The Unimaginable Confidence of Keith Berry|

He may come across every bit a fun-loving, loud-mouthed, smack-talking instigator, but the existent Keith Berry is actually an intelligent and articulate businessman who has both his piece of work life and WOOO! Nation racing functioning meticulously planned out. In less than a decade, he's skyrocketed from "nobody" condition to become 1 of the most talked nearly and controversial radial tire racers on the scene—also equally the reigning dorsum-to-back NMCA Radial Wars champion.

Given that Berry'southward such a front-runner in the small-tire earth, it can exist a niggling difficult to believe that less than a decade ago he'd never fifty-fifty been to a drag strip.

"Prior to May of 2008, I probably couldn't fifty-fifty accept told you who John Force was," Berry jokes of his serious lack of racing feel and knowledge. When the TV show Pinks All Out came to Atlanta Dragway that year, yet, Berry's life changed forever. Living in Gainesville, Georgia, Drupe resides less than 30 miles from the runway. "I had to Google information technology to detect out where it was," he confesses. "Pinks All Out was hot then, and my second wife told me that if I ever bought a Corvette, she'd divorce me. So, the next day, I flew to Texas and bought a Corvette! And a Porsche!" he laughs as he explains how he acquired his kickoff race car, a cute, black C5 '02 Corvette Z06.

Upon returning home from Texas, Berry stored the new-to-him 'Vette in the workshop at his family-run business concern. 1 Sat morn, his immature machinist supervisor asked if he could drive the car. Berry obliged, with the simple request that he not wreck information technology. "Well, he got on it a little and shot the machine sideways beyond three lanes of traffic into a big clay wall," Drupe recalls without a hint of anger in his vocalisation. "I had to have information technology repaired, and while I was in at that place I figured I'd exercise a little something with it."

The modifications started out modestly enough, with just an upgrade cam and a prepare of heads. Curious to know how much power his new daily driver was putting down, Berry brought the automobile to Vengeance Racing in Cumming, Georgia, for some fourth dimension on the dyno. "I was actually dumb then—and I yet am—just I thought it was going to take vi- or viii-hundred horsepower!" Berry admits, poking fun at himself and his ignorance at the fourth dimension. "Information technology wound up only making 390 or something. I thought, 'Well, this is not absurd at all.'"

Wanting to evidence himself, Berry decided to get to Atlanta Dragway and race on the Pinks All Out show. Although that experience was his get-go time ever on a track, he wasn't completely helpless as his large brother Todd had spent many years racing with Pro Line Racing'southward Eric Dillard in ORSCA competition.

"I had to ask Todd how the tree worked, considering I had no idea. After that showtime laissez passer, though, I was hooked," Berry says. And though he had a lot of fun, he'southward also the kickoff to telephone call himself out on how poorly he did. "I take a picture of me on my very first pass ever, and I'm in the automobile with a white open-confront helmet that I drew cerise Speed Racer pin stripes on. I thought it was cool, but it was horrible! I was such a tool," he admits, fondly recalling the event. "I sucked at information technology, just it was smashing!"

Like then many other would-be elevate racers, Berry instantly craved more power. The decision was made to add together 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 serial for independent rear break-equipped Corvettes, including the elapsed time record for an IRS Corvette in the 8th at 5.31 seconds, as well equally the quarter mile at eight.37 seconds.

In 2010, Drupe found himself running against Adam Preston in NMCA'south Existent Street course. "I had no idea how to melody the car, simply nosotros wound up in the finals. He went somewhere around an 8.15, and the best I could run was an 8.20-something, and then I tried to turn it up and burnt upwardly the motor," Berry reveals. That episode likewise spelled the finish of his nitrous days as Berry completely stripped downwardly his automobile with the intention of edifice information technology back upward in a new form. "Back so I thought I was a bad ass. I idea I was doing something," he says. "Now, I look back and think, eh, non so much."

