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BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 12) – Brandon Bernstein used an identical qualifying position and the tuning skills of crew chief Tim Richards to defend last year’s victory at the Lucas Oil Nationals. It was Bernstein’s fifth victory of the season, setting a new personal record for number of victories in a year. It was his 17th career victory. This win catapulted the Budweiser/Lucas Oil top fuel team to the top of the pack with the most event wins in the Top Fuel category for 2007 thus far.
Bernstein earned the second qualifying position at Brainerd International Raceway with a 4.556/328.30.
Richards tuned Bernstein and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster to a first round win with low elapsed time of the opening round, 4.568/322.19, while opponent Doug Herbert struggled with loss of traction, rolling across the finish line with a 10.668/82.77.
“While I was waiting to run, I watched a lot of cars lose traction,” said Bernstein. “I didn’t know what to expect but Tim did a marvelous job on the tune-up!”
In the second round, Bernstein faced off against Clay Millican. A consistent 4.547-second elapsed time at 327.82 mph defeated Millican’s 4.593/326.24,
“I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him on that run,” confided Bernstein. “I knew it was close.”
Bernstein transferred to the semifinals to challenge his friend and fellow Brat Packer, Morgan Lucas.
The two were evenly matched with a slight edge to Bernstein from the starting gate down the track until Bernstein started to pull away near the finish line. Bernstein clocked low elapsed time of the round, 4.536 seconds at 326.00 mph to Lucas’ 4.582/319.75.
“When we were strapped in and ready to roll to the starting line we gave each other a thumbs up,” said Bernstein. “When the engine came to life, I put the fact that Morgan was in the other lane out of my mind and focused on doing my job and just racing the track.
“When we pulled off onto the return road and got out of our cars I told him he was going to get his win. He’s so close. I think he’ll get a win before the year’s out. I know it was hard for his Mom and Dad, Charlotte and Forrest. They sponsor the race and they’re our extended family, but Morgan is their son.”
In the finals, it was Bernstein against Larry Dixon. The two friendly rivals were pretty even off the starting line, but Richards produced low elapsed time of the event, 4.525 seconds, at 329.91 mph to best Dixon ’s 4.586/323.35.
“I knew Larry would be on his game and he’d been running 4.50s so he was going to be tough,” said Bernstein. “I wasn’t really on my game the first two rounds, so I needed to do my job to help our team. Tim gets something on race day and it’s amazing to watch. He’s consistent and quick.
“When you have a rivalry like Larry and I had during the years of the beer wars you build a rapport, and now that he’s not with the blue beer, we’ve become closer.
“This is an important win because we need to keep our momentum up to gear up for Indy which is two races away and starts the countdown to four.
“We’ll participate in the test session in Indy prior to the race, and hopefully we can roll into the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals with our new Elvis paint scheme and go some rounds.
“It was also an important win for us for Charlotte and Forrest Lucas. We were happy to win for our sponsors and close friends.
“There are two personal emotions about this win. One is that while I was sitting in my car waiting to make our run, I was watching my Dad in the final round on the big screen. He was so close to winning. I was bummed for him, and when I got to the top end, I gave him a big hug. All in all he had a good showing, but when you get to the final, you just want to win.
“Secondly, this is where my friend Eric Medlen scored his first Funny Car victory and I remember the night vividly. I took him out and helped him celebrate and I’ll always remember how happy he was and how great it was to be there sharing the moment. It’s a very happy memory.”
Bernstein is second in NHRA Top Fuel standings, 91 points out of the lead.
Follow the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel team at Kenny Bernstein Racing. Please visit our sponsors at Budweiser, Lucas Oil, Initializing...., AlphaTrade.com - digital media and marketing company specializing in creating networking opportunities to build your brand, sell more products, increase your web traffic and gain more attention for your company (OTCBB:APTD) and AlphaTrade FN - Free stock quotes, stock market news & personal finance..
