Berry takes first night in Nebraska
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — It had been awhile since Darren Berry had raced with the United Rebel Sprint Series. He might be wishing he had the opportunity to compete with the Rebels a little more often.
Berry won his first URSS feature of the season Saturday night at Lincoln County Speedway in North Platte, Neb. Berry overcame a rough track for his second win in URSS history. His first came in 2008.
“The track was so rough,” Berry said. “I went through three and four one time and hit a rut, and the car jumped and all four wheels came off the ground. Then we just tried to drive it around the bottom.”
Berry started inside the second row and moved into second by the time he came out of turn two on the initial start. He jumped to the lead coming out of turn four and would lead the rest of the way.
“A couple times Barry Crane showed me his nose,” Berry said. “He was running the bottom, and I was running the middle to the top. I figured I needed to go to the bottom then since it was the faster line.”
Josh Fairbank, who made the long haul from Wichita, finished second, and Blake Smith Jr. finished third. Tim Perkins and Judd Sheaffer rounded out the top five.
“Josh started reeling him in at the end,” URSS founder Rick Salem said. “But there just wasn't enough laps for him to get him.”
Heat race winners were Brian Herbert, Keefe Hemel and Berry.
The Keizer Aluminum Racing Wheels Hard Charger Award went to Perkins, who started 11th and finished fourth.
Feature results
1. Darren Berry, 2. Josh Fairbank, 3. Blake Smith Jr., 4. Tim Perkins, 5. Judd Sheaffer, 6. Mark Walinder, 7. Mike Saathoff, 8. Brian Herbert, 9. Bill Hays, 10. John Webster, 11. Barry Crane (DNF), 12. Keefe Hemel (DNF), 13. Mike Parker (DNF), 14. Dan Brummett (DNF), 15. Tommy Williams (DNF), 16. Ken Lutters (DNF).