Posts

A Sweet Night Gone Sour for ABR

/in , /by

Hard Work + Test Session = Positive Results

Port Royal, PA – July 12, 2020 – By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

Recent weeks have been filled with a lot of activity in the ABR camp. That activity was born from a determination to solve their handling mysteries and get back to where they were in the past with their Rocket Chassis XR1. The team has been putting in the hours in the shop, working with partners to find answers and most recently participated in a test session to gather some data about what is working and what isn’t.

Saturday night July 11th at Port Royal Speedway, ABR was among 32 super late models that signed in to try to claim of the $3000 top prize at the end of the night. The evening got off to a great start when Austin registered a lap of 20.093 in time trials, good enough for 7th quickest in the solid field. That lap alone seemed to serve as validation that the efforts the team has been making were paying off.

It was far too early to read too much into the good lap though. Time trials call for a slightly more aggressive setup in the car than race conditions do, so the team made the necessary adjustments to prepare for their heat race. Austin’s qualifying run put the Swift Springs, MS Shock Therapy, Hershey Racing Engines, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter, Nathan Berry Beef Farm #86 on the pole of heat 3 along side Ross Robinson. Five would qualify from each of the four 8-lap heats, with the top 2 from each event going to the redraw, thus guaranteeing the competitor a top 8 starting spot in the feature event. So far it appeared to be a sweet evening in the making.

At the drop of the green in heat 3 with Berry on the inside of the front row, he would enter turn one with a slight edge on Robinson, drive a little deeper into the corner and attempt to slide up to the higher groove in front of the 7r. He didn’t quite have enough momentum though and settled into second to begin his pursuit. On lap 2 after building some rhythm, he began to close slightly on the leader, indicating a battle for the lead may develop. The caution waved before the field could complete the lap and that’s when things suddenly and unexpectedly went sour for ABR. The two dreaded words: engine failure.

The motor produced sounds it shouldn’t and the power went away. Berry quickly shut it down to try to save it from any further harm and he coasted to a stop in turn 1, ending a promising night. Gregg Satterlee went on to defeat Ross Robinson and Kyle Lee in the feature event later that evening.

The good news for ABR: the team has clearly made significant progress during the past month. As a direct result of their hard work, research and testing, the car and its pilot were smoother, faster and more consistent Saturday night than that combination has been all season.

The bad news for ABR: until the motor is out of the car, torn down and examined, they won’t know the extent of the damage or how long it will keep them out of action. The best case scenario is probably a return when the super late models next compete at Port Royal Speedway on August 1st. Let’s not think about the worst case scenario for now.

SPECIAL THANKS:

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!

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
Hershey Racing Engines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Austin Berry Racing during the 2020 season on:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing
(Twitter) @AustinBerryRacn

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Website) Addicted2DirtPR.com
(Email) [email protected]

ABR Heading in the Right Direction

/in , /by

Outing at The Speed Palace Shows Signs of Promise

Port Royal, PA – July 4, 2020 – By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

A stout field of 31 super late models signed in at Port Royal Speedway to compete in the stock car portion of the Greg Hodnett Classic PA Sprint Car Speedweek finale. Every team’s first goal was to be one of the 24 that would make the night’s main event. After a lot of work at the shop during the week to get to the bottom of their handling issues, it was time to find out if those late nights would pay off for ABR and the #86 would be one of those 24.

An unlucky pill draw lined Austin Berry up 7th in the 8-car 3rd heat with several heavy-hitters. Comments around the pit area were that it was clearly the toughest heat of the night. Not only did it turn out to be tough, it was quite eventful. Due to another competitor checking-up on the initial start, Berry was forced to spin the car in turn 4 to attempt to avoid contact. He didn’t avoid contact completely but he did manage to avoid anything that would force his Rocket Chassis XR1 to the pits.

Austin restarted at the rear of the field and one lap later looped the car in turn 3 when a 3-wheel brake issue occurred. Some might have thought at this point it was just time to park it. Things were clearly not going their way. That’s not how Austin Berry is built though. It was an opportunity to clear his head, focus and rise to the challenge. And rise he did. Starting at the rear once again, he drove into the 5th and final transfer spot on lap 3 of the 8-lap qualifying race. Yeah he got a little help when one car dropped out and it certainly wasn’t pretty, but he raced his way into the show.

