ABR Ready for a Change of Fortune

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

Mifflin, PA – June 24, 2020 – By 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:

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