Berry, area drivers out to defend turf

For Spokane’s Tony Berry the chance to climb back behind the wheel of his Country Place Bar & Grill asphalt sprint car can not come soon enough after sitting out the first half of the 2010 racing season. This weekend the Northwest Sprint Car Racing Association (NSRA) invades Stateline Speedway and Berry will be one of a handful of Eastern Washington drivers out to defend the home turf against a solid out of town field of race teams making their only Inland Northwest stop of the 2010 season.

“Local cars have run with a great deal of success against regional open-wheel competitors in the past,” Berry said. “We would love to put our combination up front this weekend against the NSRA caliber of competition. I think we’re prepared to do good things against the NSRA group and a top-five finish would be our minimum goal for the weekend.”

Part of that preparation for a successful run comes in the form of a new power plant from famed Post Falls engine builder, Ed Nereaux. Having turned many laps at Stateline with solid performances adds to a potentially successful weekend, Berry noted.

“We have several things working in our favor heading into Saturday night. First and foremost is that Nereaux Racing Engines has built us a very special power plant for this race which I think will be more then competitive. Secondly, we know the car and this track very well. While we would have liked to get more seat time prior to this weekend’s race we come into it with more excitement then nerves as we’re eager to get the Country Place Bar & Grill sprinter to a track we know so well.”

Race fans from the region are familiar with Berry’s exploits on the Inland Northwest Sprint Car Association (INSCA) circuit but a foray into NSRA racing is a step up in competition, speeds and determination. The teams running the NSRA come from across the Pacific Northwest and featuring winning drivers such as Craig Deavor, Jeff Montgomery and Matt Hein.

Berry is secure in the knowledge that a successful 2009 campaign on the INSCA series will be a good jump-off point for the NSRA event this weekend.

“The cars are nearly the same with the main differences being the softer Hoosier tire compound run on the NSRA, and the motor rules are much more open in their series then what we have on the INSCA circuit; in some cases the NSRA motors are creating over a 100 horsepower higher discrepancy then the INSCA motor we usually run.

“We met every goal we set for ourselves in 2009,” Berry explained. “It has been hard to sit idle so far this year. This race is the only one on our schedule for this season at this point as we will need more marketing partners in order to add races for the remainder of the year.”

Should a local, regional or national business partner join Berry’s team they will be aligning with a successful organization and series, he noted.

“I know we have the crew, the car and the motor package to compete in the NSRA. We are actively working towards the goal of competing on the series full time in 2011 so this race has the potential to help get that effort going with more emphasis.”

NSRA racing features some of the fastest lap times and overall speed found at Stateline Speedway. The Northwest Super Shoe event for the NSRA may reset many of the track’s lap-time records, according to NSRA officials and drivers.

Tickets are available at Stateline Speedway the day of the event with gates opening at 5 p.m. For more information on the upcoming NSRA stop in Post Falls log onto www.nsraracing.com.