Newlin Shows Speed at Williams Grove

Strong Start Provides Optimism for the Remainder of the 2020 Season

Mechanicsburg, PA – June 26, 2020By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

It was two months later than originally planned but the 358 sprint cars were finally pit-side at the legendary Williams Grove, set to make their first appearance of 2020. 31 cars were signed in, with Newlin Racing and driver Zach Newlin among them.

The team had four races under their belt already, despite the long racing shutdown due to COVID-19, and had recorded three top 10’s. However, this was the first opportunity to measure their new 358 sprint car program at the track that is going to be the core of their 2020 season.

The Smith Concrete & Construction / J.W. Smith Auto Body / T&M Homebuilders, Inc. / Heather Sims, Realtor / Walker Performance Filtration / Newlin Bar Service #11z would start 4th in the first of three 8-lap heats. From each heat, 6 would qualify with the top 4 going to the redraw.

Zach jumped immediately to the high side on the start of the heat and moved into 3rd by the time the field reached turn 2. He continued building momentum on the cushion and it carried him into 2nd on lap 3. Over the remaining laps, Newlin was able to close a few car lengths on the leader. During the final lap, a fuel issue developed and he settled for second, which put the team squarely in the night’s redraw.

The team immediately went to work on the fuel line issue, found a bad fitting and replaced it. A quick test-fire of the car proved the problem was resolved. With that behind him, Zach had a moment to discuss the night. “We were decent in the heat even though the track had more grip than we expected. The track should come to us later tonight. We shouldn’t need to change much for the feature.”, he shared.

In the 12-car redraw the team found some good fortune, drawing the #3 pill, putting the 11z on the inside of row 2 for the feature event. The initial start of the main event was called back due to the pole-sitter jumping the start. By rule, the front two rows were swapped, putting Newlin Racing on the pole for the second attempt to get the race started.

When the green flag finally waved, Newlin looked strong. Running the bottom at both ends of the speedway, he was pulling away from the field off the corners. On lap 2, the caution lights flashed on, bunching the field again. On the ensuing restart, Zach again quickly put a few car lengths between himself and second place. By the end of lap 3, hopes were already beginning to build that tonight may be the night. It was too early to think about that, though. There were 17 laps remaining and some talented pilots in pursuit.

Suddenly, the car sputtered and slowed to a stop on lap 4. Another fuel issue had ended their solid bid for that first win in the 358 ranks. It was a disappointing ending to a strong showing.

The night had it’s clear positive message though: The team knows how to get around Williams Grove Speedway and are poised to accomplish the goal of parking the 11z on the front stretch sometime in 2020.

Next up: Port Royal Speedway on Wednesday, July 1st when the URC 360 sprint cars compete for $2000 to win as part of the 2020 PA Sprint Speedweek event.

SPECIAL THANKS:

We want to express our sincere appreciation to our sponsors and marketing partners!

Smith Concrete and Construction
J.W. Smith Auto Body
T&M Homebuilders, Inc.
Heather Sims, Realtor
Walker Performance Filtration
Newlin Bar Service

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Newlin Racing during the 2020 season at:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/NewlinRacing
(Twitter) @NewlinRacing

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Email) [email protected]

ABR Ready for a Change of Fortune

Team Determined to Get to the Bottom of Issues Plaguing Recent Outings

Mifflin, PA – June 24, 2020By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

On a somber night in the dirt racing community after the sudden loss of well-known engine builder, Curt Hershey, to a heart attack less than 12 hours earlier, Wednesday night’s midweek show at Port Royal Speedway drew a stout field of 32 super late models.

Just as many teams do on a weekly basis, ABR unloaded with confidence and optimism, believing they had solved their issue from the previous outing. Instead, their minds were on the sudden loss of their friend and engine builder. Those other problems were behind them.

Or so they thought. The lap times recorded in their group hot lap and time trial session quickly brought back concerned expressions in the pit area. They took advantage of the time they had before their heat race to switch a couple things on the car back to what they knew had worked in the past. No luck again. Austin missed a transfer spot in the heat race and landed in the B-main.

In the B-main things went from bad to worse for the Swift Springs, MS Shock Therapy, Hershey Racing Engines, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter and Nathan Berry Beef Farm sponsored Rocket Chassis. With only a few laps remaining and about to make a move into the final transfer spot to the A-main, the car got very loose on entry, putting him sideways and collecting another competitor. The angle of impact caused a slow rollover of Berry’s #86. Now it was official. Their 2020 season was truly upside down. Thankfully, Austin was able to climb out and walk away unharmed.

Dirt super late models are incredibly complex machines that require some level of geometry and engineering skills to get right. There are hundreds of adjustments you can make. The combinations of those adjustments are exponential. A team can have 99% of things right but that 1% they don’t have right might consist of a combination of several adjustments and is more than enough to put you at the back of the field. Consider his group’s qualifying times on the big half mile last night. The quickest car was 19.109 seconds and the slowest was 19.869. That’s not much room for error.

After the team loaded up and held their post-race discussion to try to put together some lessons learned, Berry said “We’re going to tear the car down this week and figure it out. Every part is coming off and getting checked. We’re going to work with our partners until we get to the bottom of this.” He continued, “We have steadily improved the last few years, so struggling like this after putting in so much work over the winter is just downright frustrating.”.

Up next for ABR is a $2500 to win super late model show on Saturday, July 4th as part of the PA Sprint Speedweek finale at Port Royal Speedway, the Greg Hodnett Classic.

Photo credits to Ashley Book and A2D.

