I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
CRETE, Ill, September 30, 2008: Nearing the end of what could potentially be the perfect season, current IHRA Pro Stock points leader Pete Berner takes time to reflect on what is really important in his racing career. Berner can claim many accolades and awards from his long and varied journey down the quarter-mile, including the 2006 IHRA Pro Stock World Championship. However, the driver from Crete, Illinois recognizes that he hasn’t gotten to this level of success on his own, nor would he care to go it alone.
“I’ve been in the drag racing industry for more years than I care to admit sometimes,” jokes Berner. “Over the years I’ve gotten to know a lot of great people. Competitors have become friends. Relationships have changed from being strictly business partners into a lot more like brothers. We tend to call ourselves a family within the racing community, and that’s true for my team. I look at all my trophies, the money spent and the money won over the years, and none of it amounts to anything without the friendships that have made it all possible.
“Rockingham [the IHRA World Finals, coming up October 17-19] is going to be a huge race for us. I’m thrilled with the opportunities that are there – to win the Pro Stock Showdown and the 2008 World Championship in one weekend – but I’d be crazy to think that any of that could be won solely because of what I have done. Guys like Pat Norcia from Ram Clutches and Doug Schriefer and Dave Braswell from Braswell Carburetors and all the guys on my team – Randy Douthitt, Mike Vinezeano and Eric Flemming – really put their heart and soul into this operation. Being able to do this with them, and to have them enjoy our successes means more to me than any trophy or prize money.”
Ram Clutches has been with Pete Berner since his Pro Mod days back in the late ‘80s. Berner credits the company with being instrumental to his success. What started out as a purely business relationship has developed into a lasting and significant friendship.
“I was excited to have Ram Clutches on board with me in the beginning because I believed in their product and its ability to help me go fast and win races,” Berner elaborates. “I quickly learned that I could not only believe in the product, but the people behind the product as well. Pat and his father John and his brother Mike have stuck with me over the years and really helped me build my racing career, as their business took off as well. They looked after us in the late ‘80s and a friendship developed that went beyond the racing arena. Pat and I go back and forth like brothers sometimes. It’s awesome to know that I can depend on these friendships both on and off the track.
“Pat is actually the one who got me into running and a regular exercise regimen, because of his involvement in triathlons. Exercise is a huge part of my everyday life now, and something else that Pat and I have in common. We’ve had a lot of fun over the years… mostly beating up on the competition. Ram Clutches has worked hard to make the best product possible available to everyone. Pat always goes out of his way to help everyone who asks. He’s a great friend to a lot of us at the track.
“I asked for Dave Braswell’s help with my carburetor program at the beginning of 2006,” Berner continues, remembering how these great friendships started. “Since then we have become good friends and I consider Dave one of my mentors. During the 2006/2007 season, Dave developed a split carburetor specifically for the mountain motor class. The consensus from our competition was this carburetor would take months or years before it would show a performance gain. Dave worked hard on this project and upon completion the carburetors where tested on the dyno at Kaase’s with one of my motors. Once the jetting was close on the dyno, we went to the race track and promptly went four hundredths quicker and approximately two miles per hour faster. Our first race with our new 7520 carbs was Tulsa 2007 where we qualified on the pole, won the Quarter-Max challenge and then won the race. Since then we repeated the same feat at the 2008 Tulsa race. Needless to say we caused quite the commotion. They are now on most everyone’s mountain motor cars. I am honored to be part of Dave realizing his dream of developing his own carburetor.”
Parts and pieces come and go, as Berner realizes, but the relationships you form are what carry on. Berner continues with his story of how he got started with Jon Kaase Racing Engines:
“Pat Norcia and John Nobile introduced me to Jon Kaase when we decided to go Pro Stock racing. I had purchased Nobile’s Monte Carlo and number two motor. Kaase worked on the motor and picked it up considerably. At our first test session with the car, that motor showed to be capable of running with anyone out there. As it turned out we ended up fifth in the points in our first year of Pro Stock racing. This relationship still continues today even though we decided to go on our own in the 2008 season. Jon had always given us the power required to be competitive but we both felt that with the amount of R&D I would like to do that we should consider our own program. We have since started this program with Janota Racing Engines. Jerry Janota and Mike Slaviero at Janota Racing Engines and I have been friends for more than 25 years. I am in awe at the dedication they have made to this program.
“My relationship with Rick Jones at RJ Race Cars began when little Rickie was racing match box cars at the chassis shop. Rickie now is a rising star on the NHRA side in Pro Stock. When Rick decided to race NHRA at the end of the 2007 season we got together on a sponsorship program through his Quarter-Max parts business. Rick’s staff has built several great race cars for me during our relationship, with every one of them being better than the last. This is truly a tribute to Rick and his staff. When we won the IHRA World Championship in 2006 we thought there could not be a better car. That was until we received the GXP. This car is a missile.”
Pontiac Motorsports joined Berner’s team this year, marking Berner as the first IHRA runner to receive GM support.
“We were very fortunate to receive sponsorship from Pontiac Motorsports this year which allowed us to have access to one of the first GXP bodies to be released. I am very thankful to Fred Simmonds and Dan Engel for making this happen. Fred Simmonds really took a chance on us this year in providing us with Pontiac backing. This hasn’t been done in IHRA and it really means a lot to me that he would believe in our team enough to give us that chance.
“I have to also thank friend and mentor John Waldie for his part in putting this program together. His insight and inspiration has been monumental to our success.”
Not to be overlooked are those who make up the immediate Quarter-Max.com Pontiac Motorsports team. “Our car chief Randy Douthitt has been with our team for four seasons,” continues Berner. “Previous to working on our team Randy was a lead fabricator for Jerry Haas Race Cars for 18 years. His fabricating skills are invaluable in keeping our race car in top condition.
“Sometimes you wake up and realize that there are great people all around you, you start being thankful for the relationships that you have, and good things just fall into place. These relationships are what make racing enjoyable and important to me. Without all the people I have around me, I wouldn’t have nearly as much fun, and I’d probably be running a heck of a lot slower too!
“There’s a lot on the line coming up in Rockingham and I just couldn’t go into the race without letting the people who have gotten me to where I am know that I could never do it without them… I just want them to know how much it means to have their support on the track and to have their support as friends. I never get the opportunity to thank them enough.
“Regardless of money and titles, the relationships I’ve developed are things that I’ll cherish forever. That’s what life and racing is really all about.”
Others that Pete Berner and the Quarter-Max.com Pontiac Motorsports team would like to thank for their support and friendship are the IHRA crew and staff, Bob and Jeff Stange with Strange Engineering, Brian Browell and Browell Bellhousings, Don Ness with GMM, Donnie Winget with Dewco Drive Line Components, Kyle Sickler and Steve Matusek at Aeromotive Engineering, Eric at Penske Racing Shocks, and Kelly Campbell with TEK Headers. Thank you for your continued support of Pete Berner, both on and off the track.
