GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 16) - Top Fuel racer Brandon Bernstein was a happy camper Saturday, and not just because his favorite soccer team, Manchester United, won an English Premier League match.
Bernstein and his ProtectTheHarvest.com team bounced back from smoking the tires in both Friday qualifying sessions and managed to get down the track twice on Saturday. Their best run, a 3.837 at 320.74 mph, gave them the No. 8 spot in Sunday's eliminations field for the NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway.
"I'm happy with the way the guys rebounded from Friday," Bernstein said. "Joe (Barlam, crew chief) and the guys put their heads together and had a good tune-up for the car today and we made two good runs. We'll see what we can do tomorrow."
Bernstein came into Saturday's final qualifying sessions outside the top 12 and needed to make a good run to get in the show. That came in Saturday's first pass, which he later backed up with a 3.847 at 319.07 mph in Q4.
"It's never fun to come into Saturday not qualified," Bernstein said. "But I had confidence in my guys and in the GEICO team (of teammate Morgan Lucas) that they'd get the car running well, and they did. We'll keep working on it and hopefully be better tomorrow."
Bernstein will face No. 9 qualifier Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the first round of eliminations Sunday. Vandergriff's best pass was a 3.839 at 319.75 mph.
"It should be a fun race," Bernstein said. "It usually is when the Nos. 8 and 9 guys get together. I'll need to be on my game for sure. Bob's a tough competitor. I'm not even looking past the first round because we need to focus on winning that one first. This is March, so we need to have that attitude: 'Survive and advance.' "
Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. with ESPN2 showing the race Sunday evening.
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Bernstein and his ProtectTheHarvest.com team bounced back from smoking the tires in both Friday qualifying sessions and managed to get down the track twice on Saturday. Their best run, a 3.837 at 320.74 mph, gave them the No. 8 spot in Sunday's eliminations field for the NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway.
"I'm happy with the way the guys rebounded from Friday," Bernstein said. "Joe (Barlam, crew chief) and the guys put their heads together and had a good tune-up for the car today and we made two good runs. We'll see what we can do tomorrow."
Bernstein came into Saturday's final qualifying sessions outside the top 12 and needed to make a good run to get in the show. That came in Saturday's first pass, which he later backed up with a 3.847 at 319.07 mph in Q4.
"It's never fun to come into Saturday not qualified," Bernstein said. "But I had confidence in my guys and in the GEICO team (of teammate Morgan Lucas) that they'd get the car running well, and they did. We'll keep working on it and hopefully be better tomorrow."
Bernstein will face No. 9 qualifier Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the first round of eliminations Sunday. Vandergriff's best pass was a 3.839 at 319.75 mph.
"It should be a fun race," Bernstein said. "It usually is when the Nos. 8 and 9 guys get together. I'll need to be on my game for sure. Bob's a tough competitor. I'm not even looking past the first round because we need to focus on winning that one first. This is March, so we need to have that attitude: 'Survive and advance.' "
Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. with ESPN2 showing the race Sunday evening.
More...
