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BRAINERD, Minn.(8/13/06) -- The Kenny Bernstein-owned Budweiser/Lucas Oil team got back in the winning groove at the Lucas Oil Nationals, following the script they had written. The script read "go rounds."
Driver Brandon Bernstein drove to his 11th career victory and added his first Brainerd victory to the five his father earned at this track. It was Brandon's third victory of the season and his fifth final round appearance.
Bernstein was the No. 2 qualifier with a 4.538-second elapsed time at 325.14 miles per hour.
In the opening round of rain-delayed eliminations against Scott Weis, Bernstein clocked a winning 4.614/315.19 as Weis fouled with a red light start.
In the quarterfinals against David Grubnic, the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster looked flawless as it streaked to the win light with a 4.519/330.80 while Grubnic lost traction in the other lane, limping across the finish line with a 5.002/306.53.
That was an important round win for the Kenny Bernstein team as Grubnic came into the Brainerd event only 44 points behind.
"We needed some round wins," said Brandon. "Tim (Richards, crew chief) made some tune-up changes for the second round. All I know is that drawers were opening and closing at a fast pace in the race trailer as Tim chose parts and pieces for the second round. Whatever he did worked!"
In the semifinals, Bernstein faced off against his good friend Morgan Lucas. Morgan is the son of Charlotte and Forrest Lucas who sponsor the Brainerd race and are a title rights sponsor on the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster.
"I've said this many times before," said Bernstein. "I just have to block out the other lane, make sure I do my job, and stomp the throttle."
The Bernstein-Lucas match was a battle to the 1000-foot mark, where Bernstein nosed ahead for the victory, 4.545/332.10, to Morgan's 4.687/252.28. Brandon's 332.10 mph speed was top speed of the meet.
In the money round against Tony Schumacher, Bernstein had a trouble-free blast down the quarter-mile (4.510/329.34) while Schumacher lost traction early on.
"When Tim gets on a roll on race day he is able to get the car to repeat," said Brandon. "And maybe he just gives it a little more here or there to see if it will respond and sure enough, it did. I figured he was going to go for a low 4.50 or maybe a high 4.40 in the final because we knew Schumacher could and was running those numbers. We didn't really want to beat ourselves. We just wanted to run well and take the win light.
"I never saw Tony. I never heard him or anything. And then our (blower) belt came off right when I lifted and I actually didn't know if we'd won or not. I thought maybe he got around us.
Legendary driver/owner Kenny Bernstein addressed this victory that was preceded by three first round losses on the Western Swing.
"The bottom line is that we're not lost," said Kenny. "It's not as if we can't get down the racetrack. We've been running well. In the Western Swing we ran good. We qualified one, two or three at all three races. We put a lot of good runs together. It's just being consistent on race day. What happened to us in the first round on the Western Swing was that we just had a little too much at all three of them.
"Tim did a great job today," continued Kenny. "Does this surprise us? No, because we really have it in it. It's just a matter of making it happen on four consecutive runs. Today was the day we got it going.
"Can we challenge for the championship? The car's got it, the team's got it, and it's just a matter of making it work.
"We've been in the position in the past where we've been totally lost and not running good and then something like this would have been real surprising. People thought we were really struggling these last races and we really were not. We were running well. We just didn't get a break and we overdid it a taste. It's a different deal entirely than being lost. This sport definitely makes you humble. We are ecstatic to have another win for Budweiser, Lucas Oil, and all of our sponsors."
"We made up some good ground today," said Brandon. "We've made up some points and we have a car that's a winner. There are seven races left. That's a lot of racing."
Bernstein remains fourth in POWERade Top Fuel point standings has chipped away at the leaders. The Budweiser/Lucas Oil team is 116 points out of first place and 35 points out of second.
Budweiser/Lucas Oil Team Wins Third Race of Season at NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals
BRAINERD, Minn.(8/13/06) -- The Kenny Bernstein-owned Budweiser/Lucas Oil team got back in the winning groove at the Lucas Oil Nationals, following the script they had written. The script read "go rounds."
Driver Brandon Bernstein drove to his 11th career victory and added his first Brainerd victory to the five his father earned at this track. It was Brandon's third victory of the season and his fifth final round appearance.
Bernstein was the No. 2 qualifier with a 4.538-second elapsed time at 325.14 miles per hour.
In the opening round of rain-delayed eliminations against Scott Weis, Bernstein clocked a winning 4.614/315.19 as Weis fouled with a red light start.
In the quarterfinals against David Grubnic, the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster looked flawless as it streaked to the win light with a 4.519/330.80 while Grubnic lost traction in the other lane, limping across the finish line with a 5.002/306.53.
That was an important round win for the Kenny Bernstein team as Grubnic came into the Brainerd event only 44 points behind.
"We needed some round wins," said Brandon. "Tim (Richards, crew chief) made some tune-up changes for the second round. All I know is that drawers were opening and closing at a fast pace in the race trailer as Tim chose parts and pieces for the second round. Whatever he did worked!"
In the semifinals, Bernstein faced off against his good friend Morgan Lucas. Morgan is the son of Charlotte and Forrest Lucas who sponsor the Brainerd race and are a title rights sponsor on the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster.
"I've said this many times before," said Bernstein. "I just have to block out the other lane, make sure I do my job, and stomp the throttle."
The Bernstein-Lucas match was a battle to the 1000-foot mark, where Bernstein nosed ahead for the victory, 4.545/332.10, to Morgan's 4.687/252.28. Brandon's 332.10 mph speed was top speed of the meet.
In the money round against Tony Schumacher, Bernstein had a trouble-free blast down the quarter-mile (4.510/329.34) while Schumacher lost traction early on.
"When Tim gets on a roll on race day he is able to get the car to repeat," said Brandon. "And maybe he just gives it a little more here or there to see if it will respond and sure enough, it did. I figured he was going to go for a low 4.50 or maybe a high 4.40 in the final because we knew Schumacher could and was running those numbers. We didn't really want to beat ourselves. We just wanted to run well and take the win light.
"I never saw Tony. I never heard him or anything. And then our (blower) belt came off right when I lifted and I actually didn't know if we'd won or not. I thought maybe he got around us.
Legendary driver/owner Kenny Bernstein addressed this victory that was preceded by three first round losses on the Western Swing.
"The bottom line is that we're not lost," said Kenny. "It's not as if we can't get down the racetrack. We've been running well. In the Western Swing we ran good. We qualified one, two or three at all three races. We put a lot of good runs together. It's just being consistent on race day. What happened to us in the first round on the Western Swing was that we just had a little too much at all three of them.
"Tim did a great job today," continued Kenny. "Does this surprise us? No, because we really have it in it. It's just a matter of making it happen on four consecutive runs. Today was the day we got it going.
"Can we challenge for the championship? The car's got it, the team's got it, and it's just a matter of making it work.
"We've been in the position in the past where we've been totally lost and not running good and then something like this would have been real surprising. People thought we were really struggling these last races and we really were not. We were running well. We just didn't get a break and we overdid it a taste. It's a different deal entirely than being lost. This sport definitely makes you humble. We are ecstatic to have another win for Budweiser, Lucas Oil, and all of our sponsors."
"We made up some good ground today," said Brandon. "We've made up some points and we have a car that's a winner. There are seven races left. That's a lot of racing."
Bernstein remains fourth in POWERade Top Fuel point standings has chipped away at the leaders. The Budweiser/Lucas Oil team is 116 points out of first place and 35 points out of second.
