{"id":102520,"date":"2025-11-09T02:44:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T02:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/di-tribute-keith-berry\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T02:44:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T02:44:58","slug":"di-tribute-keith-berry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/di-tribute-keith-berry\/","title":{"rendered":"DI Tribute: Keith Berry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Keith Berry, a championship-winning drag racer and beloved event promoter passed away Monday, Nov. 3 at age 53. Berry battled ongoing health issues in recent years and remained a passionate supporter of the sport throughout his life. He was a friend to many, including the DI team. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>As we pay tribute to Berry, take a look back at his rise to success in the sport through this cover story from DI Issue #105 in November of 2015. Written by Ainsley Jacobs, it\u2019s titled \u201cWOOO! What A Ride! Keith Berry Is Just Getting Started.\u201d Sure enough, Berry went on to score a career-defining win at Donald \u201cDuck\u201d Long\u2019s Lights Out 7 at South Georgia Motorsports Park the next spring. He went back on the cover in recognition of that accomplishment, and we\u2019ll revisit that story on DragIllustrated.com next week. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Rest easy, Keith. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>He may come across as a fun-loving, loud-mouthed, smack-talking instigator, but the real Keith Berry is actually an intelligent and articulate businessman who has both his work life and WOOO! Nation racing operation meticulously planned out. In less than a decade, he\u2019s skyrocketed from \u201cnobody\u201d status to become one of the most talked about and controversial radial tire racers on the scene\u2014as well as the reigning back-to-back NMCA Radial Wars champion.<\/p>\n<p>Given that Berry\u2019s such a front-runner in the small-tire world, it can be a little difficult to believe that less than a decade ago he\u2019d never even been to a drag strip.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrior to May of 2008, I probably couldn\u2019t even have told you who John Force was,\u201d Berry jokes of his serious lack of racing experience and knowledge. When the TV show\u00a0<em>Pinks All Out<\/em>\u00a0came to Atlanta Dragway that year, however, Berry\u2019s life changed forever. Living in Gainesville, Georgia, Berry resides less than 30 miles from the track. \u201cI had to Google it to find out where it was,\u201d he confesses. \u201c<em>Pinks All Out<\/em>\u00a0was hot then, and my second wife told me that if I ever bought a Corvette, she\u2019d divorce me. So, the next day, I flew to Texas and bought a Corvette! And a Porsche!\u201d he laughs as he explains how he acquired his first race car, a beautiful, black C5 \u201902 Corvette Z06.<\/p>\n<p>Upon returning home from Texas, Berry stored the new-to-him \u2018Vette in the workshop at his family-run business. One Saturday morning, his young machinist supervisor asked if he could drive the car. Berry obliged, with the simple request that he not wreck it. \u201cWell, he got on it a little and shot the car sideways across three lanes of traffic into a big dirt wall,\u201d Berry recalls without a hint of anger in his voice. \u201cI had to have it repaired, and while I was in there I figured I\u2019d do a little something with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The modifications started out modestly enough, with just an upgrade cam and a set of heads. Curious to know how much power his new daily driver was putting down, Berry brought the car to Vengeance Racing in Cumming, Georgia, for some time on the dyno. \u201cI was really dumb then\u2014and I still am\u2014but I thought it was going to have six- or eight-hundred horsepower!\u201d Berry admits, poking fun at himself and his ignorance at the time. \u201cIt wound up only making 390 or something. I thought, \u2018Well, this is not cool at all.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wanting to prove himself, Berry decided to go to Atlanta Dragway and race on the\u00a0<em>Pinks All Out<\/em>show. Although that experience was his first time ever on a track, he wasn\u2019t completely helpless as his big brother Todd had spent many years racing with Pro Line Racing\u2019s Eric Dillard in ORSCA competition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had to ask Todd how the tree worked, because I had no idea. After that first pass, though, I was hooked,\u201d Berry says. And though he had a lot of fun, he\u2019s also the first to call himself out on how poorly he did. \u201cI have a picture of me on my very first pass ever, and I\u2019m in the car with a white open-face helmet that I drew red Speed Racer pin stripes on. I thought it was cool, but it was horrible! I was such a tool,\u201d he admits, fondly recalling the event. \u201cI sucked at it, but it was great!