Speedway Entertainment Awards Gala Honors Danner, Putnam, & Schott as 2023 Champions

Hershey, PA (February 2)— The Englewood in Hershey, PA, a beautifully restored and enhanced barn, was the site of this year’s Speedway Entertainment Awards Banquet on Friday, February 2nd.
Top honors went to the 2023 U.S. National SpeedSTR Champion, Briggs Danner, along with All Star Slingshot World Champion Brett Putnam and Junior Slingshot World Champion Chase Schott.
The Junior Slingshot Speedweek Champ, Lily Barrett, and All Star Slingshot Speedweek Champ, Brett Bieber, were also recognized with plaques and paychecks at the Awards Gala.
Danner, from Allentown, PA, won the U.S. National SpeedSTR title by recording three feature wins at Bloomsburg and a pair of triumphs at Kutztown’s Action Track USA, plus numerous top five and top ten finishes at both speedways. He felt his familiarity and comfort level at Bloomsburg were due to his previous track time there in a Sprint Car.
“We want to win every race, but we also make it fun,” said Danner. “From my grandfather’s goofy socks to everyone else on the crew, they make it a fun night at every race. Of course, it’s more fun when you win.”
Another member of the Danner family was saluted at the banquet. Rich Tobias, head honcho at Speedway Entertainment, presented the inaugural Mary Tobias First Lady of Racing Award to honor his mother who passed away near the end of 2023.
The recipient was Melissa Danner, mother of Briggs, who is charged with many duties on race nights, including the video recording of every lap turned by her son. A younger son, Gavin, also races in the All Star Slingshot class.
“Melissa embodies a true racing wife and mother, just as my mom did,” stated Tobias in presenting the award. “Melissa does so many things to support the family race team and she is always positive and smiling, no matter how the night goes for her team and her sons. She is a terrific representative of the sport, and certainly deserving of this award.”
Johnstown, NY racer Brett Putnam was crowned as the 2023 World Champion of the All Star Slingshots. Putnam registered six wins during the season and was the Utica Rome track champion. He pulled off the World Championship during the series’ final weekend at the end of October, after a neck-and-neck point battle with PA’s Brett Bieber.
“I’m just glad I race in New York, because Bieber’s down here in Pennsylvania,” deadpanned Putnam in his Champion’s speech. “He’s always tough, and it was a real battle on that final weekend. We were just a little more consistent with our finishes in those last four races.”
Chase Schott, the youthful charger from Lebanon, PA, captured the Junior Slingshot World Championship on the strength of 22 feature victories, including two on WC Championship weekend at the Pagoda Motorcycle Club in late October.
Schott was also the Wednesday night Jr. Slingshot point champ at Shellhammer’s and garnered the point title at Linda’s Speedway, too. In his World Champion’s speech, he made no bones about his number one goal for 2024.
“We’re moving up to the All Star Slingshots, and I want to beat the GOAT at Kutztown…I will try to win the points over Brett Bieber at Action Track USA,” Schott said emphatically, to the approval (and supportive laughter) of the nearly 200 banquet attendees.
Given his immense skill behind the wheel, many feel Schott will be a championship contender in the All Star Slingshots in the upcoming season. He will also test the non-wing 600 Sprint waters at Foley Cat Action Track USA during the ‘24 campaign.
Lily Barrett, from Fleetwood, PA, was a model of consistency in winning the Junior Slingshot Speedweek crown in 2023. She finished in the top five in all four events to claim the title over Christopher Tittle and Darian Danyluk.
Bieber, the “Oley Jet”, won another All Star Slingshot Speedweek championship with a triumph at Action Track USA and two more podium finishes. Bieber out-pointed Garrett Chillot and Nolan Layser to garner championship honors.
In his “State of Speedway Entertainment” speech following the awards presentation, Rich Tobias talked about traveling the country to watch his beloved Slingshots, a division he created and nurtured to the point where there are well over 600 of the speedy little cars competing all over the U.S. and Canada.
“Everywhere I went, the people involved told me the same thing…’we love these cars, but we can’t stand some of the parents of the drivers!’”
Tobias implored the banquet attendees, along with those parents he encountered during his travels, to “remember these are mostly younger drivers in the cars. And they are trying to become better racers, but they are also there to put on a show. And the parents need to be part of the show, a positive part and not a negative. Be nice to the other race teams and to the track owners, promoters, and staff. We need to put on an exciting, professional, and positive show if racing is to thrive and survive.”