BERNSTEIN DEFENDS TOP FUEL TROPHY IN BRAINERD WITH FIFTH WIN THIS SEASON
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 12) – Brandon Bernstein used an identical qualifying position and the tuning skills of crew chief Tim Richards to defend last year’s victory at the Lucas Oil Nationals. It was Bernstein’s fifth victory of the season, setting a new personal record for number of victories in a year. It was his 17th career victory. This win catapulted the Budweiser/Lucas Oil top fuel team to the top of the pack with the most event wins in the Top Fuel category for 2007 thus far.
Bernstein earned the second qualifying position at Brainerd International Raceway with a 4.556/328.30.
Richards tuned Bernstein and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster to a first round win with low elapsed time of the opening round, 4.568/322.19, while opponent Doug Herbert struggled with loss of traction, rolling across the finish line with a 10.668/82.77.
“While I was waiting to run, I watched a lot of cars lose traction,” said Bernstein. “I didn’t know what to expect but Tim did a marvelous job on the tune-up!”
In the second round, Bernstein faced off against Clay Millican. A consistent 4.547-second elapsed time at 327.82 mph defeated Millican’s 4.593/326.24,
“I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him on that run,” confided Bernstein. “I knew it was close.”
Bernstein transferred to the semifinals to challenge his friend and fellow Brat Packer, Morgan Lucas.
The two were evenly matched with a slight edge to Bernstein from the starting gate down the track until Bernstein started to pull away near the finish line. Bernstein clocked low elapsed time of the round, 4.536 seconds at 326.00 mph to Lucas’ 4.582/319.75.
“When we were strapped in and ready to roll to the starting line we gave each other a thumbs up,” said Bernstein. “When the engine came to life, I put the fact that Morgan was in the other lane out of my mind and focused on doing my job and just racing the track.
“When we pulled off onto the return road and got out of our cars I told him he was going to get his win. He’s so close. I think he’ll get a win before the year’s out. I know it was hard for his Mom and Dad, Charlotte and Forrest. They sponsor the race and they’re our extended family, but Morgan is their son.”
In the finals, it was Bernstein against Larry Dixon. The two friendly rivals were pretty even off the starting line, but Richards produced low elapsed time of the event, 4.525 seconds, at 329.91 mph to best Dixon ’s 4.586/323.35.
“I knew Larry would be on his game and he’d been running 4.50s so he was going to be tough,” said Bernstein. “I wasn’t really on my game the first two rounds, so I needed to do my job to help our team. Tim gets something on race day and it’s amazing to watch. He’s consistent and quick.
“When you have a rivalry like Larry and I had during the years of the beer wars you build a rapport, and now that he’s not with the blue beer, we’ve become closer.
“This is an important win because we need to keep our momentum up to gear up for Indy which is two races away and starts the countdown to four.
“We’ll participate in the test session in Indy prior to the race, and hopefully we can roll into the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals with our new Elvis paint scheme and go some rounds.
“It was also an important win for us for Charlotte and Forrest Lucas. We were happy to win for our sponsors and close friends.
“There are two personal emotions about this win. One is that while I was sitting in my car waiting to make our run, I was watching my Dad in the final round on the big screen. He was so close to winning. I was bummed for him, and when I got to the top end, I gave him a big hug. All in all he had a good showing, but when you get to the final, you just want to win.
“Secondly, this is where my friend Eric Medlen scored his first Funny Car victory and I remember the night vividly. I took him out and helped him celebrate and I’ll always remember how happy he was and how great it was to be there sharing the moment. It’s a very happy memory.”
Bernstein is second in NHRA Top Fuel standings, 91 points out of the lead.
Follow the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel team at Kenny Bernstein Racing. Please visit our sponsors at Budweiser, Lucas Oil, Initializing...., AlphaTrade.com - digital media and marketing company specializing in creating networking opportunities to build your brand, sell more products, increase your web traffic and gain more attention for your company (OTCBB:APTD) and AlphaTrade FN - Free stock quotes, stock market news & personal finance..