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like so many other would-be drag racers, Berry instantly craved more power. The decision was made to add a nitrous-oxide setup to his 427 LS motor and once he actually learned how to race, Berry began doing quite well for a rookie. In his early days, he set a number of records in ORSCA Modified Street and the LSX Shootout series for independent rear suspension-equipped Corvettes, including the elapsed time record for an IRS Corvette in the eighth at 5.31 seconds, as well as the quarter mile at 8.37 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>In 2010, Berry found himself running against Adam Preston in NMCA\u2019s Real Street class. \u201cI had no idea how to tune the car, but we wound up in the finals. He went somewhere around an 8.15, and the best I could run was an 8.20-something, so I tried to turn it up and burnt up the motor,\u201d Berry reveals. That episode also spelled the end of his nitrous days as Berry completely stripped down his car with the intention of building it back up in a new form. \u201cBack then I thought I was a bad ass. I thought I was doing something,\u201d he says. \u201cNow, I look back and think, eh, not so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Todd Berry\u2019s involvement in the world of twin-turbo applications, it made perfect sense for Berry to follow in his brother\u2019s footsteps. \u201cHe was tied in heavily with Pro Line Racing, Eric Dillard, Steve Petty, and Joey Bell\u2019s Bell Chassisworks,\u201d Berry says. \u201cHe\u2019d already made all those relationships, and I just came in as Todd\u2019s little brother and the guys took me in. I didn\u2019t have to struggle to figure out where to go and what to do.\u201d The conversion took more than a year and a half, but was well worth the wait.<\/p>\n<p>Once the car was reassembled, Berry put together a top-notch team to match. \u201cWhen I took my car to Bell Chassisworks to make it more of a race car back in the nitrous days, I needed somebody to help me tune. I was so lost. I literally knew nothing about cars and engines. Ryan (Rakestraw) started tuning for me at an ORSCA race in Alabama and we\u2019ve been working together ever since,\u201d Berry reminisces. In addition to partnering with Bell and Rakestraw, he also receives help from Corey Lee and Steve \u201cJohnny\u201d Crisafulli, and though others help out when they can, Berry\u2019s core crew remains only four strong, himself included.<\/p>\n<p>With a solid team behind him and a new turbo setup, Berry turned his focus back to racing, although he didn\u2019t expect to do much of anything at first. \u201cI didn\u2019t think we\u2019d have a platform that we\u2019d be able to run against guys like Kevin Fiscus, Paul Major and David Wolfe. Those were the top dogs and we didn\u2019t feel like we had anything to compete with them,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Berry\u2019s once daily-driven Corvette had become a full-fledged race car, featuring a Pro Line-built 454 LSX motor boosted by a set of twin Precision Pro Mod 88 CEA turbochargers, a state-of-the-art FuelTech FT500 EFI system, and a set of Mickey Thompson drag radials. And though Bell has since closed his chassis shop and moved to work at Pro Line in Ball Ground, Georgia, he continues to maintain the car for Berry and takes great pride in ensuring it performs to full potential.<\/p>\n<p>After getting comfortable with the boosted configuration, Berry attended the No Mercy V drag radial event late in 2014 at South Georgia Motorsports Park and immediately set yet another world record. He put down what appeared to be a textbook-perfect pass, straight down the center of the groove, and crossed the traps in 4.09 seconds at 186.33 mph to make history as the first to the 4.0s over an eighth mile with a small block on radials.<\/p>\n<p>Berry also won the inaugural NMCA Mickey Thompson Radial Wars championship that year and backed it up in 2015 with his second-straight NMCA championship in the class, his all-time favorite racing memory to date. Berry clinched his second Radial Wars title in August, after a fierce neck-and-neck battle with Frank Mewshaw in the semi-final round of the final event of the season at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the way it should happen,\u201d he declares. \u201cThe top two in points racing side by side with everything on the line!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an extremely close race, Berry cut a .050-second light at the start to Mewshaw\u2019s .053 and when the two crossed the stripe at the big end, the scoreboards lit up to show Berry had taken the win with a 4.12 at 186.51 mph over Mewshaw\u2019s solid 4.14 at 188.31-mph effort. \u201cI was sitting outside my car waiting for my crew to come up the return road. I could hear them yelling and talking, and as they crested the hill, it was just amazing,\u201d he recalls with a smile.<\/p>\n<p>Winning never comes easy, though, and Berry remains grateful for the talented team that supports his racing efforts. He describes his primary role as knowing to \u201clet go of the button at the right time,\u201d mash the gas, and keep the car out of the wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOther than that, I\u2019m responsible for fuel, and then I micromanage and second guess things,\u201d he jokes. \u201cI go around asking if other people have done their things\u2014even if I don\u2019t know how to do them. Like setting valve lash. I ask \u2018Have you done it? What did you set it to?\u2019 I don\u2019t know how to do it, but I know the number it needs to be!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>His success, coupled with his consistency and his ability to attract attention, has allowed Berry to go from nothingness to greatness in less than 10 years. The achievements he\u2019s amassed over such a short time, however, are even more impressive given the humble roots from which Berry came.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>His father, Archie, was working as plumber\u2019s helper in 1976 when his boss had a heart attack and passed away. Coming from a very poor family, Archie had never learned to read or write and could only sign his name, but suddenly unemployed and with four young kids to feed, he went and took his master plumber\u2019s license test.