Story By: A2DPR / AUSTIN BERRY RACING – SWEDESBORO, NJ – Austin Berry has waited, patiently, for the most part, to hit the track in 2024. Delays in receiving motor parts and weather have left him unable to satisfy his appetite for speed.
His season debut at Port Royal Speedway a couple of weeks ago didn’t go well. A series of nuisance issues kept him from being a factor that night.
Knowing he won’t be racing for points at his home track after missing several events, Berry has stepped back and looked at his schedule options. He is trying to take lemons and make lemonade by rethinking his schedule and giving himself and his team a chance to grow and improve.
How does a racer accomplish that? They get out of their comfort zone. They race new tracks and challenge themselves. Berry will still see plenty of laps at Port Royal Speedway this year but Sunday he took the first step in deploying a new approach by making the three-hour tow to Bridgeport Motorsports Park for their invitational super late model race.
ON THE CUSP
Berry was one of nineteen drivers to accept the invite to compete Sunday evening at the high-banked 4-tenths mile oval not far across the river from Philadelphia International Airport.
He wasted no time making sure fans took notice. With names like Covert, Eckert, Frye, Bernheisel, and Yoder in the field, Berry topped them all in qualifying with a blistering lap of 15.460 seconds, nearly two-tenths better than his closest competitor.
It was an impressive effort, especially when you consider Berry has never seen the facility before. He spent weeks doing homework though. He watched videos and looked for information about tire wear, doing his best to prepare his equipment and team for the venture. He clearly passed the initial test.
Berry earned the pole for his 8-lap heat race. There was never a question. He drove away from the field and took the checkered flag 1.4 seconds ahead of second place.
The six-car redraw dealt Berry his first minor setback. He pulled number six.
Berry took the green from outside row three, feeling confident he had plenty to get him to the front over the course of the 40 scheduled laps. Unfortunately very early on he had lost power steering, which was compounded by a water pump issue that led to overheating, forcing him to the sidelines just a few laps into the main event. Officially he was recorded as finishing 18th.
“First off, I want to give a huge shout-out to Chris Spotts Welding & Repair for the $300 Quick Time Award. That’s money that makes a difference, especially for a team like ours. Just getting here with gas, tolls, tires, and race fuel is expensive, so we needed to make some money. We really appreciate what Chris did.”, Berry said.
“We didn’t get the finish we deserved but honestly we are all leaving here smiling. We were fast even though we had never seen this joint before. That gives us a lot of confidence in what we are doing. That’s big. We will carry this into Port Royal next weekend.”
Berry will return to Port Royal Speedway this Saturday night, June 1st, aiming to erase the disappointment of his debut there a few weeks ago.