LAS VEGAS (April 4) – Brandon Bernstein drove The Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster, bearing a new “Born On” commemorative paint scheme, to a semifinal finish at the SummitRacing.com Nationals. He is now second in NHRA POWERade Top Fuel point standings.

Bernstein will race throughout April with the special paint scheme highlighting Anheuser-Busch’s commitment to fresh beer through the “Born On” date found on every Budweiser package. Budweiser has designated April as “Freshness Month” and select days each month throughout 2004 as “Freshness Days,” offering millions of adult beer drinkers across the U.S. an opportunity to taste Budweiser the same day it is packaged.

“It’s exciting to have a special paint scheme,” said Bernstein. “We’re proud to carry the brand’s message.”

Bernstein qualified No. 2 for the event at “The Strip” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a 4.479-second elapsed time at 333.66 miles per hour.

The sophomore Top Fuel pilot drove through first round butterflies defeating Scott Palmer with 4.578/321.88 vs. Palmer’s 5.916/160.59.

In the quarterfinals, Bernstein was first to the win stripe with a 4.598/318.54, defeating a tire-smoking David Grubnic, 5.565/160.82.

For the first time this season, Bernstein rolled to the starting line to face off against Larry Dixon. Bernstein had the advantage out of the gate, but about mid-track both cars began to smoke the tires. Though the two drivers were on and off the throttle, it was Dixon that got the win light.

“It was like the car just stopped,” explained Bernstein. “It just sat there and spun the tires and I saw Dixon recover and drive away. There was nothing I could do but watch.

“We’re glad we were able to gain a few points and slide into second place in point standings. That was definitely the up-side of race day.”

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Brandon Bernstein To Drive Commemorative Budweiser/Lucas Oil "Born On" Top Fuel Dragster
In Three NHRA Events This Month - Las Vegas, Houston and Bristol, Tenn.

LAS VEGAS (April 1, 2004) - Budweiser has designated several days in April as "Freshness Days," offering thousands of motorsports fans an opportunity to taste Budweiser the same day it is packaged.

Additionally, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel driver Brandon Bernstein will race the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster with a special paint scheme highlighting Anheuser-Busch's commitment to fresh beer through the "Born On" date found on every Budweiser package. The commemorative Budweiser/Lucas Oil "Born On" dragster will race in the following events: the fifth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (April 1-4); the 17th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park (April 15-18); and the fourth annual O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway (April 30-May 2).

Bernstein, now in his second season driving the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster, was last season's Rookie of the Year in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Team owner Kenny Bernstein, who earned six NHRA world titles during his driving career, is celebrating his 25th season of Budweiser sponsorship in 2004. Budweiser is the "Official Beer" sponsor of the NHRA.

Budweiser packaged and bearing the same "Born On" dates of April 3 (Las Vegas), April 17 (Houston) and May 1 (Bristol, Tenn.) will be available for purchase at the respective tracks those days allowing consumers to taste the freshest beer available. Budweiser trucks will pick up beer packaged those mornings at local Anheuser-Busch breweries and deliver it to area Anheuser-Busch distributors. Wholesaler representatives will then deliver the day-fresh Budweiser to the tracks for sale to consumers that same day. It takes approximately 30 days to brew Budweiser. Day-fresh Budweiser will also be available in local bars, clubs and restaurants today (Las Vegas), on April 15 (Houston) and on April 30 (Bristol).

"We've always strived to bring consumers the freshest beer possible," said Andy Goeler, director, Budweiser Marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "On these special days during NHRA race weekends in the month of April, we want our consumers to have an opportunity to try Budweiser packaged that day and taste for themselves the importance of freshness to beer. The fact is, fresh beer tastes better."

Budweiser has designated April as "Freshness Month" and select days each month throughout 2004 as "Freshness Days," offering millions of adult consumers across the U.S. an opportunity to taste Budweiser the same day it is packaged. Select local wholesalers and retailers in more than 180 cities participate in the day-fresh program, and more than one million consumers sampled "day-fresh" Budweiser during initiatives last year alone.

Budweiser's average retail age is 35 days, meaning a typical Budweiser bottle or can is 35 days old when purchased by a consumer from a retailer. In comparison, other domestic premium brands are significantly older in terms of average retail age, while leading imports are more than twice as old. (Source: Audits & Surveys - N.Y.)

Anheuser-Busch has always used a packaging date for its products and introduced the consumer-friendly "Born-On" date coding on Sept. 2, 1996. The company's 12 U.S.-based breweries and network of more than 700 wholesalers reduce delivery time and ensure that fresh beer is delivered to retail accounts shortly after packaging.

As it reads on every beer package, Budweiser is at the peak of freshness and taste within 110 days from its "Born On" date.

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is the leading U.S. brewer and holds a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer. In a survey of 10,000 business leaders and securities analysts, Anheuser-Busch ranked first overall in quality of products and services among nearly 600 companies researched in FORTUNE magazine's 2004 "America's Most Admired Companies" listing. The company also is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is the world's largest recycler of aluminum beverage containers. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

LAS VEGAS – The Bernstein family has cashed in at “The Strip” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway quite frequently.

Six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein has won two of three outings at the SummitRacing.com Nationals, and he shared victory circle with son Brandon in 2001 when Brandon piloted an alcohol dragster to winner’s circle the same day. The Bernstein duo became the first father and son in NHRA’s 50-year history to win their categories at the same national event, an accomplishment Kenny counts among his top two most cherished memories.

In Brandon’s 2003 rookie season as pilot of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster, he was a semifinalist at this event.

Having already notched a win in Phoenix, the second event of this year’s tour, Brandon has proven he’s found his groove following the accident that sidelined him for the last 15 races of the 2003 season and is looking forward to the SummitRacing.com Nationals April 2-5.

“We’re back 100 percent,” said Brandon. “We may even be stronger than before because we’re working at conditioning the upper body.

“We’re looking forward to racing in Las Vegas. We’ve got a big battle going in the Top Fuel category and right now we’re third in point standings. There are five or six of us that are breathing down each other’s necks and each race has the potential of reshuffling the deck as far as points go.

“We had a tough weekend in Gainesville going out in the first round with a red light, and we’re looking to get back on the road to redemption. Tim (Richards) and the team have had a handle on the tune-up. We think Vegas is our kind of track.”

Special Announcement: The Budweiser/Lucas Oil team will make a special announcement at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals press conference Thursday, April 1 at the ESPN Zone at 11:30 a.m.

Nitro Qualifying: Friday, April 2, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, noon and 3 p.m.

Final Eliminations Sunday at 11 a.m.

SUMMITRACING.COM NATIONALS

TELEVISION ADVISORY

Qualifying – April 3 – ESPN2

10 p.m. – midnight ET

Eliminations – April 4 – ESPN2

11 p.m. – 1 a.m. ET