Berry Debuts With Top 10 at The Speed Palace

Team Unveils Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Campaign Paint Scheme

Port Royal, PA – March 7, 2023

by Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Mgmt

Photo Credit:  Derick Kriner Photography

Austin Berry didn’t load up at the end of Port Royal Speedway’s Opening Day event with the exact finish he knew his car was capable of, but overall, he picked up where he left off at the end of last season; running near the front and being in contention for podium finishes against a strong field of contenders.  

 

  • Date:  3/5/23
  • Event:  Opening Day
  • Track:  Port Royal Speedway
  • City, State:   Port Royal, PA
  • Quick Stats:  31 cars, Heat 2nd (6), A-main 10th (8)

 

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Car Reveal

Over two hours before they would be able to fire the engine, the Austin Berry Racing team unloaded and revealed their winter-long labor of love, their Pancreatic Cancer Awareness car, which blends the purple associated with many causes that battle the deadly cancer, with Berry’s traditional yellow and black No.86.

Berry flies the purple colors every five years in honor of his biggest fan, his grandfather, who lost his life to the disease 15 years ago.  In the near future, the team plans to announce more details about the fundraising and awareness efforts they will carry out during the 2023 season. 

I’m excited to be doing this again to honor my grandfather and raise awareness about the disease that took him from us and has affected so many people we know.”, Berry shared.  “The car looks great too.  P3 Graphix really nailed the design.

We want to raise money for the cause, but my primary goal this year is to spread awareness and focus on the people it has affected.”, Berry said.

I would love to have all the black space on our car filled with the personalized decals by the end of the year.

Berry was referring to the Pancreatic Cancer Awareness decals the team will be selling that fans can personalize with a note in honor or memory of a loved one, or just a general note of support and encouragement to those affected.

I also want to let everyone know we are working on t-shirt deal.  It is in the works, and we hope to have the new shirts for this campaign and our season within the next month or so.”, Berry said.

100% of the funds raised from the team’s campaign will be donated to PanCan.org to help find a means of early detection.

 

Early Action

A stout field of 31 super late models was on hand for Sunday’s lid-lifter at The Speed Palace.  Top names like Greg Satterlee, Trever Feathers, Rick Eckert, Ross Robinson, Jeff Rine and Gary Stuhler were among the many quality teams signed in.

The opening day format called for four 8-lap heat races, which were lined up by a random pill draw.  The top five finishers from each transferred directly to the feature event, but only the top three would participate in the invert redraw.

Berry lined up 6th in the first heat race of the afternoon in his The Tire Mart Tire Pros of Harrisburg, Juniata Veterinary Clinic, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter, SRI Performance, VP Racing Fuels, JDS Racing, Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop, Nathan Berry Beef Farm, Addicted2DirtPR.com, A&C Racing Engines, GO Lithium, Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Super Clean, Rocket Chassis No.86.

The Mifflin, PA native wasted no time charging toward the front from the drop of the green.  Running 3rd after one lap, Berry continued his surge into the runner up spot on the following lap.  He closed the gap a little on leader Justin Weaver but ran out of time and rode home 2nd.

 

The Day's Finale

The invert redraw would invert either 3, 6, 9 or 12 cars for the starting lineup in the 25-lap $4,000 to win main event.  Unfortunately, it was a worst case result for Berry when the #12 pill turned up, landing him 8th on the starting grid.

In the early going, it didn’t appear the starting spot would hold Berry back.  He quickly moved into 6th on the opening lap, then continued to move forward by running a lane above his competition.  

Berry’s Rocket XR1 looked like a rocket.  By the second circuit he was riding in 4th and challenging for more.  

Soon after Berry started to notice something amiss.  He was down on power, but the engine wasn’t showing signs of distress, so he worked to battle through it.

Berry held on to a top five spot through lap twenty, but then some of those veterans managed to finally reel him in and get by.  Berry slid to a 10th place finish over the final four laps.

I’m not dissatisfied, just disappointed.  Feel like we let a top five slip through our fingers.“, Berry commented.

Although the core program is the same, Berry and his team had made a number of changes to their program during the offseason.  Plus, they made the decision to start 2023 on the new Hoosier tires so they could start learning how their car would react and making the necessary adjustments to find speed.

We had a lot of speed today, so we are really happy about that, especially given the changes we have made and the switch to the new Hoosier tires.”, Berry said.

