Archive for category: Late Models

Austin Berry arrived at Port Royal Speedway Saturday night looking to maintain the roll he has been on since his recent return from the sidelines of the racing season in Pennsylvania.  His first two races back yielded a top-10 at Selinsgrove and a 2nd place finish at ‘The Speed Palace’.

Berry’s night was a good one from start to finish.  It kicked off with fun Kid’s Night activities and closed with another top-5 finish.

July 9:  Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

     [24 cars, Qualifying 4th in Group B, Heat 2nd (1), A-main 4th (3)]

The speedway’s Kid’s Night meet and greet before the program was a great start to the night for Berry, who always enjoys interacting with fans, especially the young ones who are just being introduced to the sport.

There were countless hero cards signed, photos taken and smiles all around during the pre-race festivities.  Berry and his wife, Chasity, gave away goodie bags to all the kids who stopped by to visit, including two special bags that contained golden tickets, good for a free kid’s shirt.

The 24-car super late model field that signed in Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway was split evenly into three groups for time trials and heat races.  The top four cars from each time trial group would be inverted to set the starting lineup for the 8-lap heat races.  All cars would transfer to the 25-lap A-main, but only the top three finishers would be handicapped to make up the top nine starting spots in the finale.

Austin Berry took advantage of his pole position starting spot in heat race number two and jumped out to a commanding lead early.  He maintained that lead through the first six laps of the race.  Gary Stuhler had begun to gain ground on Berry mid-race, but Berry got back into his rhythm and had put some distance between himself and Stuhler again on lap seven when the caution lights flashed on.  When the race resumed, Stuhler found his way past and picked up the win, while Berry came home 2nd, still comfortably in a handicap spot.

As an added bonus to the Kid’s Night activities, following the heat races, two dozen nerf balls that were donated by Berry’s primary sponsor The Tire Mart of Harrisburg, PA, were tossed to kids in the grandstands.  One of those balls was autographed by Berry and the lucky boy or girl to catch the special ball won an Austin Berry shirt.

Berry started inside row two in the feature event.  He moved into 2nd spot on lap four and kept a firm grasp on the position through lap twelve.  It was then that, once again, Gary Stuhler came knocking and moved past the Mifflin, PA driver to take the runner-up spot.  

The very next lap, Jared Miley arrived on the scene and did the same to Berry.  In a race that lasted over 9 minutes, about 45 seconds had not gone Berry’s way, but it was enough to lose two spots.  

As the laps wound down, Berry began to reel Miley in, but it was too late to complete the recovery and he settled for a 4th place finish.

“We had a 2nd place car, but the driver put on a 4th place performance.“, Berry said, summarizing his night with a combination of humor and disappointment in his voice.  “The guys who race here are all so good, it’s hard to get away with a mistake.  You make the wrong choice, they pounce.“

Berry went on to tell the inside story to explain his comments.

“Early in the race when Jeff (Rine) was out in front of us leading by the better part of a straightaway, I could only maintain the gap, not close it.  I changed my corner entry to try to improve on exit and try to reel him in.  Instead of helping, it made me worse.  I couldn’t tell for a few laps because Jeff didn’t seem to be getting any further away, so I probably ran a half dozen laps like that.  By the time I decided to give up on improving my corner exit, I had caught lapped traffic and Gary was on my heels.  Within a couple laps both he and Jared (Miley) had slipped past me.  At that point I went back to my original line, and I got quicker again, but it was too late.  I should have gone back to that line two or three laps earlier.  If I had, we probably finish second.  Lesson learned the hard way.”, Berry shared.

The finish may have fallen short of Berry’s growing expectations for himself and the team, but it kept their momentum going.   Finishes of 10th, 2nd and 4th since their return are a solid stretch of runs they can continue to build on.

“I’m glad we were able to have a solid run tonight when our partner The Tire Mart was here at the track.  We thank Greg and his family for coming out tonight.  We hope they had a great time and we thank them for their support of our race team.  We truly appreciate it.“, Berry said.

