5/29/2023
Tom Berry Jr.
Berry Jr. races on 5 consecutive nights, earns 3 top-10 finishes
Tom Berry Jr. had a busy Memorial Day weekend, beginning with a four-day run with the Summit United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS).
On Thursday, Berry’s Sweet Grafix No. 11x Modified was one of 46 USMTS entries at the 3/8-mile Deer Creek Speedway (Spring Valley, Minnesota) for the first night of the three-day USMTS Southern Minnesota Spring Challenge.
The Des Moines, Iowa, driver finished sixth in his heat and rolled off 13th for the A-Main. He picked up five positions to finish eighth in the night’s 30-lap, $3,000-to-win feature.
On Friday, the field expanded to 52 USMTS Modifieds for night two of the 20th annual event at Deer Creek. Berry finished fourth in his heat and moved forward three spots in the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win A-Main to come home 11th.
Fifty-two cars were again in the pit area on Saturday for the Southern Minnesota Challenge’s 50-lap, $10,000-to-win finale. Berry finished second in both his heat and B-Main, putting him 18th on the grid for the main event. He advanced four spots and registered a 14th-place finish.
Berry then followed USMTS south to Fayette County Speedway (West Union, Iowa) for the 10th annual War in West Union on Sunday evening. With 27 USMTS Modifieds on the property, Berry turned in a second-place result in his heat and drove from fourth to second in the 40-lap, $10,000-to-win feature, finishing 1.730 seconds behind winner Zack VanderBeek. Jason Hughes, Rodney Sanders and Dan Ebert represented the rest of the top five at the 3/8-mile oval.
After the four-day swing, Berry sits sixth in USMTS points and leads the rookie standings.
On Monday, Berry capped the weekend by racing in the IMCA Modified division at Benton County Speedway (Vinton, Iowa) where his No 11x was one of 33 IMCA Mods in the pit area at the quarter-mile bullring.
He began the evening by winning his heat race and then steered from 11th to 2nd in the 44-lap, $4,000-to-win A-Main. Tim Ward took the win, while Jake McBirnie, Tripp Gaylord and Dakota Sproul completed the top five behind Berry.
Full results can be found at www.usmts.com and www.bcsbullring.com.
Article Credit: Tyler Rinken image
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