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Monday, August 14,
2006
P-I NEWS SERVICES
A Washington state college student is hoping to participate in a
planned-for-television reality show about up-and-coming race car drivers,
but the most pressing drama is earning a spot on the show through online
voting.
Tony Berry, 22, a Redmond native and graduating senior at Gonzaga, is vying
to become one of five wild-card entrants on the "Racin' For A Livin"'
television pilot. Fifteen drivers from around the country will fly to
Charlotte, N.C., and from that group 12 will be included in the show.
According to the show's Web site, a cast of "mentors," including 1990
Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope of Spanaway, will be among a group of racing
celebrities helping select the winner through a series of weekly
eliminations. The winning driver will be entered in a non-specified NASCAR
series race.
Even while working toward a double major (marketing and public polity) at
Gonzaga, Berry has put together one of the most diverse racing résumés among
the drivers selected for this project.
He is a nine-time karting champ and won the inaugural midget race at the
Oregon State Fairgrounds in January. This summer, he's competed in sprint
cars, midgets and late models -- often in the same weekend.
"I grew up around stock cars, but I also grew up driving anything," Berry
said. "I'm flattered to get this opportunity, and now that we're this close
I really want to make it into the top five. It's a tremendous opportunity."
Berry, the state's only driver on the list, sits in sixth place in the vote
tally, so he needs to move up one position to get the ticket to Charlotte.
Voting closes at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. To vote, go to racinforalivin.com.
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