GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 20) – “Sometimes as a driver one blip in concentration can color your whole weekend,” said Brandon Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster.

That’s how Bernstein summed up his first round red light loss against Andrew Cowin.

“When I was on the starting line, I just lost concentration for a fraction of a second,” said Bernstein. “I didn’t see the yellow come down on the starting line Christmas tree and my foot just went down on the throttle. My brain was saying ‘don’t hit the throttle’, but my foot wasn’t listening. It was a very unfortunate situation and we really feel like we let the team down that worked so hard to get us in the show.

“But we will regroup and get ready for our next race in Houston. We’ll rally and get back in the swing of things.”

Bernstein qualified seventh for the Mac Tools Gatornationals with a 4.551/325.85.

He is eighth in NHRA POWERade Top Fuel standings, 70 points out of the lead.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – “Bernstein” is a name that transcends NHRA drag racing and is a marquee name recognized in all of motorsports. Kenny Bernstein not only has six NHRA championships to his credit, he also owned teams that won races on the NASCAR and CART circuits.

Gainesville Raceway figures prominently in the star power of the Bernstein name because perhaps Kenny’s single most well-known crowning achievement was becoming the first to surpass the 300 miles-per-hour barrier at that track March 20, 1992. That feat earned him the moniker “King of Speed.” Sunday’s Mac Tools Gatornationals eliminations mark the 13th anniversary of Bernstein’s history-making run.

Kenny has four career victories at Gainesville Raceway. When he stepped from the cockpit of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster at the end of the 2002 season, he passed the helmet to his son Brandon.

Brandon wasted no time driving to victory circle and putting his name in the Gainesville Raceway history book. In his rookie season in 2003, in only his third outing, Brandon celebrated his second career victory at the Mac Tools Gatornationals. And in keeping with his father’s speed image, the young gun also drove the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster to a track record speed that year of 327.27 mph.

Brandon, who has had the most successful career launch of any other Top Fuel or Funny Car driver in NHRA history, winning five of his first 13 starts, remembers the victory celebration vividly.

“All victories are awesome,” said Brandon, “but that was especially cool because it happened at Gainesville where dad broke the 300 mph barrier, and also because it was a Mac Tools race. Mac Tools has been a sponsor on our car for about 18 years.”

Bernstein is looking forward to the 36th annual Mac Tools Gatornationals March 18-20.

“I love this track and we have a lot of Mac Tools fans that come to cheer us on at this race,” said Brandon. “Plus the POWERade championship chase is already tight with only 48 points separating one through six in the Top Fuel category. That amounts to two rounds and maybe some qualifying points.

“All the teams are playing hardball this year. We need to go rounds and four rounds would be just about right. That would put us in the finals.”

Bernstein is currently sixth in point standings.

Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying begins Friday, March 18 at 12:30 p.m. followed by a second session at 3:30 p.m. There are two qualifying sessions scheduled Saturday, 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., with final eliminations Sunday at 11 a.m.

Kenny Bernstein nominated for American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Newsmaker of the Half-Century Award: Bernstein is one of 12 nominees for the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association’s Newsmaker of the Half-Century Award. The other nominees include: Mario Andretti, Dale Earnhardt, John Force, A.J. Foyt, the France family, Jeff Gordon, Dan Gurney, the Hulman-George family, Wally Parks, Roger Penske and Richard Petty. Nominees were selected by AARWBA’s Board of Directors from an original list of 50 “who’s who in motorsports.” The full AARWBA membership will vote for one of the 12 nominees and the winner will be announced at a public ceremony this May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“This is a fabulous honor,” said Bernstein. “I’m still pinching myself to make sure I heard this correctly. To be whittled down to the final 12 from the mega hit list of motorsports’ greatest newsmakers is unbelievable. And it’s very noteworthy that the drag racing side makes up 25 percent of the final nominees. We’re thrilled not only for ourselves, but for the recognition for our sport.”

MAC TOOLS GATORNATIONALS
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Eliminations – March 20 – 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. ET