Up Next

Austin Berry Racing and The Tire Mart / JDS Racing / Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter / Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop / Nathan Berry Beef Farm / A&C Racing Engines / Swift Springs / Addicted2DirtPR.com / Penske Racing Shocks / Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic / VP Racing Fuels / Rocket Chassis XR1 No.86 will head south of the Mason-Dixon Line this Saturday night, July 16th, to compete with the ULMS series at Hagerstown Speedway, which is located just off Highway 40 west of Hagerstown, MD.

Season Stats

9 races, 0 wins, 3 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 6 top 15’s, 8 top 20’s

Austin Berry’s 2022 season got off to a solid start back in March and April and optimism in the ABR pit area was high.  The team appeared poised to build on their 2021 success, which included Berry’s first super late model victory.

The month of May wasn’t as encouraging.  The team was sidelined as a result of parts delays.  That was followed by a short-lived return in late May when they encountered another part failure.

Last weekend, The Tire Mart / JDS Racing / Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter / Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop / Nathan Berry Beef Farm / A&C Racing Engines / Swift Springs / Addicted2DirtPR.com / Penske Racing Shocks / Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic / VP Racing Fuels / Rocket Chassis XR1 No.86 finally returned, and Berry appears ready to pick up where he left off in April.

June 25:  Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA

     (22 cars, Heat 5th, A-main 10th)

Austin Berry unloaded at Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday night, June 25th along with 21 other teams.  The field was divided into three, 8-lap heat races using a pill draw.  The outcome of the qualifying races would set the starting lineup for the feature event.

When a team isn’t racing, they aren’t able to keep up with the changes in the sport and they aren’t improving themselves.  The goals for ABR Saturday night were simple:  get back to work on the handling of their Rocket XR1 and get through a complete night in one piece.

The night started with a brief hot lap session and ABR’s plans quickly got derailed.  During the three lap session, a clump of mud had impacted the cooling fan, broke the blades and sent one into the radiator, damaging it beyond repair.

Berry’s team was able to borrow a radiator from Trent Brenneman’s limited late model team and install it just in time to make the call for their heat race.  Using a great start to surge forward, Berry raced his way from his 8th starting spot to a 5th place finish in the first heat race of the night.

Upon his return pit-side, Berry learned his newly installed radiator was leaking.  The issue was significant enough that it was clear it would not last long enough to get through the 25-lap feature event later in the evening.

Once again, the team turned to a fellow competitor for help, this time borrowing what they needed from Tim Wilson.  They scrambled to complete their 2nd radiator change of the evening in time for the main event.

The work was wrapped up in time for Berry to assume the 13th starting spot for the feature.  He used the opening laps to find his rhythm, then began to move forward.  By lap nine Berry had cracked the top ten and began challenging for more.

Late in the race, Berry found himself in the midst of a battle for positions seven through nine when the caution lights flashed on.  The final restart didn’t play out in Berry’s favor.  He slipped slightly to a 10th place finish.

“Considering we spent the majority of the night solving radiator problems, we weren’t too bad out there tonight.  I just wish we had been able to spend a little more time focusing on improving the handling of the car, but that’s how it goes sometimes.“, Berry shared.

Berry and his team may have only accomplished one of their goals for the night by finishing the 25-lap feature and putting the car in the box in one piece, but they’ll take it.  

“What happened after the last restart and during the final few laps is on me.  I didn’t take care of my tires the way I should have during the caution, so my restart wasn’t what it should’ve been.  Learned a lesson the hard way.“

“I can’t thank Trent (Brenneman) and Tim (Wilson) enough for helping us out tonight.  We needed to get through a night, and we couldn’t have done it without them.  I’m really looking forward to getting back to Port Royal next week.  We were tied for 3rd in the points there when we had issues in late April, so I want to get back there and pick up where we left off.  I’m ready for this monkey on our back to find somewhere else to hang out.“, Berry commented, trying to bring some humor to what has been a frustrating stretch for him and his team.

Up Next

Austin Berry Racing will return home to Port Royal Speedway for their first race there since April.  The super late models will be on the card as part of the PA Sprint Car Speedweek Greg Hodnett Classic.

Season Stats

7 races, 0 wins, 1 top 5’s, 3 top 10’s, 4 top 15’s, 6 top 20’s