Pete Berner could be in for a very large payday. In fact, if things fall the right way the Crete, Ill. resident could earn more money over the course of one weekend than any other driver in Pro Stock history, regardless of sanction.

Berner currently sits first in the 2008 IHRA Pro Stock points standings. He has advanced to the final round of the Torco Pro Stock Showdown, where he will square off with John Montecalvo in Rockingham at the World Finals. He also is on a hot streak, having visited the winner’s circle at the last two IHRA national events.

If Berner were to run the table, sweep everything from the Showdown to the event to clinching the world championship, he would collect the first-ever six-figure payday in the history of Pro Stock racing.
Pete Berner could be in for a very large payday. In fact, if things fall the right way the Crete, Ill. resident could earn more money over the course of one weekend than any other driver in Pro Stock history, regardless of sanction.

Berner currently sits first in the 2008 IHRA Pro Stock points standings. He has advanced to the final round of the Torco Pro Stock Showdown, where he will square off with John Montecalvo in Rockingham at the World Finals. He also is on a hot streak, having visited the winner’s circle at the last two IHRA national events.

If Berner were to run the table, sweep everything from the Showdown to the event to clinching the world championship, he would be the second driver to collect a six-figure payday in the history of Pro Stock racing with Larry Morgan being the first to double-up at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in 1989.

As a finalist in the Pro Stock Showdown Berner and Montecalvo are squaring off with the winner receiving $50,000. The IHRA Pro Stock World Champion earns $35,000. A Pro Stock national event winner pockets $10,000, plus contingency, which is more than $30,000. Also, an extra $1,000 is on the table for the winner of the Friday and Saturday Quarter-max Pro Stock Challenges.

So if Berner ran the table he would earn somewhere in the neighborhood of $125,000, give or take a couple thousand. Also, if Berner were to lose to Montecalvo in the Showdown finale, pocketing the $20,000 runner-up check, he could still crack the $100,000 plateau.

“It’s a pretty awesome deal,” Berner said of what’s at stake in Rockingham. “We kind of looked at everything after leaving the race in Epping…what was on the line with the Showdown and everything and us having a 25-point lead in the championship race…that is quite a large sum of money, I don’t care where you’re racing. So there’s a lot on the line in Rockingham.”

Over the last couple of months, since the Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Berner has been the hottest car on the Pro Stock circuit. He has been to four straight final rounds and has won two in a row, knocking off John Montecalvo in the money run in Tulsa and defeating Dobbins in the final at New England Dragway.

“We’re fortunate we have a great car and a tremendous team that’s able to get the car down the race track. The car seems to be on a roll right now and we’re hitting on all cylinders,” Berner said.

Berner won the 2006 IHRA Pro Stock world championship before slipping to second last season…50 points behind Robert Patrick in the points chase. For 2008 he stepped into a new RJ Race Cars GXP, becoming the first Pro Stock driver to bring a GXP to the dance. But it was what was under the hood of that GXP that has Berner so excited. After using Jon Kaase power most of his career Berner made a switch. Pro Stock pioneer Jerry Janota, who drove the Amborn & Janota Big Block Camaro in the early 1980’s, joined Berner’s team to spearhead his new engine program.

“We were quite pleased with Jon Kaase and he’s been a good friend of mine for a lot of years…he still is. But in order to advance you have to have a little bit of an advantage,” Berner explained. “When Jon was building motors for 20 different teams you are only going to get what he gives you because he wants to be fair to everyone. In order to have an edge you’re going to have to do this yourself. So we bit the bullet and spent a lot of money to develop our own program. Jerry (Janota) came on board and he’s kind of doing this as a hobby. He took on doing my motor program because something like this was a dream of his. If he were still racing he would be right at this level because I know what kind of a driver he was when he raced. He was someone I always looked up to. But I think we’re doing the right thing because we’re racing like he would want to if he were still driving.”

Berner also underwent some personal changes as well. He has always been dedicated to physical fitness, but in the off-season between 2007 and 2008 Berner took it to the next level. The changes he made, he believes, have helped him immeasurably on the track.

“I lost 45 pounds coming into the season, and I wasn’t in that bad of shape to begin with because of my running regimen,” he said. “But I just wasn’t feeling good both mentally and physically. I went to the same health coach Bob Gillig had gone to and Bob has lost 65 pounds. I see him every week that I’m not out of town. Between him and Bruce DeVoe from Racer’s Mind, a sports psychologist who has helped me out as far as my driving technique and what have you I have a pretty well-rounded group of individuals.

“Getting on that program has made a huge difference. I feel 20 years younger and my focus is where it should be. I run five miles every day before I come to the track; it kind of takes the edge off. I’m so accustomed to doing that now if I don’t do that I feel like I’m doing something wrong. And my workout regimen is probably 30% more than it was before I went on this diet. It’s all balanced between eating right and physical training with weights and cardio.”

So he changed his car, changed his motor program and changed his body. His last move was changing his focus.

“I don’t put any pressure on myself as far as what’s at stake with trying to win a championship. When we won the championship a couple of years back we just tried to look at making good rounds. We had the philosophy if you make a good run, if you leave on time, shift on time and the car does what it’s supposed to do, that’s all you can ask for,” Berner explained. “That’s all you can control because you really can’t control what’s in the other lane. That’s the way we handled it. Now my focus is on doing the best job I can as a driver and a team owner, giving the support to the guys and making sure we have the best parts money can buy to be able to race at this level.”

Berner thinks he struggled at times last season because he was putting too much pressure on himself because he didn’t want to let his team, who put so much dedication into his car, down. With the help of his sports psychologist he realized he could not worry about that, that his best approach was to give his team everything it needed and have the confidence in them and himself without worrying about the “worst case” scenarios.

“We have a list of goals we hope to accomplish during the racing season and we haven’t hit all of them yet. We definitely wanted to win some races and try to better our performance from last year. Last year we won five Last Man Standings and went to five final rounds. We also won two races. Lo and behold we’re right at that point this year, but I think we’ve had six Last Man Standings this year. But there are a few things left unaccomplished we have to work on,” he said. “As a team we have to stay fresh and I have to stay on top of my driving. I’ve been cutting really good lights, which is a tribute to the car. We found some things that were making me not do what I had to do and found some things that really helped me be able to cut a light. The team worked hard to get that figured out which gave me more confidence to be able to do my job. It all works hand in hand.”

And his faith in his team has never been stronger.

“I have a great team. Between Pat Norcia and Randy, Eric and Mike…right now I would size them up as the best in the business,” Berner said. “We all have the mindset that we’re focused on doing our jobs to the best of our abilities, and I think that’s what’s showing right now.”

Still, regardless of how well the team has been working together, how many races Berner has won in a row and how strong the Quarter-Max GXP has been running, you never know what can happen when so much money and a championship is on the line. Berner is approaching the World Finals in Rockingham the way he does every other race.

“I am looking forward to this,” he said. “It could end up being one of the highlights of my career if we can pull this thing off. And believe me; we’re going to work awful hard to try to do that.”

“I’ll test probably three or four times before this race. We’re trying to get better and think there’s a little more left in the car. We ran it real hard in Epping and showed some really good numbers, but the potential to go faster is still there. We’re always intrigued by that. Technology changes and we’ve yet to try everything we wanted to try.”

“I’m so excited about racing in Rockingham, just to race. I get excited when we make a good lap, when the guys come down after me and I see the smiles on their face; that means more to me than the money. I love working on the car, making it go faster, and when it all comes together you really can’t put a dollar amount on that enjoyment. The look on my wife’s face when we win, and seeing the boys who put their heart and souls into this car, that’s what it’s all about for me. The money is just a small part.”