Tag Archive for: @latemodels

At the end of 2024, when Austin Berry made the decision to scale back his schedule in 2025 so he could make sure personal priorities and racing budgets all fit together and result in a better long-term situation, he did so because he felt it was a better option than shutting down the race team completely for a year.

“The advancements in this sport are nonstop.  If you don’t stay in the game, you fall behind, and it takes a long time to catch up.  We considered taking a break for a season to focus on building our house and saving some money in the racing budget.  I felt we would fall behind if we did that, so we agreed on a scaled-back schedule so that we could keep up,” Berry explained.

WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER

Skipping 2025 would have meant significant savings in tires, parts, and fuel, not to mention eliminating an engine refresh bill.  

It turned out Berry’s decision was more right than he even thought it would be.  Not only did Austin Berry Racing keep up, they gained ground.  From Berry’s perspective, which is shared by folks outside the team as well, the team improved more during their limited 2025 schedule than they had in 2023 and 2024 combined.

Berry competed in eleven super late model events in his family’s Tuscarora Restoration, Juniata Veterinary Clinic, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter, Dye It Rite, SRI Performance, VP Racing Fuels No.86, and six limited late model events during the 2025 season, the latter in the seat of the Bobby Dunn Racing No.34D.

“Racing in two different divisions at several different tracks, and getting a lot of laps at some places I didn’t have a lot of laps at before, like Bedford, made me a lot better behind the wheel,” Berry shared.

“I got a lot better at reacting to the car instead of basically memorizing how I thought I should drive the car at a particular track.  I learned to do different things in the seat and race the car, not the track.”

What Berry learned behind the wheel had a positive ripple effect in the pits, too, as he was able to give better feedback to his team to help make setup decisions.

Berry’s improvements were noticeable statistically.  He qualified much better against the clock than in recent years, and he scored three top ten finishes in his last six super late model races.  In the limited late model, he finished 11th or better in five of his six main events.

“In the super late model, the tone for the whole night is set by qualifying, so that’s what we have been focusing a lot of our energy on,” Berry said.

“That focus, combined with a lot more laps at some tracks than we have had before, paid off.  Look at Bedford Speedway’s Labor Day 55, for example.  I have never made that race before, despite trying several times.  This year, we came to Bedford several times, got a better notebook, and made the show through our heat race.”

“Those are the kind of things you have to measure progress by.  Progress isn’t just measured by wins.  It’s a building block process to keep getting better and better.  You celebrate achievements like that because you know they show what you are doing is working.”

Berry says expanding the team’s network of resources and people to lean on, and leveraging those things more frequently than in the past, was a big part of their improvements, too.

“I talked to the guys at Rocket Chassis a lot, plus our crew chief, Josh, was communicating with our partners at Penske Shocks almost every day.  Then we would talk within the team, sharing information and ideas as well.  We had more information, but yet we actually simplified things overall, which helped keep our decisions more in line week to week.  It kept us from straying away from what we knew,” Berry explained.

On the budget front, 2025 has to be considered a win as well.  Berry’s scaled-back schedule put few enough laps on their Cornette engine that a refresh will not be needed over the coming offseason, plus the team’s fuel, tires, and parts schedules were greatly reduced as well.

DOWN THE ROAD

Berry’s primary goal for 2026 is a pretty straightforward one.

“We want to get back to being a staple at local super late model races, so people aren’t wondering if we will be there,” Berry said.

“My wife and I had put off building our home for a few years, but this year we tackled that project, and it’s almost finished.  With that done, I will be able to go into next season with a clearer mind,” Berry said.

Not only that, but he’ll go into next season with a brand new, larger race shop, too.  The new shop, which is attached to the new house, was a part of that construction project.  The race shop will be the last part of the build to be completed, but the team will race out of that shop in 2026. 

Even though the on-track portion of the 2025 racing season is over for Berry, he never loses focus on taking care of his marketing partners.  The promotions continue, and attention to those relationships requires effort year-round.

Austin Berry Racing is also interested in working with new partners who are interested in having the team represent their business and promote their products and/or services during the 2026 season.

Berry also noted the team is looking to increase its equipment depth for 2026.  The goal is to have two rolling cars ready by summer.

“With what we saved on a motor refresh, and hopefully if we have a good 2026 kickoff fundraiser party, we will have enough to pick up a new chassis and make that our primary car,” Berry shared.

The team’s current Rocket XR1 would become a backup car.  

Beyond 2026, the team would like to add a second powerplant, which could be another super motor, or they might choose to add a crate motor to use in the second car.

“What our second motor might be will be something we decide down the road.  A crate motor would give us more opportunities to race, but having a backup for our super would be valuable too, of course,” Berry added.

Berry would like to do more traveling in the coming year or two.  The team upgraded their toter situation after the 2024 season as step one toward that goal.  They did so by selling the truck they had been using for many years and acquiring a larger pre-owned one.  

Another upgrade that would be key to traveling more is a larger trailer, which is something Berry hopes the team can acquire within three years.

“I would really like to venture out to some races outside our region.  There are some good-paying races that would make it justifiable for us to travel, plus I just have some races on my bucket list that I want to check off before I hang up my helmet.  Not that I’m planning on going anywhere soon, but you never know how long anything will last, so I want to work toward getting to some of these races in the next few years,” Berry commented.

