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It was the first Sunday in March and temperatures were climbing into the 70’s in Central PA.  By mid-afternoon Austin Berry had already put on a show from the back of his heat race and climbed out of the car with a big smile on his face.  

Looks like 2022 might be a fun one in the ABR pits.

March 6th:  2022 Season Opener / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

     (18 cars, Heat 2nd, A-main 10th)

Despite the beautiful weather and being couped up in their race shops all winter, only 18 super late model teams signed in for opening day at Port Royal Speedway.  It was a quality field but a bit short of the count fans have become accustomed to at the ‘Speed Palace’.  Unfortunately the supply chain issues that are affecting everyday items are affecting the availability of race parts too.  Some teams are still waiting for engine and suspension parts to get their cars race-ready.

Austin Berry Racing (ABR) was coming off a 2021 season where they had found their groove.  They had established a consistent baseline and collected a victory, then went to work in the shop and felt confident they could maintain that level of performance, if not improve on it in 2022.

Two 8-lap heats were lined up by random draw.  While all cars would qualify for the A-main, only the top 4 would get to redraw for one of the top eight starting spots.  As luck would have it, Austin Berry’s day started by drawing a high pill, which placed him at the back of the lineup, outside row 4, for the second heat race.

It didn’t take Berry long to show ABR had come prepared.  When the green flag waved on heat number two, Berry got a great run off the high side of turn four and the outside lane opened up down the straightaway, allowing Berry to rip the top all the way into 3rd place by the time he reached the exit of turn two.  He proceeded to dive under the No.94 of Jason Miller in turn three and claim 2nd.

Berry then set his sights on leader Kyle Hardy and was able to close to within a car length for a couple moments in the closing laps.  Austin flashed under the checkered flag in 2nd, one second behind Hardy.

The reward for his qualifying effort was a spot in the redraw, which garnered Berry the 3rd starting spot in the feature event.  It was evident 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 was capable of running up front.

It would just be up to the team to make the right adjustments to keep up with the ever-changing surface, then the driver would just need to make the right decisions behind the wheel.  Simple, right?

As the field came to the green for the 25-lap main event, there was some incidental contact among the front few rows as they sorted out exactly when to mash the gas.  Fortunately, everyone collected themselves and got rolling down the straightaway.  Things didn’t turn out quite as well at that end of the track for Berry.  His car over-rotated on entry.  He nearly had it saved but contact with another car left Berry facing oncoming traffic.  On the bright side, everyone else avoided him.  He was able to rejoin the field and restart at the rear.

The Mifflin, PA resident composed himself and went back to work.  Racing in traffic is always a bit more challenging, but Berry was able to work his way back to a 10th place finish.  Not what he was aiming for, but a decent recovery.

“I’m obviously disappointed.  We had a great car and didn’t get the finish we should have.  The spin was our own fault.  We made a mistake calculating an adjustment, so the car didn’t handle like I expected it to when I entered turn one.  Nothing we can do but learn from it.  We’ll come back next week, show how good we are, and get a finish that helps us forget this one.  As frustrating as today was, I’m actually really excited about this season because we have a really good car.  We are capable of running up front every week.  We just need to keep putting in the effort”, Berry commented, clearly experiencing a range of emotions.

Up Next

Austin and the team will return to Port Royal Speedway on Saturday, March 12th.  Racing starts at 4pm. 

The 2022 season is shaping up to be an exciting one for Austin Berry Racing.

During a recent video interview with Addicted2DirtPR.com, Austin Berry announced that The Tire Mart of Harrisburg, PA has come on board as the team’s primary partner for the upcoming season.  

In the informative interview, Berry also hinted at a new look for the car as well.  You can find a link to the full interview at the bottom of this release.  While the new look won’t be unveiled until March 6th at Port Royal Speedway’s opening day, you can see a sneak peak here!  

SNEAK PREVIEW of the 2022 ABR No.86!