The heat race run placed the Swift Springs, MS Shock Therapy, Hershey Racing Engines, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter and Nathan Berry Beef Farm #86 in the 19th starting position for the evening’s 25-lap main event. The crew made right-side body repairs from the earlier contact and decided on a few adjustments to improve on some things from the earlier heat race, as well as to keep up with the changing track surface. When the feature race went green, Berry was able to move forward and challenge for position. In fact, by lap 10 he had moved into 16th and was sizing up the 15th place car. Austin later shared, “To get better and try to go to the next level in this super-competitive division, we changed a lot of things over the winter and found out quickly this year we were going to have to learn the car all over again. We basically had to take 2 steps backwards before we could start going forward again. Tonight the car finally started to feel close to where it was a year ago, so knowing we are learning and making the right decisions helps our confidence a lot.“.

Austin Berry Racing at Port Royal Speedway 7-4-2020

The car seemed to lose momentum at the halfway point and a couple quick checks of the gauges over laps 13 and 14 showed the engine was slowly losing oil pressure. Berry had to make the unwanted left turn into the work area and retire from the event. It clearly wasn’t the ending they wanted but there were definitely good things to take away from the night. There was something positive to build on.

Next up for ABR is the $3000 to win Summer Championship at Port Royal Speedway on Saturday July 11, 2020.

SPECIAL THANKS:

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!

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
Hershey Racing Engines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Austin Berry Racing during the 2020 season on:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing
(Twitter) @AustinBerryRacn

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Website) Addicted2DirtPR.com
(Email) [email protected]

Newlin Racing’s Night at Port Royal Cut Short

/in , /by

Motor Issues Continue to Plague Team

Port Royal, PA – July 1, 2020 – By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

Just five nights earlier an apparent fuel issue ended Zach Newlin’s night while leading at Williams Grove. Over the ensuing few days, the team discovered another piece to the puzzle that ended that potential winning run Friday night. With that issue addressed, the team unloaded at Port Royal Wednesday night and performed final preparation to take on the URC cars.

The Smith Concrete & Construction / J.W. Smith Auto Body / T&M Homebuilders, Inc. / Heather Sims, Realtor / Walker Performance Filtration / Newlin Bar Service #11z was quick and handling well on the opening circuit or two of hot laps, but suddenly motor issues surfaced again. Not wanting to risk losing the motor completely, Newlin quickly exited the speedway and shut the car down. Unable to identify and resolve the issue at the track, the team had to make the smart choice and withdraw from the evening’s competition rather than risk being out of action for much longer.

Efforts are already underway to get to the bottom of the issue and get back in action very soon. Overcoming these challenges will only make the reward sweeter when the team eventually parks it in victory lane.

Stay tuned to the A2D website or the social media channels listed below for updates from Newlin Racing, including when and where they will hit the track next!

SPECIAL THANKS:

We want to express our sincere appreciation to our sponsors and marketing partners!

Smith Concrete and Construction
J.W. Smith Auto Body
T&M Homebuilders, Inc.
Heather Sims, Realtor
Walker Performance Filtration
Newlin Bar Service
Advanced Septic Services
Hershman Racing Fuels
Morgan Paving
Kirby Kitner Excavating
BAPS
Beyea Headers
Engler
AL Driveline
Safety-Kleen
River Bend Hop Farm & Brewery
BR Motorsports Ignitioneering
Strange Oval
Tamayo Contracting
American Legion Post 177 Newport
The Podium Awards
Fastner Specialties Motorsports

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Newlin Racing during the 2020 season at:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/NewlinRacing
(Twitter) @NewlinRacing

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Website) Addicted2DirtPR.com
(Email) [email protected]

Newlin Shows Speed at Williams Grove

/in , /by

Strong Start Provides Optimism for the Remainder of the 2020 Season

Mechanicsburg, PA – June 26, 2020 – By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

It was two months later than originally planned but the 358 sprint cars were finally pit-side at the legendary Williams Grove, set to make their first appearance of 2020. 31 cars were signed in, with Newlin Racing and driver Zach Newlin among them.

The team had four races under their belt already, despite the long racing shutdown due to COVID-19, and had recorded three top 10’s. However, this was the first opportunity to measure their new 358 sprint car program at the track that is going to be the core of their 2020 season.

