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MORRISON, Colo. – Carved into the side of a mountain in the great Rocky Mountain chain,
Bandimere Speedway is arguably one of the most picturesque racetracks on the NHRA circuit. But as beautiful as the track setting is, it’s fraught with tricky tune-ups for the crew chiefs and teams of those competing in the Mopar Mile-High Nationals July 13-15.
Brandon Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, knows that his crew chief, Tim Richards, and assistant crew chief Kim Richards, can adapt to the thin air and the one-off tune-up that many teams struggle with at this event.
Bernstein has driven to the No. 1 qualifying position at Bandimere Speedway twice in three years, 2004 and 2005.
“We have the only team in the nitro (Funny Car and Top Fuel) ranks that have a female assistant crew chief,” said Bernstein. “Kim Richards is married to crew chief Tim, but she was a crew chief for her father, Dick LaHaie, and won prestigious Car Craft Top Fuel Crew Chief honors in 1988. She also drove a Top Fuel car in 1992.
“All the buzz these days is about women drivers, and Ashley Force is a really good friend of mine. The women are very capable drivers, but Kim’s talent is sometimes overlooked.
“The combined talents of Tim and Kim are hard to beat, and we’re fortunate to have them on our team. Kim is a clutch specialist, but the truth is, she can build a dragster from top to bottom and can work on any part of the car. She is very diverse.
“Tim and Kim have tuned us to 15 career victories, three this season, and five career runner-up finishes. Additionally, they were the brain trust behind Dad’s sixth NHRA championship in 2001.
“There are five races before the countdown to eight is set. We’re comfortably seeded at the moment, but we need to continue to go rounds. This season is very unpredictable with the close competition and we don’t want to take chances. When we drive to the starting line, we’re always confident that we’ve got a car that can win rounds. That’s a good feeling.”
Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying begins Friday, July 13 at 5:30 p.m. with a second session at 8 p.m. There are two qualifying rounds scheduled Saturday, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. , with eliminations set for noon Sunday.
Follow the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel team at Kenny Bernstein Racing. Please visit our sponsors at Budweiser, Lucas Oil, Initializing...., AlphaTrade.com - Get real time stock quotes, charts, market news, level 2, portfolios and more (OTCBB:APTD) and AlphaTrade FN - Free stock quotes, stock market news & personal finance.
BERNSTEIN PROUD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF SOLE HUSBAND-WIFE TUNING COMBINATION IN NITRO RANKS
MORRISON, Colo. – Carved into the side of a mountain in the great Rocky Mountain chain,
Bandimere Speedway is arguably one of the most picturesque racetracks on the NHRA circuit. But as beautiful as the track setting is, it’s fraught with tricky tune-ups for the crew chiefs and teams of those competing in the Mopar Mile-High Nationals July 13-15.
Brandon Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, knows that his crew chief, Tim Richards, and assistant crew chief Kim Richards, can adapt to the thin air and the one-off tune-up that many teams struggle with at this event.
Bernstein has driven to the No. 1 qualifying position at Bandimere Speedway twice in three years, 2004 and 2005.
“We have the only team in the nitro (Funny Car and Top Fuel) ranks that have a female assistant crew chief,” said Bernstein. “Kim Richards is married to crew chief Tim, but she was a crew chief for her father, Dick LaHaie, and won prestigious Car Craft Top Fuel Crew Chief honors in 1988. She also drove a Top Fuel car in 1992.
“All the buzz these days is about women drivers, and Ashley Force is a really good friend of mine. The women are very capable drivers, but Kim’s talent is sometimes overlooked.
“The combined talents of Tim and Kim are hard to beat, and we’re fortunate to have them on our team. Kim is a clutch specialist, but the truth is, she can build a dragster from top to bottom and can work on any part of the car. She is very diverse.
“Tim and Kim have tuned us to 15 career victories, three this season, and five career runner-up finishes. Additionally, they were the brain trust behind Dad’s sixth NHRA championship in 2001.
“There are five races before the countdown to eight is set. We’re comfortably seeded at the moment, but we need to continue to go rounds. This season is very unpredictable with the close competition and we don’t want to take chances. When we drive to the starting line, we’re always confident that we’ve got a car that can win rounds. That’s a good feeling.”
Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying begins Friday, July 13 at 5:30 p.m. with a second session at 8 p.m. There are two qualifying rounds scheduled Saturday, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. , with eliminations set for noon Sunday.
Follow the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel team at Kenny Bernstein Racing. Please visit our sponsors at Budweiser, Lucas Oil, Initializing...., AlphaTrade.com - Get real time stock quotes, charts, market news, level 2, portfolios and more (OTCBB:APTD) and AlphaTrade FN - Free stock quotes, stock market news & personal finance.
