Austin Berry Racing kicks off their 2020 season with a roller-coaster day

Port Royal, PA – March 14, 2020 by Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

Optimistic. That’s the word that describes every race team in the pits at their first race each season.

Teams and drivers work hard all winter to improve their equipment, their knowledge and their skills. They arrive at the first race anxious and ready to combine all the knowledge and skills with the refreshed equipment in hopes of seeing better results than the year before. It’s the top of a hill on a roller-coaster you could say. Such was the case for Austin Berry Racing Saturday afternoon at Port Royal Speedway. The #86 Rocket Chassis XR1 supported by partners Swift Springs, MS Shock Therapy, Hershey Racing Engines, Berry’s Siding & Seamless gutter, Ontime Body & Graphics and Nathan Berry Beef farm was ready for 2020.

Then it happened. Despite starting just fine at their shop, for some mysterious reason the car would not fire. The feeling was the same one your stomach gets plummeting down that first big hill on a roller-coaster. You waited all day (or winter in this case) to ride…and now this happens. The team hurried to diagnose and resolve the issue but by the time they were able to do so, they had missed their hot lap session.

With the issue resolved, Austin turned his focus to starting 3rd in heat number three. He turned in a solid run, finishing 2nd and putting himself in the redraw. The top three finishers in each of the three heats for the twenty-nine car field were placed into a nine car redraw for the top starting positions in the feature event. The team was definitely back at the top of a hill.

Brace yourself for another downhill on today’s roller-coaster. Austin drew pill #9, the worst available.

The 25 lap main event was uneventful. The team missed the setup a bit. Despite finishing 14th, it wasn’t all bad. A lot was learned based on how the car responded to conditions, driving choices and setup choices.

Learning how to pick the right combinations of all their new equipment and knowledge for each set of conditions is going to take time, but this was certainly a productive day toward that goal.

Despite being a trying day, it definitely ended on an upbeat note…back on top the proverbial roller-coaster hill: several young fans approached Berry after the race asking for autographs, which he gladly obliged with a smile.

So day number one of the 2020 season was a roller-coaster. How does the ABR team feel now about the 2020 season?

Optimistic. Without a doubt. Optimistic.