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was different back then. They read him the questions, he told them the answers, and they wrote them down. He went on to start his own business, Berry Plumbing,\u201d Berry proudly recalls of his father\u2019s great American success story. Being that the Berry family\u2019s hometown of Gainesville, Georgia, also happens to be the poultry capital of the world, Berry Plumbing eventually moved in to the poultry industry. \u201cWe\u2019d spend Thanksgiving and Christmas having dinner in the break room at different plants because my father was so committed to growing his business,\u201d Berry remembers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1013\" src=\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Berry_PDR_3810.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-90169\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>After Archie passed away in 1995, Berry and his brothers refused to let the family business die with him and took it over themselves. The company was split into two separate entities, with Berry and eldest brother Todd taking over the poultry processing machinery and equipment side of Berry Plumbing &amp; Equipment, while middle brother Steve took on the plumbing portion. \u201cWe\u2019re a small company with just over 20 employees, but we are a leader in the industry. I\u2019m the Steve Petty of chicken feet!\u201d laughs Berry, who does take his job quite seriously. \u201cI thank the Lord and my parents for starting the business and paving the way to where we\u2019re at today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Berry says he learned a lot from his father and his skills translated from success in business to success in growing his WOOOO! Nation racing operation. Berry\u2019s outgoing personality and infectious good humor have also served him well over the years and he\u2019s garnered quite a reputation as a big fish in the small radial tire racing pond.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Like Berry\u2019s racing career itself, the story behind the name of his ubiquitous \u201cWOOOO! Nation\u201d also started somewhat unexpectedly. Not long after Berry began racing, he and Rakestraw were watching HBO\u2019s series\u00a0<em>Eastbound &amp; Down<\/em>. \u201cOne of the characters played by Will Farrell, Ashley Schaeffer, was a knock-off of [professional wrestler] Ric Flair and he\u2019d say \u2018WOOOO!\u2019 all the time. Real soft, but repeatedly, and it was an acknowledgement of something he liked. When I went to my first PRI show, Ryan and I would say \u2018WOOOO!\u2019 every time we saw something we liked, and it just stuck,\u201d he shares. Eventually, Berry\u2019s \u201cWOOOO!\u201d took on a life of its own, fans and fellow racers caught on, and the silly inside joke grew into a fully-fledged and well-known team slogan. Given his roots in the poultry industry, Berry\u2019s car was even christened the \u201cWOOOO! Chicken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWOOOO! Nation, what that meant to a lot of people, is that there\u2019s a party going on,\u201d Berry says. \u201cBut as more people got to know me and the brand, if you will, the opportunity started coming about for me to help people who had misfortunes. My wife told me, \u2018you don\u2019t realize what you have here with the fan base. Instead of using it to party, let\u2019s use it for something good,\u2019 and that drove a nail home big time, so I\u2019ve tried to do more of that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want the brand to be known as one hell of a successful racing team when it\u2019s all said and done, but more so I\u2019d like people to look back and say \u2018Man, they made a difference!\u2019\u201d says Berry, who couples his party-boy character with maturity, respect and seriousness.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Berry\u2019s completely embraced the WOOOO! attitude and his larger-than-life, go-big-or-go home persona isn\u2019t simply an act geared towards garnering additional fame and fortune, but rather the over-arching theme of who he is in his day-to-day life. \u201cEverything I\u2019ve ever done, I\u2019ve wanted to be the best at. Whatever I do, I don\u2019t do it half-assed; I get that from my father,\u201d notes Berry, who at one time was ranked fifth in the world for semi-pro 3D archery. \u201cI believe that if you\u2019re going to do something, do it one-hundred percent\u2014otherwise, don\u2019t bother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That \u201cgood enough isn\u2019t good enough\u201d mentality has helped Berry rise through the ranks and find success in the incredibly competitive world of drag racing. \u201cI demand success from myself,\u201d he states. \u201cI don\u2019t have anything against the guys who come out to race and have fun and don\u2019t expect to win; I can respect that\u2014we\u2019re all there to have fun\u2014but it\u2019s also a competition, and I simply don\u2019t understand their mindset. We lose more than we win, but every time we pull through the gates we still want to win\u2014and we expect to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When he doesn\u2019t win, though, Berry and his team try to figure out what happened, why it happened, and how not to make it happen again. His dedication and commitment are on par with many of the world\u2019s other top competitors, whether in racing or any other sport. Going fast and winning races, however, are two different things, and Berry understands that concept. \u201cWe\u2019re still learning how to win, to be honest,\u201d he discloses. