Max Edward "Ed" Berrier III (born November 8, 1961 in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...
), is a second-generation
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...
driver. His father
Max Berrier competed in seven Grand National races over four years and won 125 feature races as a modified driver. His distant cousin
Todd
Todd or Todds may refer to:
Places
;Australia:
* Todd River, an ephemeral river
;United States:
* Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community
* Todd, Missouri, a ghost town
* Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...
served as the
crew chief for
Jeff Burton
Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...
in the
Sprint Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
.
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
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...
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
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
debut in 1995 at the
Mountain Dew Southern 500
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
, finishing in 20th position. Berrier's only NASCAR start in 1996 came at
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...
, where he finished 39th. After running a limited Cup schedule with
Sadler Brothers Racing Sadler may refer to:
* Sadler (surname), people with the surname ''Sadler''
* James Sadler and Sons Ltd English pottery manufacturer
* Sadler, Kentucky, United States; an unincorporated community
* Sadler, Texas, United States; a city
* Sadler ...
in 1997, Berrier was tapped by
PRW Racing to drive the No. 77
UAW
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Ric ...
/
Lear
Lear or Leir may refer to:
Acronyms
* Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios, a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers
* Low Energy Ion Ring, an ion pre-accelerator of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN
** Low Energy Anti ...
-sponsored 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
James Means (born May 29, 1950) is a retired American racing driver and owner, who competed in the Winston Cup Series as an owner-driver. He is currently an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and owns his own team, Jimmy Means Racing.
He compe ...
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
Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina. It is also known as The Rock and previously hosted NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, ...
, 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
Wesley Christian "Junie" Donlavey Jr. (April 8, 1924June 9, 2014), a native of Richmond, Virginia, was the owner of Donlavey Racing; he began fielding the team in 1950. He drove for his team at first, but soon gave way to other drivers. Donlavey ...
in late 1999. 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. Berrier's Cup series career resulted in 19 races and 25 DNQs, with a best Cup finish of 20th in a 1995 Darlington race. He ran the inaugural Busch Series race at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...
but crashed on the 10th lap. Berrier's last NASCAR race came in the
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of ...
season opener in 2003, finishing 13th for
Kevin Harvick Incorporated.
Following his racing career, Berrier worked as a crew chief in NASCAR competition. As of 2017, Ed Berrier is employed at JKS Motorsports Incorporated in Welcome, North Carolina, as the lead fabricator and sometimes stunt driver for motorsports-related commercial shoots and movies.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Winston Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
Busch Series
Craftsman Truck Series
ARCA Re/Max Series
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berrier, Ed
Living people
1961 births
Sportspeople from Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Racing drivers from North Carolina
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers
ISCARS Dash Touring Series drivers
NASCAR team owners
NASCAR crew chiefs