SEASON REVIEW: BRIGHT LIGHTS THE WAY TO 2021 USAC EAST COAST SPRINT TITLE

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Thursday, 23 December 2021

SEASON REVIEW: BRIGHT LIGHTS THE WAY TO 2021 USAC EAST COAST SPRINT TITLE

2021 USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars Presented by Capitol Custom Trailers champion, Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) Dave Dellinger Photo

SEASON REVIEW: BRIGHT LIGHTS THE WAY TO 2021 USAC EAST COAST SPRINT TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 23, 2021)………The 2021 USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars Presented by Capitol Custom Trailers season featured one of the greatest new rivalries in the entire sprint car racing landscape.

Alex Bright versus Briggs Danner.

The two Pennsylvanians repeatedly reset the measuring stick as they traded win after win, punch after punch, exchanging the lead at the top of the standings repeatedly throughout the summer.

In fact, on 10 separate occasions this season, when one driver won, the other followed up with a victory of his own in the very next race. In nine instances, Bright and Danner occupied the top-two positions in the feature finishing order!

In the end, Collegeville, Pennsylvania’s Bright prevailed with a whopping 11 victories and 22 top-five finishes in 23 starts aboard his Hummer Motorsports/Rodota Trucking & Excavating – Western Flyer Express/Maxim/Rider Chevy.

After collecting the USAC / ARDC Eastern Midget title in 2018, Bright put his name in the record books once more in 2021 as the USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion.

During Bright’s mega 2021 year, he more than doubled the previous series record of five single season wins, set by Steven Drevicki in 2019 and 2020. Bright scored early and often, winning the second race out of the box at Port Royal, Pa. in April, then again at Selinsgrove, Pa. in May, at Lincoln (Pa.) in June, at Big Diamond (Pa.) and Bridgeport (N.J.) in July, at Selinsgrove in August and at Bedford, Pa. in August.

Starting in September, Bright went on a tear, winning a series record four consecutive feature events at Delaware International, Winchester, Va., Bridgeport and Georgetown, Dela. to solidify his position atop of the championship bout.

Danner (Allentown, Pa.), in his first full season of sprint car competition, was an instant hit on the scene, capturing the opener at Bridgeport in April and on consecutive evenings in May at Bedford and Grandview (Pa.). He dialed up a total of nine victories with summer scores at Selinsgrove in June, and to start the month of July at Action Track USA (Pa.).

It was the following night after his victory at Action Track USA when tragedy struck Danner’s team with the passing of car owner Bill Gallagher. The team carried on with heavy hearts but retained their winning ways with crew chief Curt Michael just two weeks later at Georgetown in late July, then carried into August with a pair of triumphs at Bloomsburg, Pa. and Port Royal before closing out the campaign in November the same manner they started, with a win at Bridgeport, en route to a runner-up finish in the standings and 2021 series Rookie of the Year honors.

Series newcomer Damon Paul (Stony Point, N.Y.) took third in the series points and collected his first career series victory on the banks of Virginia’s Winchester Speedway in late July for car owner Lou Cicconi Jr.

Three-time series champion Steven Drevicki (Reading, Pa.) notched a single win in June at Williams Grove (Pa.) for the DeGre Engineering team and finished seventh in the standings.

East Coast modified shoe, Billy VanInwegen (Port Jervis, N.Y.), likewise, collected his first career victory with the series in October for Van Dusen Racing at New York’s Orange County Fair Speedway, which came in a race that was shortened from 25 laps to 14 due to rain.

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2021 USAC EAST COAST SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS

Driver Champion: Alex Bright

Rookie of the Year: Briggs Danner

Most Wins: 11-Alex Bright

Most Laps Led: 237-Briggs Danner

Most Top-Fives: 22-Alex Bright

Most Top-Tens: 22-Alex Bright

Most Heat Race Wins: 13-Alex Bright

Most Feature Starts: 23-Alex Bright & Briggs Danner

2021 USAC EAST COAST SPRINT CAR DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1 1689 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

2 1549 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.

3 1255 Damon Paul, Stony Point, N.Y.

4 1151 Nash Ely, Wernersville, Pa.

5 1051 Bruce Buckwalter Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa.

6 981 Kenny Miller III, Morgantown, Pa.

7 954 Steven Drevicki, Reading, Pa.

8 880 Joey Amantea, Mt. Pocono, Pa.

9 870 Ed Aikin, Lincoln University, Pa.

10 832 Tommy Kunsman, Bethlehem, Pa.

11 790 Mike Thompson, Holland, Pa.

12 783 Chris Allen Jr., Wrightstown, N.J.

13 704 Christian Bruno, Deptford, N.J.

14 674 Jonathan Swanson, Yardville, N.J.

15 669 Jason Cherry, Blandon, Pa.

16 585 Colin White, Scranton, Pa.

17 559 Billy Ney, Laureldale, Pa.

18 492 David Swanson, Yardville, N.J.

19 456 Carmen Perigo, Stoystown, Pa.

20 444 Eric Jennings, Bloomingburg, N.Y.

21 360 Aidan Borden, Jackson, N.J.

22 323 Troy Fraker, Newville, Pa.

23 286 Blaine Emery, Oley, Pa.

24 286 Mike Meyers, Zionsville, Pa.

25 183 Lee Kauffman, Hellam, Pa.

26 177 Mark Bitner, Trenton, N.J.

27 170 Brian Spencer, Old Bridge, N.J.

28 163 Tom Savage, Red Lion, Pa.

29 152 Richy Carnathan, Northampton, Pa.

30 146 Craig Pellegrini, Buena, N.J.

31 139 Heidi Hedin, Pipersville, Pa.

32 93 Jermain Godshall, Telford, Pa.

33 71 Zack Burd, Maple Shade, N.J.

34 69 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.

35 66 Joey Biasi, Mary D, Pa.

36 40 Preston Lattomus, Landenberg, Pa.

37 39 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

38 38 Kevin Darling, Wyoming, Dela.

39 31 John Stehman, Halifax, Pa.

2021 USAC EAST COAST SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINNERS:

Apr 3: Bridgeport Motorsports Park - Swedesboro, NJ

WINNER: Briggs Danner (Bill Gallagher #5G)

Apr 10: Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA