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Austin Berry Racing’s goal for the week sounded simple enough:  Make at least one Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) main event during the 3-day Rumble by the River event.   It sounds simple, until you consider you’re going to be competing with many of the best super late model drivers in the country, plus the best in your region, for half as many starting spots as there are teams entered to compete. 

None of that mattered when Berry and his team unloaded the Tire Mart, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter, Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop, Addicted2DirtPR.com, Nathan Berry Beef Farm, A&C Racing Engines, JDS Racing, Ontime Body & Graphic, Swift Springs, Penske Racing Shocks, Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic, VP Racing Fuels, Rocket Chassis XR1 in the hot Thursday afternoon sun at Port Royal Speedway.  They had been competitive everywhere they went since early June.  They had momentum and their confidence was high.  

Night 1 – Thursday 8/26:  44 cars, Qualifying 2nd, Heat 5th, B-main 2nd, A-main 25th

A field of 44 tough teams signed in to take their best shot at the $10,000 top prize Thursday night.   Austin Berry was the 17th of 22 cars in Group A to go under the clock for qualifying and he promptly posted a blistering 18.958 second lap, placing him second only to 3-time series champion Jonathan Davenport by a mere 0.079 seconds.

The stellar qualifying effort not only handed Berry the pole for the second heat race, but it had long time series announcer, James Essex, talking about Berry several times throughout the night on the MavTVplus broadcast, including a shout out to Tire Mart in Harrisburg, PA who had come on board as a partner with Berry for the 3-race series and a few other races to finish out the season.

The top four finishers from each heat race transfer directly to the feature event.  Mike Marlar got the jump on Berry on the opening lap, but the one-time Port Royal feature winner challenged Marlar for the lead repeatedly during the first half of the 8-lap heat race.  Eventually Jason Covert battled by Berry to claim the runner up spot.  A late caution erased Berry’s comfortable margin and forced a restart with one lap remaining.  The final lap was the one Berry wished he could take back.  A slight slip off turn two cost him 3rd and a bobble at the other end of the track cost him the final transfer position.  

Austin had one more shot at the main event, so there was no time to dwell on what had happened.  He would have to finish in the top three of the first B-main, so the team went right to work to be ready for that opportunity.  After starting on the outside of the front row, Berry found himself precariously riding in 3rd, clinging to the final transfer spot for the first half of the 10-lap race.  The caution lights flashed on before lap six could be completed, forcing a mid-race restart.  This time, Berry made the restart work to his advantage.  He blasted around the high side to reclaim 2nd.  He never relinquished the spot and claimed a spot in the starting lineup for his first career LOLMDS feature event.

Berry lined up 19th for the 30-lap night one finale but found himself sliding backwards early in the event.  The adjustments the team had made, with hopes of being able to race forward through the dirty air the comes with racing from the back in heavy traffic, did not work quite as they had hoped.  The result was a 25th place finish but it was hardly a night ABR would call disappointing.  The team goal for the week had already been achieved on the first night.

Night 2 – Friday 8/27:  46 cars, Qualifying 18th, Heat 10th, B-main 12th

The forecast looked a bit daunting for Friday’s show at “The Speed Palace” but while other area tracks were forced to cancel due to rain, Port Royal Speedway seemed to have a way to hide from Mother Nature.  Another stellar field, this time 46 strong, rolled their machines onto the Pennsylvania clay to go after the $12,000 winner’s share.

Austin Berry found himself in Group B qualifying on this night, once again going out late in the set.  This time however, he was unable to find the speed necessary to move toward the top of the chart.  Berry’s fastest lap was only good enough for 18th in his group.  It was going to be a tough hill to climb from there.

Berry started 9th in the fourth heat and was not able to make any progress.  The team struggled to find grip on a racing surface that had changed quite a bit from the previous night.

You can only play the hand you are dealt.  Might as well make every lap count.  Knowing they would have to start deep in the field in their B-main, from which only the top three finishers would advance, Berry and team decided to use the opportunity to test some changes.  They could still consider the night productive if they could learn something that would help them the next night.  Berry ultimately finished 12th in the B-main and missed the show, but hopefully the payoff would come the following night.

Night 3 – Saturday 8/28:  Rain

The ABR crew spent a lot of hours in the hot midday sun applying the lessons learned, preparing their No.86 for the third consecutive and final night of LOLMDS competition.   Unfortunately, not long after driver registration opened for the night, the skies opened up.

The amount of rain that fell over the course of an hour was more than the series and the speedway could overcome, especially so close to the start of the program.  It was especially disappointing to Berry, who had just signed in and drew a low pill that would have put him in a great spot for the night.  He was hoping to rebound from Friday’s outcome but did not get the chance.

“Successfully humbling“, Berry responded when asked to sum up his weekend.  They are two words that say a lot and represent what this sport is to drivers and teams on a regular basis.