Discussing his troubles in the final stages of the race, Berry stated “It ran fine in hot laps, the heats and at the start of the feature, but then the motor just went a little flat.  We are pretty sure we have an electrical issue that caused it.  We will be digging into that at the shop.  The motor is fine.”  

We got through day unscathed, so it’s not a bad way to start the year.  We were capable of running 3rd to 5th with the motor at full song the whole way.  We will get that figured out.  I’m excited to keep racing.  The car feels like it did at the end of last year, so given all the changes, that’s a win in my book.“, Berry concluded.

 

Up Next

The next race for Berry and the team will be the March 25th ULMS event at Port Royal Speedway.

In the meantime, they are planning to test at either Selinsgrove Speedway or Hagerstown Speedway to make sure they have resolved their electrical issues.

 

Trivia Question

In what year and at what track did Austin Berry pick up his first dirt super late model victory?

The answer in the next press release!

 

Season Stats

1 races, 0 wins, 0 top 5’s, 1 top 10’s, 1 top 15’s

 

Partner Spotlight

Greg and the entire staff welcome you to The Tire Mart Tire Pros of Harrisburg (PA)! The Tire Mart is a family-owned business that has been serving their loyal customer base for over 54 years! From the beginning, they built their business on the values of honesty and trust. Today, with a tremendous reputation, those values remain and they continue providing automotive service with a local business touch that is hard to find these days.

Their well-trained staff specializes in sales and installation of all types of tires, from lawn & garden tires, to passenger car, performance, light truck and SUV tires. The Tire Mart Tire Pros carries all major brand name tires from Continental, General, Cooper, and everything in between.

Their staff also provides complete under-car automotive services, such as state inspections, oil changes, brakes, shocks, struts, and alignment. They can handle major engine and transmission jobs as well. All of these services are available at competitive prices for both foreign and domestic vehicles. Nobody on Tire Mart’s staff is paid commission. They only sell the automotive parts you need.

Tire Mart’s slogan is: “WHATEVER IT TAKES”!

They have been demonstrating that approach for many years, which is why customers know they can count on them. Give The Tire Mart Tire Pros of Harrisburg a call today at (717) 545-3756 or stop by at 4914 Jonestown Rd in Harrisburg, PA during their normal hours of operation! They would happy to help you and show you why they have been voted “Harrisburg’s Simply the Best Tire Dealer” 6 times!

Visit TheTireMartInc.com to find the right tires for your car, find rebate offers or to learn about all the other services they provide!

AUSTIN BERRY RACING

 

Bio & Media Info:  A2DPR.com/AustinBerry

Press Releases:  A2DPR.com/LatestNews

Facebook:  Facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing

Twitter:  Twitter.com/AustinBerryRacn

Shop:  A2DPR.com/Shop

Austin Berry races Greg Satterlee (22) and Colton Flinner (48) during Opening Day action at Port Royal Speedway on 3-5-23 (photo credit: Jeremy Zarfos Photography)
Austin Berry's tail banner pays tribute to the team's partners for 2023, as well as the purple of his Pancreatic Cancer Awareness campaign (photo credit: A2D PR)

Broadcast coverage of Port Royal Speedway events is available at FloRacing.com

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!  These are the businesses…the people…the families…that make what these we do possible. 

PLEASE take the time to browse this information and help our race team by giving your business to these great partners. 

Most importantly, tell them WHY you patronized them and thank them for being involved in racing!

The Tire Mart, Tire Pros of Harrisburg

Juniata Veterinary Clinic

Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter

SRI Performance

VP Racing Fuels

JDS Racing

Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop

Nathan Berry Beef Farm

Addicted2DirtPR.com

A&C Racing Engines

GO Lithium

Valvoline Pro-V Racing

Super Clean

Peterson Fluid Systems

Barnes Systems, Inc.

Quick Car

Kevin Nouse Designs

Sweet Manufacturing

BDR Racing Products

Beyea Headers

Swift Springs

Strange Oval

DMI – Diversified Machine, Inc.

Quarter Master

Hoosier Mid-Atlantic

P3 Graphix

Rocket Chassis

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Addicted2Dirt PR and Media Management provides personal and powerful dirt motorsports public relations.  We are a central Pennsylvania based business with a love of and passion for dirt racing and the people who make the sport what it is.

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