The Smith Concrete & Construction / J.W. Smith Auto Body / T&M Homebuilders, Inc. / Heather Sims, Realtor / Walker Performance Filtration / Newlin Bar Service #11z would start 4th in the first of three 8-lap heats. From each heat, 6 would qualify with the top 4 going to the redraw.

Zach jumped immediately to the high side on the start of the heat and moved into 3rd by the time the field reached turn 2. He continued building momentum on the cushion and it carried him into 2nd on lap 3. Over the remaining laps, Newlin was able to close a few car lengths on the leader. During the final lap, a fuel issue developed and he settled for second, which put the team squarely in the night’s redraw.

The team immediately went to work on the fuel line issue, found a bad fitting and replaced it. A quick test-fire of the car proved the problem was resolved. With that behind him, Zach had a moment to discuss the night. “We were decent in the heat even though the track had more grip than we expected. The track should come to us later tonight. We shouldn’t need to change much for the feature.”, he shared.

In the 12-car redraw the team found some good fortune, drawing the #3 pill, putting the 11z on the inside of row 2 for the feature event. The initial start of the main event was called back due to the pole-sitter jumping the start. By rule, the front two rows were swapped, putting Newlin Racing on the pole for the second attempt to get the race started.

When the green flag finally waved, Newlin looked strong. Running the bottom at both ends of the speedway, he was pulling away from the field off the corners. On lap 2, the caution lights flashed on, bunching the field again. On the ensuing restart, Zach again quickly put a few car lengths between himself and second place. By the end of lap 3, hopes were already beginning to build that tonight may be the night. It was too early to think about that, though. There were 17 laps remaining and some talented pilots in pursuit.

Suddenly, the car sputtered and slowed to a stop on lap 4. Another fuel issue had ended their solid bid for that first win in the 358 ranks. It was a disappointing ending to a strong showing.

The night had it’s clear positive message though: The team knows how to get around Williams Grove Speedway and are poised to accomplish the goal of parking the 11z on the front stretch sometime in 2020.

Next up: Port Royal Speedway on Wednesday, July 1st when the URC 360 sprint cars compete for $2000 to win as part of the 2020 PA Sprint Speedweek event.

SPECIAL THANKS:

We want to express our sincere appreciation to our sponsors and marketing partners!

Smith Concrete and Construction
J.W. Smith Auto Body
T&M Homebuilders, Inc.
Heather Sims, Realtor
Walker Performance Filtration
Newlin Bar Service

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Newlin Racing during the 2020 season at:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/NewlinRacing
(Twitter) @NewlinRacing

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Email) [email protected]

ABR Ready for a Change of Fortune

/in , /by

Team Determined to Get to the Bottom of Issues Plaguing Recent Outings

Mifflin, PA – June 24, 2020 – By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

On a somber night in the dirt racing community after the sudden loss of well-known engine builder, Curt Hershey, to a heart attack less than 12 hours earlier, Wednesday night’s midweek show at Port Royal Speedway drew a stout field of 32 super late models.

Just as many teams do on a weekly basis, ABR unloaded with confidence and optimism, believing they had solved their issue from the previous outing. Instead, their minds were on the sudden loss of their friend and engine builder. Those other problems were behind them.

Or so they thought. The lap times recorded in their group hot lap and time trial session quickly brought back concerned expressions in the pit area. They took advantage of the time they had before their heat race to switch a couple things on the car back to what they knew had worked in the past. No luck again. Austin missed a transfer spot in the heat race and landed in the B-main.

In the B-main things went from bad to worse for the Swift Springs, MS Shock Therapy, Hershey Racing Engines, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter and Nathan Berry Beef Farm sponsored Rocket Chassis. With only a few laps remaining and about to make a move into the final transfer spot to the A-main, the car got very loose on entry, putting him sideways and collecting another competitor. The angle of impact caused a slow rollover of Berry’s #86. Now it was official. Their 2020 season was truly upside down. Thankfully, Austin was able to climb out and walk away unharmed.