“This was the first time I felt like we were actually prepared to come to this show and have a real chance to make some noise, which we did the first night“, Berry shared.  “We still need to get better at bridging that gap when the track is going through its transition.  Overall, I will take the weekend.  We made one show and missed one, but we got some attention.  I was on the verge of getting my team and our sponsors some limelight and show that with continued improvement, our little local team can run with those guys“.

Up Next

Austin and the team will return to Port Royal Speedway for the Juniata County Fair opener on Saturday night, September 4th.  The ULMS-sanctioned Butch Renninger Memorial will pay $6333 to the winner in honor of Renninger, who was a devoted part of the speedway for many years and who’s number 33 competed there for many years. 

The summer of 2021 has seen Austin Berry Racing (ABR) shift its goals from trying to achieve consistency and capturing a top-10 finish when they can, to maintaining their consistency and not being happy if they finish outside the top-10.  

The team’s initial goals for this season were achieved through a combination of changes to their equipment, learning behind the wheel, and measuring themselves regularly at their home track.  There are thousands of variables for a race team, so eliminating any variables they can helps the team determine if the changes being made are working.  

They have also been racing smart.  Choosing their battles, staying within their budget, and managing their resources better has allowed them to race more this season than any other, not less.  For a small team trying to build something, that’s essential.

Since much of their recent success has been achieved at their home track, Port Royal Speedway, the next challenge would be to measure themselves at other speedways.  With that in mind, and with “The Speed Palace” taking a weekend off, it was time to do just that.

August 13 – Path Valley Speedway Park

Friday night, Austin Berry made the one hour tow to Path Valley Speedway Park with the Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter, Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop, Addicted2DirtPR.com, Nathan Berry Beef Farm, A&C Racing Engines, JDS Racing, Ontime Body & Graphic, Swift Springs, Penske Racing Shocks, Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic, VP Racing Fuels, Rocket Chassis XR1.  

ABR was one of 21 teams signed in to compete with the United Late Model Series (ULMS).  The high-banked, quarter-mile bullring in Spring Run, PA would provide a very different test than the half-mile tracks Berry usually competes at in Pennsylvania and Maryland.  

The night started off well for Berry, who logged the 6th quickest time in the field during qualifying.  The qualifying effort provided Berry with the outside front row starting spot in the 3rd and final heat race.  The top two finishers from each heat would redraw for one of the top six starting spots in the night’s feature event.

Berry looked good early in the heat race but made one small mistake.  A tiny slip over the cushion was just enough to drop him into the 3rd position and out of a redraw spot.  As a result, instead of a top-6 spot, Berry was penciled into the 9th position in the starting lineup for the feature event.    

Berry was anxious to redeem himself from the heat race mistake and climb his way to the top five, but he never got a chance at redemption.  The rains came and brought an end to the racing program during the feature that was being run just prior to the super late model main event.  The feature event is scheduled to be made up on Labor Day, Monday, September 6th.

August 14 – Selinsgrove Speedway

Saturday night, ABR made the decision to travel north on Route 35 to race Selinsgrove Speedway’s 23rd Annual Late Model National Open.  The team had some rough luck at the Snyder County oval in recent trips there, ending up with a damaged race car on the last three occasions.  Berry wasn’t going to shy away because of the past.  He felt maybe the big, fast half-mile owed him one.

It certainly appeared as though Austin was right.  Berry was the 14th car (of the 23 total entries) to take to the oval for qualifying, and he clicked off the 2nd fastest lap in the field.  His lap of 19.919 was a mere 0.022 seconds slower than Dylan Yoder, who claimed the top spot.

Berry backed up the qualifying effort up with a dominating heat race victory, winning by 3.8 seconds from the pole position.  The top two finishers from each of three heats participated in a redraw for the top starting spots in the feature event.  The Mifflin, PA wheelman pulled the 4-pill, putting himself outside row two for the 30-lap race.

Although he was unable to make any strong moves toward the front, Berry held solid in the top five for most of the event.  As the race entered the final ten laps, the handling on Berry’s No.86 Rocket XR1 began to go away, causing him to lose a couple spots and slip to a 7th place finish.

“We probably got a little too aggressive with our setup and we lost some of the maneuverability on corner entry.  That cost me a little bit“, Berry shared.

“We feel really good though.  We have good speed, and the car responds to our changes.  We just need to make the right decisions and we can compete on any given night.  I really want to thank my dad, my crew, my family and of course our partners for believing in what we’re doing here and helping us build it.  I truly appreciate Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop, Berry’s Siding and Seamless Gutter, and of course, Jim Stevens & JDS Racing.  We couldn’t do this without them“, Berry concluded.

Right now, ABR has something that every team wants:  confidence.  It’s not misplaced either.  It will serve them well for the rest of 2021 and beyond.   

ABR will take the upcoming weekend off to prepare for the 3-day Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Port Royal Speedway, which will be held Aug 26-28.  Austin and team are eager to take to their home turf against some of the best in the business.