Danny Jennings shared that he injured his eye in a violent wreck with four laps left in the 62nd annual running of the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Jennings was running 9th at the time of the wreck. He flipped violently down the front straight and eventually collided with the outside wall and catch fence before coming to a stop in the outside of the entrance to turn 1. 

Following the wreck, the race was ended with Briggs Danner taking home the win. In a press release, USAC Racing shared, “The race was halted after 96 laps when ninth place running Danny Jennings endured a vicious series of end-over-end flips down the front straightaway. Jennings was checked and released following the accident.”

“Saturday’s event got off to a late start due to overnight showers that delayed practice by an hour. Three massive crashes during the feature required a lengthy cleanup. Furthermore, a 3:30pm Central deadline was slated for the race due to setup commencing for Saturday night’s concert by The Chicks on the front straightaway stage,” the series added. “All of those factors ended the race four laps short of the full distance, the first shortened Springfield race since 2021.”

The series also noted in a post to social media following the wreck that Jennings had been “checked & released after his lap 96 accident.”

Danny Jennings has been checked & released after his lap 97 accident today at the @ILStateFair.#Bettenhausen100 pic.twitter.com/GTztLdvpbX

— USAC Racing (@USACNation) August 22, 2026

Additionally, they spoke with Jennings following the race. He said, “I’m a little sore, a little bunged up, but I hope we’ll be alright. The car’s definitely junk. We won’t be at the next mile for sure.”

As for what happened, he shared, “Something broke because it went deep left. I don’t know exactly what. It’s just part of racing, I guess.”

Catching up with Danny Jennings! 🗣️

After his vicious last lap accident today at the @ILStateFair, we got an update from the Oklahoma racer.#Bettenhausen100 pic.twitter.com/t8aL5JkcRS

— USAC Racing (@USACNation) August 22, 2026

Jennings and his team then shared an update to Facebook, “What was looking to be a great day and our best Silver Crown finish ever turned disastrous on lap 97 of 100. Something broke in the left front of the car and sent him into the wall and then violently flipping.”

“He’s really banged up and having some vision issues, but, will eventually heal up. Thankfully, it is only minor as it could have been so much worse. We understand it was a scary situation for everyone watching on Flo and I just want everyone to know that no announcement was made before the broadcast ended because at that time, there wasn’t any information being released. Simply because nothing was known for sure before the Flo Crown Race was supposed to end,” the team continued. “USAC could not have been more helpful. Everybody involved with their organization was extremely concerned and professional more than we could have ever asked for. We can’t thank the USAC officials enough for everything they did to help us get the mess of our equipment loaded up. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

“Thank you to each and everyone of you for your texts, calls, facebook comments and messages about Danny. It means the world to me that so many people care about him. He will be okay and the car can be replaced. We both know that we couldn’t have made it through today without the people in this picture. They are truly the best friends in the world. Thanks again to everyone for the prayers today. We are very lucky .”

Jennings shared an additional update with Event Horizon Photography revealing he did injure his eye in the wreck, “First, I want to thank each and every person for their kind words, thoughts and prayers. Saturday, on the 97th lap at the Springfield Mile something broke on my car turning it deep left into the guardrail, creating a series of violent flips.”

“Upon returning home I went to the hospital and all brain scans, lumbar scans and X-rays turned out good,” he continued. “I have a trauma induced hole in the back of my right eye that may require surgery. My eye will keep me from being able to race for a minimum of 6 months. I feel extremely fortunate this is the extent of my injuries, as we all know it could be much worse.”

“Thank you again to everyone concerned and we ill be back again one day in the future,” he concluded.

On top of this statement, Event Horizon Photography also shared that Jennings is seeking photos of his car “to try and gain some sort of understanding as to what kind of equipment failure led to the crash. And he is asking any and all photographers who captured his car that day to reach out to him so he can purchase photos for data-gathering purposes.”

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