Pete Berner had visions of a fun-natured poke at the tight nature of the 2008 IHRA Pro Stock championship battle.

Never did the Crete, Ill.-based driver figure a caricature t-shirt design would become a clear vision of reality.

Berner, the 2006 IHRA world champion, pulled to within three points of proverbial “underdog” Jeff Dobbins by stopping John Montecalvo in the final round of the IHRA Sooner Nationals in Tulsa, Ok.

 

Pete Berner had visions of a fun-natured poke at the tight nature of the 2008 IHRA Pro Stock championship battle.

Never did the Crete, Ill.-based driver figure a caricature t-shirt design would become a clear vision of reality.

Berner, the 2006 IHRA world champion, pulled to within three points of proverbial “underdog” Jeff Dobbins by stopping John Montecalvo in the final round of the IHRA Sooner Nationals in Tulsa, Ok.

Two of the four “dogs” on the shirt crossed his path during Sunday’s eliminations and two others were in his crosshairs.

Such a shirt years ago would have been viewed offensive. Not this year.

Berner is adamant that the IHRA Pro Stock division has as unified of a group of racers as one could hope for.

He is absolutely correct. They race together, test together, dine out together and if need be boycott together.

That’s why the former IHRA Pro Stock world champion had no qualms about creating a fun-natured t-shirt which he dubs as the “Running with the Big Dogs” series.

This special edition t-shirt, worn by some of those featured and others not, was a good-natured rivalry-induced poke at the competition. Berner’s targets on the shirt include defending world champion Robert Patrick, points leader Jeff Dobbins, and 2008 national event winners Frank Gugliotta and John Montecalvo.

Years ago, such an expression might have been taken with offense.

“This class is a good group of guys,” Berner said. “The fellows we’re racing with now know how hard it is to win championships; how difficult it is. Sometimes we don’t always make the right choice, as far as doing the right thing. All in all it’s just a bunch of good guys, who if I needed a part I could just walk right next door; I’ve had to do that before. We’ve giving motors to people, parts to people and they’ve done it for us. You won’t find that in any sport except for this IHRA Pro Mod right now.

“It’s a good group of people and a good sport. We have a lot of respect for one another and a lot of respect for the IHRA; they put on a great show for us. They give us great race tracks to race on, the last two years that we’ve won a championship, we’ve done it by just a couple of points. Last year we lost it by a few points; it just doesn’t get any better than this.”

With only two races left in 2008, Berner knows the pressure is at an all-time high.

“We’re basically trying to ignore the pressure,” Berner said. “We’re trying to keep making good runs. The last few runs the car has been working well and the guys have been making the right calls. We were able to capitalize on that, and the driver is starting to drive now too. It’s all kind of coming together. We can only control what this car can do; we can’t control what these guys can do. There are some great teams in this race right now and we’ve just got to do what we can do to make better runs and if it holds up the way it is the cards will fall where they may.”

Berner knows what it takes to win a championship at the last race of the season as he pulled off the feat in 2006 in that manner. He also knows the other end of the spectrum in losing one at the last event in 2007.

"Everyone moved around a bit in Tulsa, but there's still a few races left and those guys [racing for the championship] are strong," Berner said. "We have to stay on our game and continue to make good runs. We've been fortunate in the last three races to make it to the final round like that. We just couldn't get the job done, but we did in Tulsa."

Berner was a picture of consistency in winning two of the Last Man Challenges as well as special monetary qualifying awards from engine builder Jon Kaase and Braswell Carburetors.

"I think we managed the same thing last season in Tulsa too," Berner admitted. "This is a really great race track and everything was prepared just the way we needed it. I love the fans there too and they are very supportive."

ENGINE PROGRAM WORKING - Earlier this season, Berner announced the implementation of a new in-house engine program with Jerry Jonota, an ex-Pro Stock racer with NASCAR ties. The team has been gradually phasing in the new horspower.

Berner now has four final round credits to his name for the 2008 season and will be looking for a couple more as the season winds down.

"We're pretty excited about our new engine program," continues Berner. "Jerry and Mike have been putting a lot of hours into it. Hopefully we can debut an engine before the end of the season. From the testing we've been able to do with it so far, it's showing a lot of promise. We've got a couple events left and the Pro Stock Showdown coming up in Epping in a couple weeks. Hopefully we can keep this car running fast and continue our trend of final rounds."