With Todd Berry's involvement in the globe of twin-turbo applications, it fabricated perfect sense for Berry to follow in his brother'south footsteps. "He was tied in heavily with Pro Line Racing, Eric Dillard, Steve Petty, and Joey Bell'southward Bong Chassisworks," Drupe says. "He'd already made all those relationships, and I simply came in as Todd's little brother and the guys took me in. I didn't have to struggle to figure out where to go and what to do." The conversion took more than a yr and a half, but was well worth the await.

Once the automobile was reassembled, Berry put together a top-notch team to friction match. "When I took my motorcar to Bell Chassisworks to make it more of a race motorcar back in the nitrous days, I needed somebody to assistance me melody. I was and then lost. I literally knew nix about cars and engines. Ryan (Rakestraw) started tuning for me at an ORSCA race in Alabama and we've been working together ever since," Berry reminisces. In addition to partnering with Bell and Rakestraw, he also receives help from Corey Lee and Steve "Johnny" Crisafulli, and though others help out when they can, Drupe's core crew remains only four strong, himself included.

With a solid team backside him and a new turbo setup, Drupe turned his focus back to racing, although he didn't expect to practice much of annihilation at commencement. "I didn't think we'd have a platform that we'd exist able to run against guys like Kevin Fiscus, Paul Major and David Wolfe. Those were the top dogs and we didn't feel like we had anything to compete with them," he says.

Drupe's once daily-driven Corvette had become a full-fledged race car, featuring a Pro Line-built 454 LSX motor additional by a set of twin Precision Pro Mod 88 CEA turbochargers, a state-of-the-fine art FuelTech FT500 EFI organization, and a prepare of Mickey Thompson drag radials. And though Bell has since closed his chassis shop and moved to piece of work at Pro Line in Ball Footing, Georgia, he continues to maintain the machine for Berry and takes neat pride in ensuring it performs to total potential.

After getting comfortable with the boosted configuration, Berry attended the No Mercy V drag radial event belatedly in 2014 at South Georgia Motorsports Park and immediately set yet another world record. He put down what appeared to exist 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 every bit the first to the four.0s over an 8th mile with a small block on radials.

Drupe also won the inaugural NMCA Mickey Thompson Radial Wars championship that year and backed it upwardly in 2015 with his second-straight NMCA title in the class, his all-time favorite racing memory to date. Drupe clinched his second Radial Wars title in August, subsequently a tearing neck-and-neck battle with Frank Mewshaw in the semi-terminal circular of the final event of the flavor at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

"That's the manner it should happen," he declares. "The superlative two in points racing side by side with everything on the line!"

In an extremely close race, Berry cut a .050-2nd calorie-free at the start to Mewshaw's .053 and when the two crossed the stripe at the big end, the scoreboards lit up to prove Berry had taken the win with a 4.12 at 186.51 mph over Mewshaw's solid 4.xiv at 188.31-mph effort. "I was sitting outside my car waiting for my coiffure to come up the return road. I could hear them yelling and talking, and equally they crested the hill, it was merely amazing," he recalls with a smile.

Winning never comes like shooting fish in a barrel, though, and Berry remains grateful for the talented team that supports his racing efforts. He describes his master office equally knowing to "let go of the button at the correct time," brew the gas, and go along the car out of the wall.

"Other than that, I'one thousand responsible for fuel, and so I micromanage and second guess things," he jokes. "I get effectually asking if other people have done their things—even if I don't know how to do them. Like setting valve lash. I enquire 'Have you done information technology? What did you ready it to?' I don't know how to do it, merely I know the number it needs to be!"

His success, coupled with his consistency and his power to attract attention, has allowed Berry to go from nothingness to greatness in less than 10 years. The achievements he's amassed over such a brusk time, however, are even more than impressive given the apprehensive roots from which Berry came.

His father, Archie, was working equally plumber's helper in 1976 when his boss had a center attack and passed away. Coming from a very poor family, Archie had never learned to read or write and could but sign his proper name, but suddenly unemployed and with four immature kids to feed, he went and took his master plumber's license test.