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of success and some championships, but our biggest hurdle is how to win more consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite not necessarily being the quickest or winningest driver out there, Berry undoubtedly is one of the most often talked about. \u201cDeWayne Mills wins more than I do, Stevie Jackson talks more shit than I do, but I get more coverage,\u201d he acknowledges. \u201cI think I\u2019m a lot like my daddy, and I miss him so much. He was so charismatic, and everyone loved to talk to him. He wasn\u2019t doing anything flashy, no one wanted to come watch him plumb, but he drew tons of people to him, and I think I got a little of that from him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it\u2019s his magnetic personality that draws people in, or a love of stirring up controversy, or even simply the fact that his life story is inspiring and motivational, but Keith Berry is living the dream, having a blast while doing so, and people want to be a part of it. Marketing, however, is not something Berry consciously considers at all times\u2014though he concedes it\u2019s something he is always actively working on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI treat the race car the same way I treat business. I surround myself with people that know what they\u2019re doing, make sure they\u2019re happy, and give them what they need to be successful,\u201d he explains. In the meantime, while Berry\u2019s personal brand has grown significantly, he finds it\u2019s often a balancing act to manage his business interests with trying to win at the track. College students would do well to study Berry\u2019s success story and learn from his marketing and branding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith anything, whether it\u2019s your personal racing career or your business, or maybe you\u2019re starting a new cheese shop or selling soap, you\u2019ve got to make your potential customers think that their lives are better with your product. If you\u2019re selling your racing program as championship level, you better win. No matter what it is you\u2019re selling or promoting, make sure you follow through with what you promise,\u201d he counsels aspiring business people or race team owners.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Berry_PDR_3880.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-90167\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Simultaneously working toward those goals can be demanding, though. The drag strip is just an office away from home for Berry, and he clarifies that most people don\u2019t realize he\u2019s constantly on the job\u2014even when racing. \u201cI\u2019m still on the phone with customers, doing emails, taking conference calls, talking to technicians,\u201d he stresses. \u201cPeople make comments that it must be nice to go for a week of testing, but I\u2019m working the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Until fairly recently, Berry was able to keep his personal and professional lives separate. However, thanks to publicity he\u2019s garnered in relation to his back-to-back NMCA Radial Wars championships, a relationship with the\u00a0<em>Street Outlaws<\/em>\u00a0crew, and his friendship with Philadelphia Eagles player Fletcher Cox, it\u2019s a task that\u2019s getting tougher by the day. \u201cIt\u2019s rare now that I go to one of my customers\u2019 plants and the conversation isn\u2019t about my racing. They ask if\u00a0<em>Street Outlaws<\/em>\u00a0is real, what those guys are like, if I really won a championship, and want to see videos of my car,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI\u2019ve become more visible and I think it helps my business. Maybe I\u2019ve got a couple extra purchase orders because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Berry\u2019s name becomes more well-known, he inevitably accumulates more fans, but he also realizes there will be detractors along the way, too. Regardless, Berry tries to ignore any negativity directed his way.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are two types: haters that hate you simply because you\u2019re not their guy. Those are the easy ones to make non-haters, you just have to get the opportunity to talk to them and they\u2019ll realize they have no reason to hate\u2014they still want their guy to win, though,\u201d he acknowledges.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen there are the genuine haters who hate someone who is successful because they\u2019re not. There\u2019s not much you can do for those people except maybe pray for them,\u201d he says, adding that neither type bothers him. \u201cHow do you make someone not jealous? I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not a psychiatrist. I just keep on doing what I\u2019m doing. You\u2019re doing something right if they\u2019re talking about you, whether it\u2019s good or bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For his fans, Berry most enjoys letting young kids sit in his car. \u201cIt might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for them, and I recognize that. I might have a problem or only have a few minutes to make it to the staging lanes, but we try to never turn people away,\u201d he shares. \u201cI do it because I appreciate them, and I know I might not have this forever so I have to give back to those that helped get me here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Berry\u2019s true motivation, however, isn\u2019t just the fans; it\u2019s watching his guys celebrate after he makes a great pass or scores a win. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than looking back at a video and seeing them cheering, screaming, high-fiving, and hugging on the starting line,\u201d Berry confirms with a smile in his voice. \u201cThe celebration that we had on the return road this year after winning the second NMCA championship, I don\u2019t know if we\u2019ll ever top that.