles with the series’ defending champion, Justin Grant, and Bobby Santos III, the 2023 Hoosier Hundred winner who is in a three-way tie as the winningest driver on this 0.686-mile asphalt oval in USAC competition.

Dakoda Armstrong, whose previous best finish in this race was sixth in 2024, ended up winning over C.J. Leary, Tyler Roahrig, Russ Gamester, Grant, and Santos.

Danner qualified third behind Leary and Santos, but he dropped to fifth initially when both Armstrong and Grant got by his car, which is sponsored in part by E. Schneider & Sons Inc. Recycling and Fuelmart, on the first lap.

Danner ran his fastest lap of the race on lap seven with a time of 22.141 seconds, but Roahrig got around him on lap eight to push him to sixth place. Roahrig and Grant swapped fourth and fifth during the early going. By lap 20 Armstrong had a 1.722-second lead over Leary but Danner was just 0.169 behind Grant as he fought to get back into the top five.

At the one-quarter mark Armstrong still led Leary by 1.684 seconds. Grant passed Santos for fourth on that lap, but Danner was only 0.128 seconds behind Santos and a full second ahead of the seventh-place driver, Mario Clouser, before the second of only two full-course cautions waved between laps 27 and 30.

Danner took good advantage of the restart on lap 31 and on lap 32 he passed Santos for fifth coming out of Turn 4. By lap 35 he was only 0.321 behind the fourth-place Grant and 0.324 ahead of Santos, much to the delight of the Flo Racing audience.

At that point he kept the pressure on Grant and slowly built up a bit of an advantage over Santos. By lap 40 he was 0.164 behind Grant and 0.521 ahead of Santos.

Five laps later he passed Grant for fourth when he dove under him in Turn 4. Armstrong had a 1.015-second lead over Leary at that point. With Grant behind him, Danner’s next goal was to pass Roahrig for third while holding off Grant.

Gamester passed Grant for fifth on lap 47. At the halfway point Danner was still in fourth place, busy holding off Gamester. He was able to stay in fourth until the mechanical issue struck with 54 laps complete.

Danner qualified third with a time of 21.160, which was only 0.198 off the time Leary set to earn the pole. Danner was second in the only practice period with a 21.242, only 0.027 off the time Kyle Hamilton ran to top the session in the late stages.

The Hoosier Hundred was rained out May 22 and postponed until June 25. Danner’s next USAC Silver Crown race with the Lebanon, Ohio-based team will be July 19 at Wi******er (Ind.) Speedway.

“I thought we had a top-five car,” Danner said after the race. “I had a close call once when I misjudged how fast I was closing on Grant. And lapped cars were tough; they’re fighting for their own positions though. This track is wide, but the racing groove is pretty narrow.

“I had a good battle with Santos too. I got a run on him in Turn 2, got under him in Turn 3, and got by him coming off 4. It’s all good experience; this was my first race here.

“Now we go to a track I’ve never seen — Wi******er. I’m excited to go there, and see what we can do!”

For more information see DoranRacing.com, USACRacing.com, and RaceIRP.com, and follow Doran Racing and Briggs Danner Racing on Facebook.

06/09/2026

05/27/2026

05/21/2026

Kody Swanson received the #1 driver of 2025 award as determined by the National Pavement Sprint Car Rankings in a ceremony last night at Anderson Speedway. (Doran Racing photo)

05/20/2026

Thanks to the great record keeping of our friend Dave Argabright, we learned that 2026 marks Nolen Racing's 30th anniversary at the Little 500! Our entry in 1996 was driven by the great Jim Keeker. Join us Saturday night at Anderson Speedway as we give it another go with Hall of Famer Shane Hollingsworth behind the wheel!

We won this very, very hard race in both 2018 and 2019 with Kody Swanson. In 2018 we took up two-thirds of the podium, as Hollingsworth was third!

Swanson won again in 2019. Hollingsworth was fourth that year, but incredibly our team led 499 of the 500 laps! The only lap we didn't lead was lap 354, when both cars were in the pits simultaneously.

We finished second in 2008 with Tony Elliott, in 2014 with Jerry C***s Jr., and 2020 with Hollingsworth.

We've been third six times: Chet Fillip (2002), Billy Puterbaugh (2007), 2016 (C***s), 2021 (Tanner Swanson) and Hollingsworth finished third in 2011 and 2018.

Let's see what happens Saturday night! Fingers crossed!