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LAS VEGAS (April 13) – Las Vegas is a city where dreams are made and broken. For Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster pilot Brandon Bernstein, memories were made at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 2001 Bernstein made history with his father when they became the first father/son duo in NHRA’s 50-year history to win at the same national event. Last year Brandon dedicated an emotional victory to his friend Eric Medlen who died from injuries suffered in a testing accident less than a month before.
Bernstein was in pursuit of defending that victory at the SummitRacing.com Nationals when an ignition malfunction foiled his plan for a second consecutive trip to the winner’s circle.
Bernstein qualified No. 9 with a 4.621/325.77
In the opening round of Sunday’s eliminations, Bernstein rolled to the starting line to face Doug Herbert. A dropped cylinder hindered Herbert early in the run, while the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster logged low elapsed time of the round, 4.634 seconds, at 323.04 mph vs. Herbert’s 5.703/165.19.
“We were the first pair down the track,” said Bernstein, “so we had a lot of butterflies.
When you’re first pair you never know what the track is going to give you, but Tim (Richards, crew chief) had us dialed in.”
In the second round Bernstein and the Bud/Lucas Oil team stopped Tony Schumacher with a 4.921/253.33 to 5.377/227.26.
Both drivers were on and off the throttle trying to get traction to the ground in the heat.
“We were struggling with a hot track,” said Bernstein, “and we hurt the engine. The team had a lot of work to do to prepare for the next round. We’re just excited that we got the round win against a tough team like Schumacher’s.”
Bernstein transferred to the semifinals and had a comfortable starting line advantage over opponent Cory McClenathan, but struggled to get to the finish line. McClenathan took the round win with a 4.760/315.12.
“Something went way wrong with the ignition system,” said a disappointed Bernstein.
“We dropped four cylinders before half track and then two more before the finish line. “Eric’s Mom, Mimi, was here again this year and we wanted to present her with another trophy. We’re sorry we weren’t able to do that. “The Strip surface was very tricky today because of the heat, and Tim was making excellent decisions on what the track could handle. It’s frustrating because we had a car that was very capable of winning today.”
Brandon locked into fifth position in NHRA Top Fuel point standings.
# # #
Brandon Bernstein took the reins to the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster from his father, Kenny, whose 39 Top Fuel victories and 30 Funny Car victories make him No. 2 driver on the career nitro win list. Brandon was named Southern California Auto Club Rookie of the Year in 2003, and has amassed 17 career victories to date including a career-high five wins and a third-place overall finish in the 2007 NHRA POWERAde Series.
Just like the Bernstein family legacy on the track, Budweiser American-style lager follows the same family recipe used by five generations of Busch family brew masters. Brewed with only the finest hand-selected ingredients and Beechwood aged for the perfect balance of flavor and refreshment, Budweiser is “the Great American Lager.”
BUDWEISER/LUCAS OIL TEAM FALLS VICTIM TO MECHANICAL MALADY IN LAS VEGAS SEMIFINALS
LAS VEGAS (April 13) – Las Vegas is a city where dreams are made and broken. For Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster pilot Brandon Bernstein, memories were made at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 2001 Bernstein made history with his father when they became the first father/son duo in NHRA’s 50-year history to win at the same national event. Last year Brandon dedicated an emotional victory to his friend Eric Medlen who died from injuries suffered in a testing accident less than a month before.
Bernstein was in pursuit of defending that victory at the SummitRacing.com Nationals when an ignition malfunction foiled his plan for a second consecutive trip to the winner’s circle.
Bernstein qualified No. 9 with a 4.621/325.77
In the opening round of Sunday’s eliminations, Bernstein rolled to the starting line to face Doug Herbert. A dropped cylinder hindered Herbert early in the run, while the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster logged low elapsed time of the round, 4.634 seconds, at 323.04 mph vs. Herbert’s 5.703/165.19.
“We were the first pair down the track,” said Bernstein, “so we had a lot of butterflies.
When you’re first pair you never know what the track is going to give you, but Tim (Richards, crew chief) had us dialed in.”
In the second round Bernstein and the Bud/Lucas Oil team stopped Tony Schumacher with a 4.921/253.33 to 5.377/227.26.
Both drivers were on and off the throttle trying to get traction to the ground in the heat.
“We were struggling with a hot track,” said Bernstein, “and we hurt the engine. The team had a lot of work to do to prepare for the next round. We’re just excited that we got the round win against a tough team like Schumacher’s.”
Bernstein transferred to the semifinals and had a comfortable starting line advantage over opponent Cory McClenathan, but struggled to get to the finish line. McClenathan took the round win with a 4.760/315.12.
“Something went way wrong with the ignition system,” said a disappointed Bernstein.
“We dropped four cylinders before half track and then two more before the finish line. “Eric’s Mom, Mimi, was here again this year and we wanted to present her with another trophy. We’re sorry we weren’t able to do that. “The Strip surface was very tricky today because of the heat, and Tim was making excellent decisions on what the track could handle. It’s frustrating because we had a car that was very capable of winning today.”
Brandon locked into fifth position in NHRA Top Fuel point standings.
# # #
Brandon Bernstein took the reins to the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster from his father, Kenny, whose 39 Top Fuel victories and 30 Funny Car victories make him No. 2 driver on the career nitro win list. Brandon was named Southern California Auto Club Rookie of the Year in 2003, and has amassed 17 career victories to date including a career-high five wins and a third-place overall finish in the 2007 NHRA POWERAde Series.
Just like the Bernstein family legacy on the track, Budweiser American-style lager follows the same family recipe used by five generations of Busch family brew masters. Brewed with only the finest hand-selected ingredients and Beechwood aged for the perfect balance of flavor and refreshment, Budweiser is “the Great American Lager.”
