LIGHTS OUT 7
Team Effort
KEITH BERRY
Mustang dubbed “The Shadow”.
The crowd on the starting
line when it came time for the
big money match up alone was
impressive without even taking
into account the thousands of fans
who had endured, determined to
see a winner crowned and nearly
$55,000 change hands. Despite
having further poured the coals
to the Pro Line-powered ‘Vette
in anticipating of a collective
3.8-second final round, the race
was decided on the starting line.
Berry left the line four-hundredths-of-a-second quicker than
Jackson (.026-seconds to .066)
and held off the hard-charging
Jackson for 660-feet, crossing the
finish line stripe first by just twothousandths-of-a-second ahead,
or roughly six inches, to take the
win with a 3.934-second, 192.69
mph effort over Jackson’s 3.896 at
194.80 mph.
“To win it like that,” starts Berry,
“it’s just a Cinder ella story because
I’m a big fan of Stevie’s and we’re
great friends and we talk regularly.
I think the world of him, and he’s
a truly great racer. We stepped on
it and we hurt it there in the final
– got four rods. Based on what we
lost in the back split, I think we
would have been right there with
him, but to win it on a hole shot…
it’s special.”
For Berry, who has undeniably
enjoyed a considerable amount of
success over the course of his drag
racing career, this come-from-
anything quite like it; it was crazy.
For me…I don’t know if this one
can ever be duplicated.”
Still smelling of the champagne
he was dosed with in the winner’s
circle, and wearing the infamous
black leather cowboy hat that
accompanies the cash awarded
to the winner of Donald Long’s
productions, Berry and company
“To win like that – on a holeshot
against one of my great friends,
who is also a great racer – it’s
just a Cinderella story.”
behind win at Lights Out 7 is as
good as it gets.
“After all the work, all the late
nights and everyone spending all
this time away from their families,
I would have been pretty proud of
this group of guys for qualifying,”
says Berry. “Again, to win it? It’s
hard to describe. And that race? I
don’t think words can adequately
describe that race, not accurately.
The feeling, the atmosphere and
the buzz, it was electric. It was
the first time I’ve experienced
started their trek home much in
the same fashion and condition it
began: in the middle of the night
and completely exhausted.
“I made it about 15 miles on
I-75 and had to pull over,” says
Berry. “I was just emotionally
drained; I don’t think I could
have made it another mile when I
saw the sign for the rest stop. We
pulled over and just crashed. It
was all just so overwhelming.”
It took almost two weeks before
things started to truly settle down
for Berry, who recounts having
received over 2,500 notifications
and messages altogether in the
wake of his big win. From track
promoters looking to book Berry
and his world-renowned Corvette
in for match races and appearances to family, friends, customers
and fans simply offering their congratulations, winning in February
at South Georgia Motorsports
Park was a game changer.
“I’m proud,” concludes Berry, after acknowledging that he
took a strategic business trip to
Washington State and worked
some extended hours in the weeks
following Lights Out 7 in hopes
of gaining a little perspective on
what had transpired. “It’s cool to
win that kind of money and I really am humbled by all of it, but I’m
very, very proud of it. I’m proud
of all my guys. I’m a small part of
it, I think. The guys on this team
are who made it happen. I told
my guys, ‘I’ve got two jobs. Don’t
hit the wall and pay everybody
on Sunday.’ Other than that – it’s
all up to them, and I believe that.
I sure as hell wouldn’t be doing
any interviews or photo shoots
without them. Fact.”
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78 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 109
PHOTO: IAN TOCHER
Keith Berry, admittedly the founding member of his “Team Me”, is never shy when it
comes to giving credit where its due – not only to his dedicated racing team, but also
to his extended family at Pro Line Racing Engines and FuelTech USA based out of
Ball Ground, Georgia. “We’ve come a long ways,” says Berry. “It wasn’t that long ago
that I didn’t even know what a drag strip looked like, and now we’re popping bottles
in the winner’s circle. I’m a pretty big Keith Berry fan, but I owe it all to these guys.”