Doug Pace: Spokane’s Tony Berry looks for solid finish

Paved sprint car racing in the region runs one of its biggest events as the WESCO series invades Hermiston’s Super Oval for a two-day show beginning Saturday afternoon.

Spokane’s Tony Berry is happy the season has run into late September, as he’ll be able to take part in the race after a slow start to his season.

With a son born on Valentine’s Day and motor woes that have held back some of his team’s efforts to run on a consistent basis this season, Berry is eager to close out the year on a good note while cautiously looking forward to 2015.

“We welcomed our son Ethan this year along with having to build a new power plant,” Berry said. “That’s cut into the racing budget. We’re excited to see what our Stipe Engine Specialties motor has to offer this weekend. I think every racer heads into the offseason with grand plans for what the next year has in store. Ideally, for our team, it would be competing for the WESCO Championship again.”

Focus on the race ahead is the mindset for Berry and his team.

“When you show up running a part-time schedule, you have to be very confident in your car preparation because practice on race day is so limited,” Berry said. “You also have to know how your car changes throughout the evening, otherwise you’ll be playing catch-up and never able to really compete. Driving a racecar is like riding a bike, but it’s always tough to show up cold when others have been working to hone their craft every week. I am confident we can get up to speed quickly.”

While not racing on a consistent basis this season, Berry’s no stranger to WESCO as a past champion (2012). It’s a challenging series with plenty of history.

Having cut his teeth on the now-defunct Inland Northwest Sprint Car Association circuit, Berry would like to see local tracks add more sprint car racing to their schedules.

“I would love to see WESCO return to Stateline Speedway, which was a fan favorite in 2012 running a winged and non-wing race there,” Berry said. “I think for sprint car racing to grow (locally), there needs to be an influx of new talent, whether it’s someone in the stands that decides to finally bite the bullet or kids coming out of quarter-midgets and karts.”

Berry has been successful in late models, karts and other forms of motorsports in addition to his sprint car championships. Having that versatility to draw from keeps his competitive juices flowing when he’s behind the wheel of a 600-horsepower car that is a handful to drive.

“The challenge of a sprinter is different than most other vehicles,” Berry said. “When running with the wing, you have so much down force that you can do things with the car that you would not be able to in other vehicles. Without the wing, it is a totally different animal and requires you to adapt, and I enjoy that aspect.”

Posting strong results in his career at the quarter-mile Oregon track, Berry still has work to do once he unloads for practice at Hermiston.

“I haven’t run at Hermiston since the track was sealed, but I have heard that it increased the grip level,” he said. “It used to be a very low grip-racing surface, similar to Ephrata Raceway Park. With this weekend being a non-wing event, the need for grip will be at a premium. We’ve had a lot of success without the wings in the past and we’re excited to give it a shot.”