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ENNIS, Texas (Sept. 24, 2006) – Kenny and Brandon Bernstein, who grew up in Dallas , had a Texas-style victory celebration at the O’Reilly Fall Nationals. Six-time NHRA champ Kenny, owner of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, watched from the starting line as his son Brandon piloted the car to his first Dallas victory and his 12th career win. It was Brandon ’s fourth victory this season.
“It’s really special to be able to come to Dallas and perform well in front of our friends and family,” said Brandon . “It was nice to have my mom there because she doesn’t come to every event.
“And as always, it was awesome to have dad there to talk to after every round. He just told me to ‘keep doing what you’re doing.’ Dad is a real stabilizing force for me.”
Bernstein qualified seventh at the Texas Motorplex with a 4.617/329.26, but not without some drama. Going into the final qualifying session, the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team was not in the top 16.
“We had a brand new chassis for this event and that’s probably why we had to dial it in during qualifying,” explained Brandon . “We were probably a little too aggressive at first, but the race day performance looked excellent.”
In the first round of race day eliminations, Bernstein gained a win over Doug Herbert.
The Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster streaked to its quickest run of the weekend, 4.572/327.98, while Herbert struggled with loss of traction.
Bernstein faced point leader Doug Kalitta in a pivotal quarterfinals match. Bernstein had the starting line reaction time advantage and won the round with a 4.696/296.83 as Kalitta lost traction down track.
“That was a nail-biter,” said Bernstein. “You normally don’t want to meet Doug as early as the second round, but if you want to gain points, you need to try to defeat him early in the day. We were fortunate that Tim (Richards, crew chief) made an excellent tune-up decision that got us to the win light first.”
Bernstein transferred to the finals with a semifinals victory over David Grubnic. The Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster crossed the finish line first with another consistent 4.629/326.63 while Grubnic spun the tires and lost traction.
The money round was a repeat of the previous rounds. Bernstein ran 4.612/323.19 while Hot Rod Fuller lost traction and spun the tires.
“It’s just a great day,” said Bernstein. “I can’t say enough about Tim (Richards), Kim (Richards) and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team. They did everything right today.
“Our focus right now is to go rounds and try to win the POWERade championship.
“We’re trying to ride the wave and it seems that our team is peaking at the right moment with consistency. I’m trying to do the best job I can and we’re all clicking right now. We’ve got momentum.
“The top three are bunched up, but there are still heavy hitters in the field that can do damage. I truly think that it’s going to be a race down to the wire. It’s going to be fun for the fans.”
Bernstein remains third in NHRA Top Fuel point standings but has significantly closed the gap. He is 40 points out of the lead, and seven points out of second place.
DALLAS NATIVE BRANDON BERNSTEIN TAKES 12TH NHRA CAREER VICTORY AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX
ENNIS, Texas (Sept. 24, 2006) – Kenny and Brandon Bernstein, who grew up in Dallas , had a Texas-style victory celebration at the O’Reilly Fall Nationals. Six-time NHRA champ Kenny, owner of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, watched from the starting line as his son Brandon piloted the car to his first Dallas victory and his 12th career win. It was Brandon ’s fourth victory this season.
“It’s really special to be able to come to Dallas and perform well in front of our friends and family,” said Brandon . “It was nice to have my mom there because she doesn’t come to every event.
“And as always, it was awesome to have dad there to talk to after every round. He just told me to ‘keep doing what you’re doing.’ Dad is a real stabilizing force for me.”
Bernstein qualified seventh at the Texas Motorplex with a 4.617/329.26, but not without some drama. Going into the final qualifying session, the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team was not in the top 16.
“We had a brand new chassis for this event and that’s probably why we had to dial it in during qualifying,” explained Brandon . “We were probably a little too aggressive at first, but the race day performance looked excellent.”
In the first round of race day eliminations, Bernstein gained a win over Doug Herbert.
The Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster streaked to its quickest run of the weekend, 4.572/327.98, while Herbert struggled with loss of traction.
Bernstein faced point leader Doug Kalitta in a pivotal quarterfinals match. Bernstein had the starting line reaction time advantage and won the round with a 4.696/296.83 as Kalitta lost traction down track.
“That was a nail-biter,” said Bernstein. “You normally don’t want to meet Doug as early as the second round, but if you want to gain points, you need to try to defeat him early in the day. We were fortunate that Tim (Richards, crew chief) made an excellent tune-up decision that got us to the win light first.”
Bernstein transferred to the finals with a semifinals victory over David Grubnic. The Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster crossed the finish line first with another consistent 4.629/326.63 while Grubnic spun the tires and lost traction.
The money round was a repeat of the previous rounds. Bernstein ran 4.612/323.19 while Hot Rod Fuller lost traction and spun the tires.
“It’s just a great day,” said Bernstein. “I can’t say enough about Tim (Richards), Kim (Richards) and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team. They did everything right today.
“Our focus right now is to go rounds and try to win the POWERade championship.
“We’re trying to ride the wave and it seems that our team is peaking at the right moment with consistency. I’m trying to do the best job I can and we’re all clicking right now. We’ve got momentum.
“The top three are bunched up, but there are still heavy hitters in the field that can do damage. I truly think that it’s going to be a race down to the wire. It’s going to be fun for the fans.”
Bernstein remains third in NHRA Top Fuel point standings but has significantly closed the gap. He is 40 points out of the lead, and seven points out of second place.
