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RICHMOND , Va. -- The Torco Racing Fuels Nationals Oct. 5-7 are a make or break race for Brandon Bernstein and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team in their quest to transfer to the next stage of the new NHRA championship countdown format. The team led the Top Fuel point standings twice during the season, and they have never fallen out of the top eight. Since the Countdown to Eight field has been set, they have remained fourth. Now with the cutline fast approaching for the Countdown to Four, Bernstein is vulnerable.
“We really didn’t want to end up at the last race before the field of four is set with no breathing room,” said Bernstein, “but that’s pretty much where we are. We are 26 points out of third place, or 21 points out of fifth.
“It would be a huge bummer if we didn’t make the Countdown to Four. The record books prove we’re definitely a contender. We’ve won five events this season, a career-high number of victories in one season for me. For the most part we’ve hovered around second or third in the point standings with a few dips lower than that.
“The tide turned to a certain extent when I was hospitalized for kidney stones and was unable to compete at Reading ,” continued Bernstein. “We were second going into that event, and because I couldn’t race, we came out fourth as the points were reset for the first phase of that Countdown. That was a 20-point swing. Those kidney stones just picked a really bad time to get riled up.
“Now, all that being said, we have the talent to soldier through this. Make no mistake, competition in our category is tough. We’ll have knots in our stomach and we’ll be holding our breath until we qualify. Fortunately Tim (Richards, crew chief) normally tunes us to some really consistent laps in all the qualifying sessions. Qualifying high on the ladder awards you more points and gives you lane choice, which might give you an advantage.
“I know for sure I picked up the competitive gene from my dad. But our whole team has the desire to win. We need to stay focused and positive and see if we can go some rounds. We have our eyes on the championship, but we need to make the Countdown to Four.”
Bernstein’s victories this season include Las Vegas , Atlanta , Bristol , Topeka , and Brainerd , Minn. He was runner-up at the season-opening event in Pomona and in Seattle .
Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying for the Torco Racing Fuels Nationals begins Friday, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. with a second session at 6:30 p.m. There are two qualifying rounds Saturday, 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. , with final eliminations scheduled to begin Sunday at 11 a.m.
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 Finance - Free stock quotes, stock market news & personal finance..
TORCO RACING FUELS NATIONALS TELEVISION ADVISORY
Qualifying – Oct. 6 – ESPN2 n7 – 8 p.m. ET
NHRA Race Day – Oct. 7 – ESPN2 11-11:30 a.m. ET
Eliminations – Oct. 7 – ESPN2 7 – 10 p.m. ET
BRANDON BERNSTEIN ON COUNTDOWN TO FOUR “BUBBLE”; STRONG PERFORMANCE CRITICAL IN RICHMOND
RICHMOND , Va. -- The Torco Racing Fuels Nationals Oct. 5-7 are a make or break race for Brandon Bernstein and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team in their quest to transfer to the next stage of the new NHRA championship countdown format. The team led the Top Fuel point standings twice during the season, and they have never fallen out of the top eight. Since the Countdown to Eight field has been set, they have remained fourth. Now with the cutline fast approaching for the Countdown to Four, Bernstein is vulnerable.
“We really didn’t want to end up at the last race before the field of four is set with no breathing room,” said Bernstein, “but that’s pretty much where we are. We are 26 points out of third place, or 21 points out of fifth.
“It would be a huge bummer if we didn’t make the Countdown to Four. The record books prove we’re definitely a contender. We’ve won five events this season, a career-high number of victories in one season for me. For the most part we’ve hovered around second or third in the point standings with a few dips lower than that.
“The tide turned to a certain extent when I was hospitalized for kidney stones and was unable to compete at Reading ,” continued Bernstein. “We were second going into that event, and because I couldn’t race, we came out fourth as the points were reset for the first phase of that Countdown. That was a 20-point swing. Those kidney stones just picked a really bad time to get riled up.
“Now, all that being said, we have the talent to soldier through this. Make no mistake, competition in our category is tough. We’ll have knots in our stomach and we’ll be holding our breath until we qualify. Fortunately Tim (Richards, crew chief) normally tunes us to some really consistent laps in all the qualifying sessions. Qualifying high on the ladder awards you more points and gives you lane choice, which might give you an advantage.
“I know for sure I picked up the competitive gene from my dad. But our whole team has the desire to win. We need to stay focused and positive and see if we can go some rounds. We have our eyes on the championship, but we need to make the Countdown to Four.”
Bernstein’s victories this season include Las Vegas , Atlanta , Bristol , Topeka , and Brainerd , Minn. He was runner-up at the season-opening event in Pomona and in Seattle .
Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying for the Torco Racing Fuels Nationals begins Friday, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. with a second session at 6:30 p.m. There are two qualifying rounds Saturday, 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. , with final eliminations scheduled to begin Sunday at 11 a.m.
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 Finance - Free stock quotes, stock market news & personal finance..
TORCO RACING FUELS NATIONALS TELEVISION ADVISORY
Qualifying – Oct. 6 – ESPN2 n7 – 8 p.m. ET
NHRA Race Day – Oct. 7 – ESPN2 11-11:30 a.m. ET
Eliminations – Oct. 7 – ESPN2 7 – 10 p.m. ET