"It was different dorsum then. They read him the questions, he told them the answers, and they wrote them down. He went on to first his own business, Berry Plumbing," Berry proudly recalls of his father'southward nifty American success story. Being that the Berry family unit'southward hometown of Gainesville, Georgia, also happens to be the poultry capital of the world, Berry Plumbing eventually moved in to the poultry manufacture. "Nosotros'd spend Thanksgiving and Christmas having dinner in the intermission room at different plants because my father was so committed to growing his business," Drupe remembers.

Later on Archie passed away in 1995, Drupe and his brothers refused to let the family unit business organization die with him and took information technology over themselves. The company was split into two carve up entities, with Berry and eldest brother Todd taking over the poultry processing mechanism and equipment side of Berry Plumbing & Equipment, while middle brother Steve took on the plumbing portion. "Nosotros're a pocket-size company with just over 20 employees, but we are a leader in the industry. I'm the Steve Piffling of chicken feet!" laughs Berry, who does take his job quite seriously. "I thank the Lord and my parents for starting the concern and paving the way to where we're at today."

Drupe says he learned a lot from his father and his skills translated from success in business to success in growing his WOOOO! Nation racing performance. Berry'south outgoing personality and infectious good sense of humor accept besides served him well over the years and he's garnered quite a reputation as a big fish in the small radial tire racing pond.

Like Berry's racing career itself, the story behind the proper name of his ubiquitous "WOOOO! Nation" also started somewhat unexpectedly. Not long subsequently Berry began racing, he and Rakestraw were watching HBO'south series Eastbound & Down. "One of the characters played by Will Ferrell, Ashley Schaeffer, was a knock-off of [professional wrestler] Ric Flair and he'd say 'WOOOO!' all the time. Real soft, merely repeatedly, and information technology was an acknowledgement of something he liked. When I went to my commencement PRI show, Ryan and I would say 'WOOOO!' every time we saw something we liked, and it only stuck," he shares. Somewhen, Berry'south "WOOOO!" 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, Drupe's car was fifty-fifty christened the "WOOOO! Chicken."

"WOOOO! Nation, what that meant to a lot of people, is that there's a party going on," Berry says. "But as more than people got to know me and the brand, if you lot will, the opportunity started coming about for me to aid people who had misfortunes. My wife told me, 'you don't realize what you have here with the fan base of operations. Instead of using information technology to party, allow's use it for something good,' and that collection a blast home big fourth dimension, so I've tried to do more of that.

"I want the brand to be known as ane hell of a successful racing squad when it's all said and washed, but more so I'd like people to look dorsum and say 'Man, they fabricated a difference!'" says Berry, who couples his political party-boy graphic symbol with maturity, respect and seriousness.

Yet, Berry's completely embraced the WOOOO! attitude and his larger-than-life, go-big-or-go home persona isn't simply an act geared towards garnering additional fame and fortune, but rather the over-arching theme of who he is in his twenty-four hour period-to-twenty-four hour period life. "Everything I've ever done, I've wanted to be the best at. Whatsoever I do, I don't do information technology half-assed; I go that from my father," notes Drupe, who at once was ranked 5th in the globe for semi-pro 3D archery. "I believe that if you're going to do something, do it i-hundred percent—otherwise, don't bother."

That "good enough isn't proficient enough" mentality has helped Drupe rise through the ranks and find success in the incredibly competitive world of elevate racing. "I demand success from myself," he states. "I don't have anything against the guys who come up out to race and have fun and don't look to win; I can respect that—we're all in that location to have fun—but it's also a competition, and I but don't sympathise their mindset. We lose more than we win, but every time we pull through the gates we still want to win—and nosotros look to."

When he doesn't win, though, Drupe and his team try to figure out what happened, why information technology happened, and how not to make information technology happen again. His dedication and commitment are on par with many of the globe'southward other meridian competitors, whether in racing or any other sport. Going fast and winning races, however, are two different things, and Drupe understands that concept. "We're still learning how to win, to be honest," he discloses. "We've had a lot of success and some championships, but our biggest hurdle is how to win more consistently."

