Ed Berrier
| Max Edward Berrier III | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
November 8, 1961 Winston-Salem, North Carolina | ||||||
| Awards | 1981 NASCAR Dash Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||
| NASCAR Nationwide Series career | |||||||
| 250 race(s) run over 17 year(s) | |||||||
| First race | 1984 Miller Time 250 (Martinsville) | ||||||
| Last race | 2001 Mr. Goodcents 300 (Kansas) | ||||||
| First win | 1998 Galaxy Food Centers 300 (Hickory) | ||||||
| Last win | 1998 Galaxy Food Centers 300 (Hickory) | ||||||
| |||||||
Ed Berrier (born November 8, 1961 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is a second-generation NASCAR driver. His father Max Berrier competed in seven Grand National races over four years, and won 125 feature races as a modified driver. Ed's distant cousin Todd is currently the crew chief for Jeff Burton in the Sprint Cup Series.
Career
Berrier started running go-karts and became a force to be reckoned with, winning 72 out of 127 races. In 1980, he moved to the NASCAR Dash Series, driving for his own team. Four years later, he made his Busch Series debut, running 18 races and finishing in top-ten three times. He would not finish that high again until 1987, when he had four top-fives. Berrier ran abbreviated schedules over the next few years(except 1988) and put together 22 top-tens. He made his Winston Cup debut in 1995 at the Mountain Dew Southern 500, finishing in 20th position. Berrier's only NASCAR start in 1996 came at Darlington Raceway, where he finished 39th. After running a limited Cup schedule with Sadler Brothers Racing in 1997, Berrier was tapped by Moy Racing to drive his #77 UAW/Lear Ford in the Busch Series. After putting together three top-20 finishes in an abbreviated run, Berrier returned to the team in 1998, this time, with former Cup campaigner Jimmy Means as crew chief. The highlight of this year came at the final Galaxy Food Centers 300. Berrier dominated, starting on the outside pole, leading 187 laps, and garnering his only victory at a premier NASCAR series. Despite DNQ-ing at Rockingham Speedway, Berrier and company finished seventeenth in points that year. Unfortunately, Berrier's success did not carry over into 1999, and after qualifying for just 17 races, Berrier was fired.
Berrier soon landed on his feet, by running a limited schedule for Junie Donlavey in late '99. After his audition, Donlavey signed Berrier to drive for his team with a package sponsorship from Hills Brothers Coffee. Unfortunately, the sight of the team packing up and heading home after second round qualifying became too common, and Berrier was released once again. He ran the inaugural Busch Series race at Kansas Speedway, but crashed on the tenth lap. Berrier's last NASCAR race came in the Craftsman Truck Series season opener in 2003, finishing 13th for Kevin Harvick Incorporated.
Now, Berrier has followed his brother into the crew chief ranks, and will be the pit boss for the upstart NASCAR truck operation, Alex Yontz Racing in 2006.