7/17/2023
Austin Berry
Austin Berry Not Satisfied With Performance Saturday Night at Port Royal
Austin Berry Not Satisfied With Performance Saturday Night at Port Royal
July 11, 2023/in Austin Berry, Late Models/by mraddicted2dirt
Hagerstown’s July 16th Frank Sagi Tribute Next on the Slate for ABR
Port Royal, PA – July 11, 2023
by Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Mgmt
Photo Credit: Derick Kriner Photography
Austin Berry has been pretty good this season. He has had some highlights and some lowlights thus far in 2023.
What he and the team want though is more consistency and a few ‘higher’ highlights. They have fallen short of the number of podium finishes they expected of themselves so far. That said, they have also achieved a couple things they didn’t believe they could, like running up front at Clinton County Speedway on their first trip there.
Sometimes two steps forward and three steps back is not only the temporary combination necessary to end up ten steps forward, it might be the sign you are on the right path to get there.
Date: July 8, 2023
Track: Port Royal Speedway
City, State: Port Royal, PA
Quick Stats: 32 cars, Heat 4th (4), A-main 12th (16)
Saturday Night Stomping Grounds
A stout field of 32 super late models was on hand Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway for a regular Saturday night show, which offers a tidy $4,000 to the winner.
Berry and The Tire Mart Tire Pros of Harrisburg, Juniata Veterinary Clinic, Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter, SRI Performance, VP Racing Fuels, JDS Racing, Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop, Nathan Berry Beef Farm, Addicted2DirtPR.com, GO Lithium, Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Super Clean, Rocket Chassis No.86 were on hand for their first weekly race since completing the grueling Late Model Speedweek in June.
Heat lineups were set by pill draw and Berry got a reasonable outside 2nd row starting spot to kick off his night. The top five finishers would transfer to the main event but the goal was a top three finish, which would put the driver inside the handicap for the night’s feature.
Berry, who often make a lot of forward progress on the opening lap of heat races, didn’t get his typical start. He fell in line in 4th and went to work on chasing down Dillan Stake. He got by Stake on lap four but two laps later lost the spot in a heated three-way battle with Tim Wilson. Berry settled for a fourth place finish. He would have to work from deeper in the field in the finale later that night.
Not Good Enough
Instead of a top ten starting spot from the handicap, Berry rolled to the green for the 25-lap A-main in the 16th spot. He managed solid progress early, reaching 12th by lap four.
One lap later, Berry slipped back three spots, losing almost all of the ground he had made. From there he trudged on, scratching and clawing his way back to 12th again with ten laps remaining. Once again, he found himself battling Stake, the two exchanging positions multiple times.
Berry reclaimed 12th and held on to finish there at the checkered flag. It wasn’t the type of performance Berry expects of himself and his team these days.
“We just weren’t very good tonight. We tried some things to get faster earlier in the night but I don’t think that hurt us. We just missed the setup.”, Berry said. “We know this place better than anywhere and we expect to run in the top ten here every week. When we don’t, we’re not happy.”
“Nothing to do but learn from it, get back to work and get it right next time.”
Scroll down to watch the team’s latest video recap!
You can also visit Austin Berry Racing’s YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/AustinBerry86 to watch that video plus all the other the great content they provide!
Be sure to LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE the video, plus SUBSCRIBE so you are the first to know about all the great content they share!
Up Next
Austin Berry Racing will head south to Hagerstown, MD next weekend for the Frank Sagi Tribute race on Sunday evening, July 16th.
Berry’s full schedule can be found at Addicted2DirtPR.com/events and at AustinBerryRacing.com under Schedule.
Season Stats
15 races, 0 wins, 3 top 5’s, 4 top 10’s, 7 top 15’s
Article Credit: ADDICTED2DIRT
Submitted By: Joey Bainey
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