Despite non necessarily being the quickest or winningest commuter out there, Berry undoubtedly is 1 of the most oft talked about. "DeWayne Mills wins more than I do, Stevie Jackson talks more shit than I do, only I get more than coverage," he acknowledges. "I think I'm a lot like my daddy, and I miss him and so much. He was so charismatic, and everyone loved to talk to him. He wasn't doing anything flashy, no one wanted to come up watch him plumb, but he drew tons of people to him, and I remember I got a niggling of that from him."

Perhaps information technology'southward his magnetic personality that draws people in, or a honey of stirring upwardly controversy, or fifty-fifty merely the fact that his life story is inspiring and motivational, but Keith Drupe is living the dream, having a blast while doing so, and people want to exist a function of it. Marketing, however, is not something Berry consciously considers at all times—though he concedes it's something he is e'er actively working on.

"I treat the race car the same way I care for business organisation. I surround myself with people that know what they're doing, make sure they're happy, and requite them what they need to exist successful," he explains. In the meantime, while Berry's personal brand has grown significantly, he finds it's frequently a balancing act to manage his business interests with trying to win at the track. Higher students would do well to study Berry'south success story and acquire from his marketing and branding.

"With annihilation, whether information technology'due south your personal racing career or your business organisation, or mayhap you lot're starting a new cheese store or selling soap, you've got to make your potential customers call up that their lives are ameliorate with your product. If y'all're selling your racing program every bit title level, you amend win. No thing what it is y'all're selling or promoting, make sure you follow through with what you hope," he counsels aspiring business people or race team owners.

Simultaneously working toward those goals tin can be enervating, though. The drag strip is just an office away from home for Berry, and he clarifies that well-nigh people don't realize he'due south constantly on the job—even when racing. "I'm still on the phone with customers, doing emails, taking conference calls, talking to technicians," he stresses. "People make comments that information technology must be prissy to get for a calendar week of testing, but I'chiliad working the whole time."

Until fairly recently, Berry was able to keep his personal and professional lives dissever. However, cheers to publicity he's garnered in relation to his back-to-dorsum NMCA Radial Wars championships, a relationship with the Street Outlaws crew, and his friendship with Philadelphia Eagles thespian Fletcher Cox, information technology'south a chore that's getting tougher by the 24-hour interval. "Information technology'southward rare now that I get to one of my customers' plants and the conversation isn't about my racing. They inquire if Street Outlaws is real, what those guys are like, if I actually won a championship, and want to see videos of my car," he laughs. "I've go more than visible and I think it helps my business organization. Mayhap I've got a couple actress purchase orders considering of it."

Every bit Berry's name becomes more well-known, he inevitably accumulates more fans, only he also realizes there will be detractors along the way, too. Regardless, Berry tries to ignore any negativity directed his way.

"There are two types: haters that hate you simply because you're not their guy. Those are the like shooting fish in a barrel ones to make non-haters, yous simply have to get the opportunity to talk to them and they'll realize they have no reason to hate—they still want their guy to win, though," he acknowledges.

"Then there are the 18-carat haters who detest someone who is successful because they're not. There's not much you lot can do for those people except maybe pray for them," he says, calculation that neither type bothers him. "How do y'all make someone non jealous? I don't know. I'chiliad not a psychiatrist. I merely keep on doing what I'chiliad doing. Y'all're doing something right if they're talking about yous, whether it's good or bad."

For his fans, Berry most enjoys letting young kids sit in his motorcar. "Information technology might be a once-in-a-lifetime hazard for them, and I recognize that. I might accept a problem or only have a few minutes to make information technology to the staging lanes, but we endeavor to never turn people abroad," he shares. "I practise information technology because I appreciate them, and I know I might not accept this forever so I take to requite dorsum to those that helped go me here."

Berry's true motivation, still, isn't simply the fans; it's watching his guys celebrate afterward he makes a great pass or scores a win. "There'due south nothing better than looking back at a video and seeing them cheering, screaming, high-fiving, and hugging on the starting line," Berry confirms with a smile in his vocalism. "The celebration that we had on the return road this year after winning the 2d NMCA championship, I don't know if we'll ever tiptop that." And while it may not be evident to onlookers, Berry is near proud of "gifting the moment" to his crew, not of the actual win itself. "Most people think I'm a difficult ass, but I'm actually a big baby," he adds.

