KOKOMO, IN- The opening night of Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XIV at Kokomo Speedway delivered a classic, with Briggs Danner fending off repeated charges from Kyle Cummins to score a dramatic win on Thursday.
Polesitter C.J. Leary jumped to the early lead, but it didn’t take long for Danner to put his No. 39 machine on the cushion and surge past. Leary fought back with a slider, only for Danner to counter and reclaim the point in the opening laps. The Pennsylvania driver quickly established control until lapped traffic and a near-miss with Todd Hobson brought Cummins into the picture.
From there, the battle was relentless. Cummins slid to the lead on lap 18, but a cushion mistake in traffic opened the door for Danner to reclaim the top spot inside of five laps to go. On a late restart, the two swapped sliders and drag raced to the line multiple times, trading the advantage by thousandths of a second. With the white flag in sight, Danner slipped underneath off turn two, then held off Cummins through the final corners to win by just over a tenth of a second.
“This place is all about momentum,” Danner said in victory lane. “Kyle is such a smart racer — he got by us once, and I just had to regroup and stay calm. To get him back and move around at the end was the key.” The triumph marked Danner’s second straight USAC National Sprint Car win at Kokomo, following his last-lap Sprint Week heroics in July.
Other Highlights
The preliminary program was stacked with intensity from the opening green flag. Hayden Reinbold kicked off the night by scoring the first heat race win, while C.J. Leary, Jadon Rogers, Matt Westfall, and Jake Swanson each claimed heat victories of their own. Logan Seavey kept his championship chase alive by storming to the semi-feature win after narrowly missing a transfer in his heat.
The night wasn’t without drama — multiple flips slowed the action, including incidents for Steve Justis, Adyn Schmidt, David Gasper, and Parker Frederickson. All drivers walked away uninjured. Ricky Lewis was the evening’s big mover, charging from 24th to 13th in the feature to claim Hard Charger honors.
Fans also saw flashes of Kokomo’s trademark unpredictability, with provisional starter Clinton Boyles advancing into the main event and local favorite Harley Burns picking up top-local honors with a strong 12th-place run.
Feature Results (30 Laps)
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Briggs Danner (4)
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Kyle Cummins (6)
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C.J. Leary (1)
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Mitchel Moles (3)
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Hayden Reinbold (8)
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Kevin Thomas Jr. (13)
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Justin Grant (5)
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Kale Drake (17)
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Logan Seavey (11)
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Chase Stockon (16)
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Matt Westfall (7)
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Harley Burns (10)
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Ricky Lewis (24)
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Cale Coons (20)
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Carson Garrett (14)
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Chelby Hinton (21)
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Gunnar Setser (12)
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Clinton Boyles (25-P)
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Wyatt Burks (22)
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Jack Hoyer (15)
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Todd Hobson (23)
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Brandon Mattox (19)
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Jadon Rogers (9)
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Shane Cottle (18)
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Jake Swanson (2)
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Joey Amantea (26-P)
Lap Leaders: C.J. Leary (1–3), Briggs Danner (4–17, 25–26, 29–30), Kyle Cummins (18–24, 27–28)
Fast Facts
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Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kyle Cummins (12.599)
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Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Ricky Lewis (24th → 13th)
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Heat Race Winners: Reinbold, Leary, Rogers, Westfall, Swanson
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Semi Winner: Logan Seavey
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C-Main Winner: Zack Pretorius
Points Outlook
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National Championship Top 3: Kyle Cummins (2173), Mitchel Moles (1942), Logan Seavey (1924)
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Passing Master Leader: Kale Drake (204 passes)
Up Next
The Smackdown continues Friday and Saturday at Kokomo Speedway, with more preliminary action before Saturday night’s $30,000-to-win finale.
ENDS ARTICLE