For those who have been paying attention, you likely noticed the trend of improvement shown by Austin and his ABR team the past couple seasons.  If you didn’t have an eye on them before, you probably have since they captured their first super late model victory at Port Royal Speedway in June of 2021.

Last season not only brought victory, it brought much improved consistency and competitiveness for the little team from Mifflin, PA that competes against top notch teams on a weekly basis.    

The Tire Mart, a full-service automotive repair facility located at 4914 Jonestown Road, pitched in to help Berry run the 3-day Lucas Oil Dirt Series Late Model event at Port Royal last August.  On the opening night of that event, Berry timed 2nd quick in his flight, trailing only “Superman” Jonathan Davenport, and ultimately raced his way into his first career Lucas Oil event through his heat race.

“The Tire Mart is a local, family business that has been built on family values for over 50 years.  We quickly realized the Berry family reflects those same values from both a personal and work perspective, so we are really excited to expand our partnership with Austin, Ken and everyone at ABR.  We see a great opportunity not only to promote our business, but to be a part of the successful program they are building.  We hope we can help them achieve their goals, and we are confident the team will represent us very well“, shared Greg Sharrar, owner of The Tire Mart.

Several key partners who have been with ABR in recent years are returning as well.  Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter, JDS Racing, Nathan Berry Beef Farm, A&C Racing Engines and Swift Springs all return to continue their successful partnerships.

Austin Berry’s successful 2021 campaign ended slightly prematurely when the team broke a rear end and was unable to get it repaired in time to make the final super late model race of the season at Port Royal Speedway.  The abrupt end left Berry with a bit of a void and wanting more.  Maybe that’s a blessing in disguise.  Berry was still hungry.  Maybe that’s a good way to enter the offseason.

“As soon as we knew we were done for the year back in September, we went into winter mode.  We started tearing the car down and making a list of everything we needed to get our parts ordered.  Given how long it has taken lately to get parts, we didn’t want to run into the issue of not having what we needed to prepare for 2022“, Berry explained.

Thus far they are on track to accomplish their off-season mission.  ABR has compiled at least two of everything, with the exception of a frame.  There are extra hubs, brakes, calipers, transmission, rear ends, engines and body panels.

“In the past, certain issues would put us on the sideline, sometimes for weeks.  This year, we want to be prepared, so when something happens, it won’t keep us out“, Berry shared.

Preparation has many forms though.  Parts are just one of them.  Austin and the team also put emphasis on improving their information and knowledge during the 2021 season and off-season.  During 2021 they implemented an improved record-keeping method to help the team log race night notes to be used as a reference point for future setup based on track conditions and several other criteria.

The team’s improved consistency has allowed them to begin focusing on finer details and other continuous improvements.  As a part of those efforts, the team leveraged their annual trek to the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Indianapolis in early December to keep in touch with the latest technology and information from the sports top vendors.  The show is also an opportunity for teams to maintain existing relationships with partners and suppliers, as well as potentially establish new ones.

The team’s December trip was a productive one, as was their strategy to start their 2022 car prep in September.  They are on the verge of being ready to head to the track for Port Royal’s season opener, which as of the publishing of this story is scheduled occur in 10 days, weather permitting.

“Thanks again to everyone who supports us.  I really want to thank my wife, my kids, my parents, my brother, everyone who comes to the shop or track and helps out, and of course all of our partners.  We couldn’t do this without them.  I’m really looking forward to the coming season,” Berry commented.

Everyone is encouraged to come out to Port Royal Speedway’s season opener on Sunday afternoon, March 6th, to get a look at the new look The Tire Mart / Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop / Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter / JDS Racing / Nathan Berry Beef Farm / A&C Racing Engines / Swift Springs / Addicted2DirtPR.com / Penske Racing Shocks / VP Racing Fuels / Rocket Chassis XR1 No.86!

The team plans to compete regularly at Port Royal Speedway but also plans to include races at Hagerstown Speedway, Bedford Speedway, Path Valley Speedway Park, Selinsgrove Speedway and possibly others on their schedule.