Dirt super late models are incredibly complex machines that require some level of geometry and engineering skills to get right. There are hundreds of adjustments you can make. The combinations of those adjustments are exponential. A team can have 99% of things right but that 1% they don’t have right might consist of a combination of several adjustments and is more than enough to put you at the back of the field. Consider his group’s qualifying times on the big half mile last night. The quickest car was 19.109 seconds and the slowest was 19.869. That’s not much room for error.

After the team loaded up and held their post-race discussion to try to put together some lessons learned, Berry said “We’re going to tear the car down this week and figure it out. Every part is coming off and getting checked. We’re going to work with our partners until we get to the bottom of this.” He continued, “We have steadily improved the last few years, so struggling like this after putting in so much work over the winter is just downright frustrating.”.

Up next for ABR is a $2500 to win super late model show on Saturday, July 4th as part of the PA Sprint Speedweek finale at Port Royal Speedway, the Greg Hodnett Classic.

Photo credits to Ashley Book and A2D.

SPECIAL THANKS:

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!

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
HersheyRacingEngines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Austin Berry Racing during the 2020 season on:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing
(Twitter) @AustinBerryRacn

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Email) [email protected]

Welcome Newlin Racing to #TeamA2D

/in , /by

Taking on a New Challenge Together

Harrisburg, PA – June 23, 2020 – By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

I am thrilled to announce that Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management has teamed up with Newlin Racing to promote the team, their marketing partners, and of course keep fans up to date on all things 11z!

Newlin Racing is a successful family race team that has been in the sport for over 20 years at various levels from go-karts to sprint cars. Over the past few seasons, driver Zach Newlin and crew chief Lance Newlin have been extremely successful in the 305 sprint car ranks. That combination garnered numerous wins and multiple championships, including being 3rd in the nation in 2018, but it was time for a new challenge.

The team decided to move up and take on the very competitive 358 sprint car division in 2020. The team will be competing at Williams Grove Speedway on a regular basis, as well as entering in other shows at Port Royal Speedway, BAPS Motor Speedway and Lincoln as the schedule permits. The team already has 4 races under their belt this season and has 3 top 10’s. That’s a strong and encouraging start to this new challenge.

Next up: Williams Grove on Friday, June 26th when the 358 sprints compete as part of the 2020 PA Sprint Speedweek opening event that includes a fireworks show for fans.

Stay tuned! There’s more info to come soon on Newlin Racing’s upcoming plans, their partners, team news and of course, race day results! We’ll make sure you have all the info you need to keep up to date and stay engaged with the team.

Be sure to follow us on social media (links below) or visit our website Addicted2DirtPR.com to keep up with the latest on Newlin Racing and other members of #TeamA2D.

  •  

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Newlin Racing during the 2020 season at:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/NewlinRacing
(Twitter) @NewlinRacing

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Email) [email protected]

Two Big Events Lie Ahead for ABR

/in , /by

Austin Berry Racing Ready to Get Back to Port Royal Speedway

Mifflin, PA – June 23, 2020 – By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

After taking Father’s Day weekend off from the track to spend some quality time with his daughter, Austin Berry is ready to get back to work. He’ll have his chance twice over a 10 day span at Port Royal Speedway.

First up, the super late models will join the All Star Circuit of Champion sprint cars Wednesday, June 24th and will compete for a $3000 top prize.

After a promising start to their last outing at The Speed Palace on June 13th, ABR’s evening went south with a cut tire. The team wasn’t satisfied that the tire explained everything about the car’s handling during the feature event run though, so they dug a little deeper during their off week and discovered a suspension issue that also played a part in ruining their run that night. With that resolved, everyone is anxious to get back at it.

The second event on the team’s upcoming schedule is a $2500 to win super late model show on Saturday, July 4th as part of the PA Sprint Speedweek finale at Port Royal, the Greg Hodnett Classic.

The team knows they have made strides in improving and their expectations are higher than past seasons. They try to remember not to be too hard on themselves and to look for the positives. Austin’s father and car owner Ken Berry said this week, “We have to remember, we have made shows this season that really good cars haven’t made.“.

That drive for more is never a bad thing.

SPECIAL THANKS:

As always, we want to express our thanks to all our sponsors and partners, including our silent partners who do everything they can to help but ask for nothing in return!

