A new motor program, a new class, and a new organization for Pete Berner Racing have caused the
team to make quite a few adjustments and take on a few learning curves. This is right up Berner's
alley, however. He's known for taking on new challenges and innovation and although he hasn't quite
mastered the eighth mile battlefield just yet, he's confident that he's well on his way.
At this past weekend's ADRL Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags III, Berner held his own. He
qualified third with a 4.143 at 172.65. In round one he took out Mark Martino with another 4.143 to
Martino's 4.173. Round two paired Berner with longtime friend and competitor Dean Goforth. Both
drivers posted .02 lights, but Goforth's 4.129 took out Berner's consistent, but losing effort of
4.147. Goforth went on to win the event, capturing his first Minuteman.
Earlier this year Goforth defeated Berner on his way to winning his first ever Mountain Motor
event. Berner was thrilled to see his friend get his first win, but now he admits the excitement of
Goforth beating him is quickly wearing off.
"My number one fan," tells Berner, "happens to be Dean's five-year-old granddaughter Emmy. So the
first thing I said to him when we got out of the car on top end was, 'I'm telling Emmy you're
beating up on me way too much!' We all had a good laugh about that. Dean's doing a great job this
year though, and it's good to see him getting the reward he deserves for his efforts. It's awesome
to see different people win and not have the same guys taking home the trophy every race. It makes
us all work harder to better our program and the class. Congratulations to Dean and his team.
"We had a great event this weekend. Thanks to Summit Racing Equipment for putting on a nice show
with the ADRL. Jim Greenleaf and his staff are as professional as they come. They're a great group
of guys and they really helped to make this event a success. You see the Summit name all over
motorsports and it's great to see them jump on board with the ADRL as well."
With the 2010 ADRL schedule already posted and the 2009 season quickly coming to a close, Berner is
a looking ahead.
"I'm already looking at my ADRL program for 2010. We're planning on stepping things up and getting
more serious about our eighth mile program. We haven't quite made the statement that we wanted to
this year, but that's going to change in the future."
