7/18/2022
Austin Berry
Team ABR Invades Frank Plessinger’s Hagerstown Speedway
With Austin Berry Racing’s usual Saturday night track not running super late models this past Saturday night, Austin and the crew ventured south to the spacious and ultra-smooth Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown Maryland.
While making their way to Hagerstown, the team encountered a problem with a power steering hose on their toter-home. After a call to a friend who provided some rapid roadside assistance, the team was back on the road south.
July 16: Hagerstown Speedway / Hagerstown, MD
[30 cars, Qualifying 15th Group B, Heat 4th (7), A-main 11th (12)]
Temps near 80 degrees greeted the field of 30 super late models that were ready to do battle just south of the Mason-Dixon line.
The ULMS-sanctioned event split the field into two groups for time trials, followed by four heat races, from which the top four finishers advanced directly to the feature. The remaining cars participated in the B-main to transfer six more drivers who to the night’s finale. Two provisional starters rounded out the starting lineup for the A-main.
Austin Berry logged the 15th fastest lap in Group B time trials, which resulted in the No.86 starting 7th in heat number four. Austin raced his way to a 4th finishing position in the 8-lap qualifying race.
The strong heat race effort earned Berry the 12th starting position in the feature event in The Tire Mart / JDS Racing / Berry’s Siding & Seamless Gutter / Locust Hill Custom Butcher Shop / Nathan Berry Beef Farm / A&C Racing Engines / Swift Springs / Addicted2DirtPR.com / Penske Racing Shocks / Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic / VP Racing Fuels / Rocket Chassis XR1.
“We guessed wrong on some things for our time trial run and that left us playing catch up the rest of the night. Our notebook is fairly limited for this place since we only get here once or twice each year, plus we haven’t been here with this smaller motor in a long time, so we just had to make a decision where to start the night. It turned out to be the wrong choice.”, Berry shared.
In the main event, Austin settled into the 11th position for the first 19 of 30 laps.
On lap 20, Austin passed Gary Stuhler to claim the 10th spot, but the veteran racer Stuhler regained the position on lap 24.
When the checkered flag flew at the conclusion of the 30-lap main event, Berry finished in 11th spot. The race was won by Kyle Hardy.
“We set up to use the cushion in the feature and I think we got a lot better. It was fun racing with Gary (Stuhler) tonight. He was good on the bottom and we were good up top, so it was just a matter of who didn’t make mistakes. After I got by him I thought I was good, but I bobbled late in the race and he got back by me. He’s always smart out there, so he moved up to take my line away.”, Berry said.
“That was a stout field we were up against and we were competing for a top ten spot at a place we don’t run much, so overall we’re pretty happy with out night. All the guys are really working well together lately. We’re communicating and executing well, so I’m really pleased with that. That’s the foundation that’s necessary for a team to move their program to the next level.”
Up Next
Up next for Austin Berry Racing will be Port Royal Speedway on July 30, when the super late models will be on the card as part of the 16th Annual Living Legends Dream Race for 410 sprint cars.
Season Stats
10 races, 0 wins, 3 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 7 top 15’s, 9 top 20’s
Article Credit: ADDICTED2DIRT
Submitted By: Joey Bainey
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