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
HersheyRacingEngines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Austin Berry Racing during the 2020 season on:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing
(Twitter) @AustinBerryRacn

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Email) [email protected]

ABR Port Royal 6-13-2020 recap

/in , /by

Port Royal, PA – by Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway was one of those nights that is more common to a race team than any other kind of night. It was the kind of night that starts with optimism, evolves into confidence midway through the show and then ends with some perplexed but determined expressions on the faces of the crew and driver.

A stout field of 32 super late models was signed in last night, so the team’s 3rd place run in the 4th heat that locked them into the main event definitely brought early confidence.

The qualifying run was good enough for a 12th place start in the 25 lap feature. The initial laps looked very promising as Austin launched off turn two on the opening lap with a lot of speed, prepared to overtake a couple cars and move into the top 10 but as cars fanned out on the backstretch, he had to fall into line for the moment. Austin commented, “The car felt really good on the start and I thought to myself ‘we are gonna move forward tonight'”.

The track was black slick from bottom to top where there was a narrow cushion. “I knew getting grip down in the slick would be challenging but we were going to be good on the top”, Austin explained. That confidence held for a few more laps as he worked to break into the top 10, until “suddenly it just went away” he said. From that point on, the ABR 86 started slipping backwards in the running order, losing a spot every couple laps.

Sensing something was not right and with nothing to gain by continuing, the team made the decision to pull in on lap 18, giving them a 21st place finish for the night. Upon his arrival, the team discovered a nearly flat right rear tire due to a slow leak. There’s no way to be sure how early in the race the tire issue started but the team will have to factor that into their assessment of the setup of the car and resulting performance. They are confident in the setup progress they have made thus far this season and are working hard to get some grip on the tricky slick surface at The Speed Palace.

Current plans are to return to action Wednesday, June 24th at Port Royal Speedway.

Thanks to all our sponsors and partners, including our silent partners who do everything they can to help but ask for nothing in return.

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
HersheyRacingEngines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

SOCIAL MEDIA: Fans can follow Austin Berry Racing during the 2020 season on:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/AustinBerryRacing
(Twitter) @AustinBerryRacn

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Addicted 2 Dirt PR & Media Management can be contacted at:
(Email) [email protected]
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/AD2pr

ABR Hagerstown 5-30-2020 recap

/in , /by

Well, overall it was a solid night. It was good to be back at the track. It was only the third opportunity of the season to see how all the offseason changes would pay off.

Saturday night at Hagerstown, the Austin Berry Racing 86 advanced from 4th to 2nd in the second heat and earned the 4th starting spot in the night’s main event. Despite battling a free condition in the main event, Austin was able to run in the top 7 until a late race caution. The ensuing restart didn’t play out well and it resulted in an 11th place finish.

A top 10 or top 5 would’ve been a better reward for the effort, but given the number of laps the team has been able to run in this strange 2020 season thus far, tonight was a positive and reinforced the improvements made in the offseason.

On to the next race. Stay tuned for where & when that will be in this unpredictable season!

Thanks to all our sponsors and partners, including our silent partners who do everything they can to help but ask for nothing in return.

Swift Springs
Rocket Chassis
Ontime Body & Graphic
HersheyRacingEngines
MS Shock Therapy
Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter
Nathan Berry Beef Farm

Feature Results

Super Late Models –  1. 2T-Kyle Lee[7]; 2. 20-Trever Feathers[6]; 3. 17D-Nick Dickson[1]; 4. 17-Logan Roberson[8]; 5. 41-Justin Weaver[10]; 6. 46-Marvin Winters[5]; 7. 24-Kenny Moreland[19]; 8. 4-Gary Stuhler[11]; 9. 05-Roy Deese Jr[9]; 10. 14-Tyler Horst[14]; 11. 86X-Austin Berry[4]; 12. 11B-Brian Booze[13]; 13. 2-Dan Zechman[15]; 14. 21-Chad Myers[3]; 15. 8F-Taylor Farlling[20]; 16. D19-Dillon Stake[17]; 17. 08-Keith Koontz[23]; 18. 11-Kirk Baker[12]; 19. 8-Matt Sponaugle[16]; 20. 48-Donnie Farlling[21]; 21. 93-Cory Lawler[24]; 22. 25-Andy Anderson[2]; 23. 86-Scott Palmer[22]; 24. (DNS) 13D-Jonathan DeHaven