D
Member
Publications
Saturday, March 24, 2012 Published by J-Ad Graphics, Inc. Phone (269) 945-9554 1351 North M-43 Highway • Hastings, MI 49058-0188
anny Briel never had much patience in a race car when he needed to get to the front of a pack. Today, in retirement, patience is his finest virtue as he relies on tweezers and a magnifying glass for precise placement of racing-related objects in dioramas and models that help him relive the days of a sport that dominated his life. Racing under the name Danny Johnson, the Freeport man chased his dream of earning a place in the Indianapolis 500. He came close, but instead opted for a life devoted to family and to his community. In every model and in every photograph he uses as a building guide, Briel has a life story that’s taken him from California to Connecticut, from Mexico to the old Hastings Speedway. To learn what he encountered and what brought him to life on a farm with family in Freeport, look inside.