Berry Sets Quick Time, Dominates Heat Race at Bridgeport Before Setback

Berry was one of nineteen drivers to accept the invite to compete Sunday evening at the high-banked 4-tenths mile oval not far across the river from Philadelphia International Airport.  

He wasted no time making sure fans took notice.  With names like Covert, Eckert, Frye, Bernheisel, and Yoder in the field, Berry topped them all in qualifying with a blistering lap of 15.460 seconds, nearly two-tenths better than his closest competitor.  

It was an impressive effort, especially when you consider Berry has never seen the facility before.  He spent weeks doing homework though.  He watched videos and looked for information about tire wear, doing his best to prepare his equipment and team for the venture.  He clearly passed the initial test.

Berry earned the pole for his 8-lap heat race.  There was never a question.  He drove away from the field and took the checkered flag 1.4 seconds ahead of second place.

The six-car redraw dealt Berry his first minor setback.  He pulled number six.

Berry took the green from outside row three, feeling confident he had plenty to get him to the front over the course of the 40 scheduled laps.  Unfortunately very early on he had lost power steering, which was compounded by a water pump issue that led to overheating, forcing him to the sidelines just a few laps into the main event.  Officially he was recorded as finishing 18th.

“First off, I want to give a huge shout-out to Chris Spotts Welding & Repair for the $300 Quick Time Award.  That’s money that makes a difference, especially for a team like ours.  Just getting here with gas, tolls, tires, and race fuel is expensive, so we needed to make some money.  We really appreciate what Chris did.”, Berry said.

“We didn’t get the finish we deserved but honestly we are all leaving here smiling.  We were fast even though we had never seen this joint before.  That gives us a lot of confidence in what we are doing.  That’s big.  We will carry this into Port Royal next weekend.”