\u201d And while it may not be evident to onlookers, Berry is most proud of \u201cgifting the moment\u201d to his crew, not of the actual win itself. \u201cMost people think I\u2019m a hard ass, but I\u2019m really a big baby,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, there isn\u2019t a celebration after every run. This February, during the Lights Out VI event at SGMP, Berry was slightly trailing \u201cBig Daddy\u201d DeWayne Mills when Mills\u2019 twin-turbo \u201968 Camaro went into a massive wheel stand and took flight toward a devastating wreck. \u201cI saw him come up in a slight wheelie, and then he was almost at a 45-degree angle, and then he disappeared as his car started to flip and I went by,\u201d Berry describes. \u201cBeing on the return road not knowing if one of my best friends was hurt, or was even still alive, is a feeling I don\u2019t ever want to experience again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, Mills escaped the accident without significant injury, but Berry admits the incident shook him up. \u201cOnce we got back to the pits, I gave him a hug, made sure he was okay, and then I went back to my RV, shut the door, and cried for a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, Berry has suffered only one wreck himself, while testing at Maryland International Raceway for the 2012 Shakedown at E-Town race. \u201cI was still trying to learn to drive the car,\u201d he says. \u201cIt went out about 30 or 40 feet, Top Fueled the tires, spun sideways, and I locked it up and banged the wall.\u201d Although it was disappointing to damage his Corvette right before the big Shakedown event, Berry adds he was fortunate after finalizing his on-track race car insurance mere minutes before the incident occurred. \u201cHow lucky can you get? I had only paid my first month\u2019s premium, and they had to write me a huge check. I felt horrible about it,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1012\" src=\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Berry_IGT_0062.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-90168\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>With the car eventually fixed, Berry continued to campaign it without further incident. Over the years, it\u2019s gone through a host of upgrades. \u201cWe took the program as far as we could with the LS package,\u201d says Berry, who recently purchased a complete dragster with full intent to tear it apart. \u201cWe used to have an extreme street engine, and now we\u2019re going to an extreme race engine.\u201d For 2016, Berry\u2019s car will be motivated by a 4.5-inch bore space Chevy outfitted with CFE SBX heads that Pro Line yanked from his sacrificial dragster. \u201cIt\u2019s one hell of a monster although it\u2019s still technically a Chevy small block,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re going to run it on alcohol and 98-millimeter twin turbos.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once the Corvette is buttoned up yet again and ready to run with the new motor, Berry will head down to Bradenton for some testing, which he anticipates will be late in January or early February next year. If the timing doesn\u2019t work out as planned, though, Berry may even arrive early for Donald Long\u2019s Lights Out VII at SGMP and put the inaugural passes on it in February there.<\/p>\n<p>Also for 2016, Berry confirms he\u2019ll attempt to claim his third-straight NMCA Radial Wars championship. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great year for NMCA and a lot of big-name people like Kyle Huettel, Daniel Pharris and Kevin Mullins have committed to the class. I think it will wind up being the standard in 315 radial racing,\u201d he says excitedly.<\/p>\n<p>Looking further into the future, Berry takes a moment to contemplate another decade of racing under his belt. His prediction is rather unexpected, as instead of thinking first of wins or championships, he says he hopes to be \u201chelping those who need it.\u201d Still, he admits to harboring big dreams for racing and wants to ensure his on-track legacy continues.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I stopped racing right now, 15 years from now, nobody would know who I was and WOOOO! Nation wouldn\u2019t be around. We\u2019re good now, but we need to get better at winning,\u201d he says. \u201cI hope I can get good enough to where I can be legendary. I know that sounds greedy. The bottom line is that whether I am that good or not, in the future, I hope I\u2019m still making a difference in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most of the time, what may be misconstrued as online smack-talking or cockiness is actually Berry\u2019s tongue-in-cheek humor or sarcasm. His WOOOO! Nation team\u2019s reputation for having fun and partying wasn\u2019t earned by accident, but there\u2019s a more serious, more thoughtful side to Berry that most don\u2019t realize is just beneath the wild and crazy surface. It\u2019s that unique duality that makes him such an interesting character, both on and off the track.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-modified-info\">This story was originally published on November 8, 2025. <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/DI_flat_red-e1711481551475.png\" width=\"20px\" alt=\"Drag Illustrated\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/di-tribute-keith-berry\/\">DI Tribute: Keith Berry<\/a> first appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/\">Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Keith Berry, a championship-winning drag racer and beloved event promoter passed away Monday, Nov. 3 at age 53. Berry battled ongoing health issues in recent years and remained a passionate supporter of the sport throughout his life. He was a friend to many, including the DI team. As we pay tribute to Berry, take a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102520\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}