IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING THE CHAMPION. IT'S ABOUT WHAT YOU HAD TO DO TO GET THERE."
-Pete Berner
CRETE, Ill. November 13, 2008: Pete Berner may be your 2006 and newly crowned 2008 Pro Stock World Champion, but the title and accolades are not what he's after, at least not for himself anyway. The champion driver is always quick to point the credit in someone else's direction. Whether to one of his many sponsors such as long time supporter Ram Clutches, or to his hard-working crew, Berner is always giving praise to those who are behind the scenes of his Quarter-Max.com Pontiac Motorsports GXP.
As anyone who follows the IHRA tour well knows, racing is a family sport, both literally and figuratively. The competitors, crews, staff, and manufacturers often refer to themselves as being "like family". For Berner and wife, Cheryl, the story is no different. Having been on the tour for many years now, and being on both the winning and losing side of things, the couple has developed many relationships that they claim is the main ingredient in what makes racing enjoyable. For them, the best part of racing is not the end, win or lose, it's the journey that you take to get there.
"It's obviously been a fantastic year for us," tells the Champ. "What you see on paper is a string of wins and close battles that led to us being on top. But it's all those things that the paper won't show that keep us coming back. It's the jokes in the staging lanes, the handshakes on top end, and the conversations in the pits that really make up the sport of drag racing. That's where the friendships are made and the real stories take place. I'm proud to race against some of the best racers in the country and while we may be enemies on the track, it's a different story behind the scenes.
"Being the 2006 and 2008 Pro Stock World Champion is a great accomplishment, and I don't want to diminish that feat for any of the past or present Champions, but, for me, it's more about the fight than the trophy at the end. We've all had our times where we weren't on top and things were hard. Every racer out there knows what it feels like to lose. But racers are some of the most stubborn people out there and we don't give up. That's what it's about – taking the good with the bad and enjoying the journey along the way. It's the relationships you build and the times when helmets are off that make this whole thing worthwhile, in the good times and the bad. The fight this year has been a good one. I don't know if there's been a year where the competition has been tougher, and my hats go off to all the guys who make this thing fun and meaningful, both on and off the track."
Pete Berner and the Quarter-Max.com Pontiac Motorsports team would also like to thank for their support Quarter-Max.com, RJ Race Cars, Fred Simmonds and Dan Engle at GM Motorsports, Ram Clutches, Janota Racing Engines, Braswell Carburetors, Strange Engineering, Browell Bellhousings, Dewco Drive Line Components, Aeromotive Engineering, Penske Racing Shocks, TEK Headers, and K&N Hoodscoops.