Unfortunately, there isn't a celebration after every run. This February, during the Lights Out VI event at SGMP, Drupe was slightly trailing "Big Daddy" DeWayne Mills when Mills' twin-turbo '68 Camaro went into a massive wheel stand and took flight toward a devastating wreck. "I saw him come up up in a slight wheelie, and then he was almost at a 45-degree angle, and and then he disappeared as his auto started to flip and I went by," Drupe describes. "Existence on the return road not knowing if 1 of my best friends was injure, or was fifty-fifty still alive, is a feeling I don't ever want to experience again."

Fortunately, Mills escaped the accident without pregnant injury, merely Berry admits the incident shook him up. "One time we got back to the pits, I gave him a hug, made certain he was okay, and and so I went back to my RV, shut the door, and cried for a little bit."

Thankfully, Berry has suffered only i wreck himself, while testing at Maryland International Raceway for the 2012 Shakedown at East-Town race. "I was still trying to learn to drive the auto," he says. "Information technology went out about 30 or 40 feet, Peak Fueled the tires, spun sideways, and I locked information technology upwardly and banged the wall." Although information technology was disappointing to damage his Corvette right before the large Shakedown consequence, Berry adds he was fortunate subsequently finalizing his on-track race car insurance mere minutes earlier the incident occurred. "How lucky tin can you get? I had only paid my first month's premium, and they had to write me a huge check. I felt horrible about it," he adds.

With the car somewhen fixed, Berry continued to campaign it without farther incident. Over the years, it'southward gone through a host of upgrades. "We took the programme as far every bit nosotros could with the LS package," says Drupe, who recently purchased a complete dragster with total intent to tear information technology apart. "We used to have an extreme street engine, and now we're going to an extreme race engine." For 2022, Drupe's car will be motivated past a 4.v-inch diameter infinite Chevy outfitted with CFE SBX heads that Pro Line yanked from his sacrificial dragster. "It's one hell of a monster although information technology's still technically a Chevy small block," he says. "We're going to run it on alcohol and 98-millimeter twin turbos."

Once the Corvette is buttoned upwardly yet again and ready to run with the new motor, Berry will head downwards to Bradenton for some testing, which he anticipates will be late in Jan or early February next yr. If the timing doesn't work out as planned, though, Berry may even go far early for Donald Long's Lights Out 7 at SGMP and put the inaugural passes on it in February there.

Likewise for 2022, Drupe confirms he'll attempt to claim his third-straight NMCA Radial Wars championship. "It's going to exist a smashing year for NMCA and a lot of big-name people like Kyle Huettel, Daniel Pharris and Kevin Mullins have committed to the form. I retrieve it will current of air upward being the standard in 315 radial racing," he says excitedly.

Looking further into the future, Berry takes a moment to contemplate some other decade of racing nether his belt. His prediction is rather unexpected, equally instead of thinking first of wins or championships, he says he hopes to be "helping those who need it." Still, he admits to harboring big dreams for racing and wants to ensure his on-runway legacy continues.

"If I stopped racing right at present, 15 years from at present, nobody would know who I was and WOOOO! Nation wouldn't be effectually. We're good now, but nosotros need to become improve at winning," he says. "I promise I tin go skilful enough to where I tin be legendary. I know that sounds greedy. The bottom line is that whether I am that expert or not, in the future, I hope I'thou still making a deviation in this world."

Most of the time, what may exist misconstrued as online smack-talking or cockiness is actually Drupe's tongue-in-cheek sense of humour or sarcasm. His WOOOO! Nation team's reputation for having fun and partying wasn't earned by accident, just there's a more than serious, more than thoughtful side to Drupe that most don't realize is just beneath the wild and crazy surface. Information technology'south that unique duality that makes him such an interesting character, both on and off the track.

Photographs by Ian Tocher, Wes Cadet and Mike Galemi

This story originally appeared as the comprehend story in Drag Illustrated Outcome No. 105, the Champions Consequence, in Nov of 2015.

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