SPECIAL THANKS:

As always, thank you to all our sponsors and partners, including our silent partners who do everything they can to help but ask for nothing in return!

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
HersheyRacingEngines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Austin Berry Racing during the 2020 season on:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing
(Twitter) @AustinBerryRacn

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Email) [email protected]

Welcome Newlin Racing to #TeamA2D

Taking on a New Challenge Together

Harrisburg, PA – June 23, 2020By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

I am thrilled to announce that Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management has teamed up with Newlin Racing to promote the team, their marketing partners, and of course keep fans up to date on all things 11z!

Newlin Racing is a successful family race team that has been in the sport for over 20 years at various levels from go-karts to sprint cars. Over the past few seasons, driver Zach Newlin and crew chief Lance Newlin have been extremely successful in the 305 sprint car ranks. That combination garnered numerous wins and multiple championships, including being 3rd in the nation in 2018, but it was time for a new challenge.

The team decided to move up and take on the very competitive 358 sprint car division in 2020. The team will be competing at Williams Grove Speedway on a regular basis, as well as entering in other shows at Port Royal Speedway, BAPS Motor Speedway and Lincoln as the schedule permits. The team already has 4 races under their belt this season and has 3 top 10’s. That’s a strong and encouraging start to this new challenge.

Next up: Williams Grove on Friday, June 26th when the 358 sprints compete as part of the 2020 PA Sprint Speedweek opening event that includes a fireworks show for fans.

Stay tuned! There’s more info to come soon on Newlin Racing’s upcoming plans, their partners, team news and of course, race day results! We’ll make sure you have all the info you need to keep up to date and stay engaged with the team.

Be sure to follow us on social media (links below) or visit our website Addicted2DirtPR.com to keep up with the latest on Newlin Racing and other members of #TeamA2D.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Newlin Racing during the 2020 season at:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/NewlinRacing
(Twitter) @NewlinRacing

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Email) [email protected]

Two Big Events Lie Ahead for ABR

Austin Berry Racing Ready to Get Back to Port Royal Speedway

Mifflin, PA – June 23, 2020By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

After taking Father’s Day weekend off from the track to spend some quality time with his daughter, Austin Berry is ready to get back to work. He’ll have his chance twice over a 10 day span at Port Royal Speedway.

First up, the super late models will join the All Star Circuit of Champion sprint cars Wednesday, June 24th and will compete for a $3000 top prize.

After a promising start to their last outing at The Speed Palace on June 13th, ABR’s evening went south with a cut tire. The team wasn’t satisfied that the tire explained everything about the car’s handling during the feature event run though, so they dug a little deeper during their off week and discovered a suspension issue that also played a part in ruining their run that night. With that resolved, everyone is anxious to get back at it.

The second event on the team’s upcoming schedule is a $2500 to win super late model show on Saturday, July 4th as part of the PA Sprint Speedweek finale at Port Royal, the Greg Hodnett Classic.

The team knows they have made strides in improving and their expectations are higher than past seasons. They try to remember not to be too hard on themselves and to look for the positives. Austin’s father and car owner Ken Berry said this week, “We have to remember, we have made shows this season that really good cars haven’t made.“.

That drive for more is never a bad thing.

SPECIAL THANKS:

As always, we want to express our thanks to all our sponsors and partners, including our silent partners who do everything they can to help but ask for nothing in return!

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
HersheyRacingEngines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Austin Berry Racing during the 2020 season on:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing
(Twitter) @AustinBerryRacn

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Email) [email protected]

ABR Port Royal 6-13-2020 recap

Port Royal, PA – by Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway was one of those nights that is more common to a race team than any other kind of night. It was the kind of night that starts with optimism, evolves into confidence midway through the show and then ends with some perplexed but determined expressions on the faces of the crew and driver.

A stout field of 32 super late models was signed in last night, so the team’s 3rd place run in the 4th heat that locked them into the main event definitely brought early confidence.

The qualifying run was good enough for a 12th place start in the 25 lap feature. The initial laps looked very promising as Austin launched off turn two on the opening lap with a lot of speed, prepared to overtake a couple cars and move into the top 10 but as cars fanned out on the backstretch, he had to fall into line for the moment. Austin commented, “The car felt really good on the start and I thought to myself ‘we are gonna move forward tonight'”.

The track was black slick from bottom to top where there was a narrow cushion. “I knew getting grip down in the slick would be challenging but we were going to be good on the top”, Austin explained. That confidence held for a few more laps as he worked to break into the top 10, until “suddenly it just went away” he said. From that point on, the ABR 86 started slipping backwards in the running order, losing a spot every couple laps.

Sensing something was not right and with nothing to gain by continuing, the team made the decision to pull in on lap 18, giving them a 21st place finish for the night. Upon his arrival, the team discovered a nearly flat right rear tire due to a slow leak. There’s no way to be sure how early in the race the tire issue started but the team will have to factor that into their assessment of the setup of the car and resulting performance. They are confident in the setup progress they have made thus far this season and are working hard to get some grip on the tricky slick surface at The Speed Palace.

Current plans are to return to action Wednesday, June 24th at Port Royal Speedway.

Thanks to all our sponsors and partners, including our silent partners who do everything they can to help but ask for nothing in return.

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
HersheyRacingEngines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

SOCIAL MEDIA: Fans can follow Austin Berry Racing during the 2020 season on:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing
(Twitter) @AustinBerryRacn

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Addicted 2 Dirt PR & Media Management can be contacted at:
(Email) [email protected]
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/AD2pr