PARTY TIME

The fan-favorite Austin Berry Racing season kickoff party will return for 2026.  It will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2026.  Tickets are on sale now, and fans can contact the team through social media for advance ticket purchases.  Those in attendance are treated to a great meal, raffles, and games throughout the evening, plus music and dancing after dinner.

The team held very popular and successful parties in 2023 and 2024 with nearly 300 people attending each year.  The team opted to skip the party in 2025.

“We were forced to sit out the entire second half of 2024 after an engine failure, and I just didn’t feel right having the party last year after our fans had been so generous at the 2024 kickoff, then we ended up not being able to race as much as we had planned,” Berry explained.

“We sure have had a lot of people ask about it, though, so we are looking forward to hanging out with everyone and having a good time again in January!”

Austin Berry’s super late model schedule has been a little sparse so far this season.  That has been mostly an intentional thing.

Berry and his wife have made building a house their priority this year, plus engine bills last season have Berry focused on a lighter schedule to make sure he doesn’t face another offseason engine refresh bill.

That said, a lighter schedule doesn’t mean he isn’t focused on improving his program, and it certainly doesn’t mean he has any less desire to be competitive and win races.

THINKING AHEAD

“Unfortunately, those are the kinds of decisions a small, family-owned team like ours has to make.  Last year was hard on our racing budget, so we have to play the long game and make sure our equipment lasts.”, Berry shared.

“We bought a piece of land several years ago, and my wife has patiently waited to build our house while we focused on racing.  This was the year to change the priority.”

“If our plan works out, it should put us in a position in the coming seasons to race more than we have before, plus I’ll have a new, larger space to do it out of.”, Berry said, referring to the shop that will be a part of his newly built home.

UP NEXT

Berry hasn’t set his upcoming schedule in stone just yet.  His day job and new home construction are both demanding a lot of attention at the moment.

“The Spence Memorial makeup at Winchester Speedway this coming weekend is on my radar but I can’t commit to it just yet.  I’ll need to see how things go this week.”, Berry shared.

“Patience is definitely key for me this year on and off the track.  I just have to manage everything and keep it all moving forward.  I appreciate the fans being patient with us this year too.  We’ll get the word out as soon as we’re able to make decisions about our schedule.  Keep an eye on our social media for the latest.”

All season long, fans can keep up with Austin Berry Racing’s news, schedule, and more at the team’s website, AustinBerryRacing.com, built by the great folks at My Race Pass!

RECENT RESULTS (starting position in parentheses)

Everything came together just in time last week for Austin Berry to roll his Tuscarora Restoration, Juniata Veterinary Clinic, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter, Dye It Rite, SRI Performance, VP Racing Fuels No.86 out of the shop and head to Selinsgrove Speedway for his first laps in a super late model since June of 2024.

His limited late model ride would be waiting there for him as well, making for a double-duty night.

SNYDER COUNTY DOUBLE

Berry didn’t seem to lose a step in his super late model despite the long layoff.  He qualified 5th quickest in his group in qualifying, then moved forward to a 4th-place heat race finish to give himself the 11th starting spot in the main event.  

In the 25-lap finale, Berry struggled a little, sliding backwards to a 17th-place finish.

“We just missed the setup for the feature.  We learned from it and put it in our notebook.  Things change rapidly in this sport, so we will have to play a little catch-up since we’ve been on the sidelines since the middle of last season.”, Berry said.

Berry had a great night going in the Dunn No.34D limited late model, scoring a runner-up finish in his heat race and then charging from his 6th starting spot in the feature to challenge for 3rd late in the race.  Unfortunately, with five laps remaining, his right rear tire gave up and he slipped to an 11th-place finish.

“We picked the wrong right rear, and it basically melted.  I had no grip the last few laps.  We’ll know better next time.”, Berry shared.

QUICK RESULTS:

• Date/Location:  April 18, 2025 / Selinsgrove Speedway, Selinsgrove, PA
• Division:  Limited Late Model
• Stats:  Heat 2nd (3), A-main 11th (6)

• Date/Location:  April 18, 2025 / Selinsgrove Speedway, Selinsgrove, PA
• Division:  Super Late Model
• Stats:  Group Qualifying 5th, Heat 4th (5), A-main 17th (11)

PALACE RECAP

Berry woke up Saturday morning with no plans to race that night, but by late morning, all that had changed, and the team decided to prep the car, load up their super late model, and make the short tow to The Speed Palace, Port Royal Speedway.

The stout field of 35 cars was split into two groups for qualifying.  Berry and his entire team were all smiles after qualifying after the Mifflin, PA driver timed 3rd quickest in his flight.

Berry started on the front row of his heat race, but one midrace bobble cost him a couple of spots and relegated him to a 4th-place finish.  In the uneventful main event, he started 14th and finished 16th.

“It never feels good to go backwards, but it was nice to have speed in qualifying again!  The motor ran great all weekend.  We just need to tune on our package for later in the night, and we will be ok.”, Berry commented.

“We have a couple of weeks off with the super, so we will wrench on her and get ready for the next one at Selinsgrove on May 2nd.  Thanks to my great crew for all their hard work all week long, getting both cars ready and all their efforts at the track! Also, a huge thanks to all our partners, without them it wouldn’t be possible!”

UP NEXT

Berry will be back in the Limited Late Model this Saturday, April 26th, at Selinsgrove Speedway.  On May 2nd, he will return to double-duty, racing both his super and limited at Selinsgrove Speedway.