BERNSTEIN SUFFERS FIRST ROUND LOSS AT HOUSTON

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 10) – Brandon Bernstein, last year’s winner of the O’Reilly Spring Nationals, suffered a reversal of fortune at this year’s event at Houston Raceway Park.

Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, hazed the tires in the first round of eliminations against Scott Kalitta. Kalitta took the round win with a 4.604/326.08 to Bernstein’s 9.527/83.30.

Bernstein qualified in an uncustomary 10th position with a 4.576-second elapsed time at 327.51 miles per hour.

“We chased the combination on Friday,” said Bernstein. “Traditionally Friday night is when you have the opportunity to run your best elapsed times because it’s cooler and therefore your best opportunity to get seeded high in the field. But Saturday, under warmer daylight conditions, we had a good lap in the first session and then a reasonably good run in the second session. These conditions are more like race day circumstances.

“We were optimistic going into first round, but as it turned out, we shook the tires and turned it into smoke. We will try again in Las Vegas and see if we can get the combination dialed in so we can go more rounds.”

Bernstein is ninth in NHRA POWERade Top Fuel point standings.

BAYTOWN, Texas -- A year ago Brandon Bernstein and his Budweiser/Lucas Oil team were celebrating a Top Fuel victory at the O’Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

Bernstein, a native Texan, would love to repeat the success he and the team enjoyed last year when they compete in the season’s April 8-10 event.

“We’re eighth in point standings right now,” said Bernstein. “Last season we were battling for the No. 1 spot with Tony Schumacher and at this point, only the two of us had traded victories this far into last season. We definitely need to rally and we’d love to have a comeback in Texas where we have so many fans. Certainly we’d like to gain positions on the POWERade championship point ladder, but even though we’re eighth, we’re still only 70 points out of the lead. The truth is all the competitors are jumbled in there together and the deck can reshuffle quickly.

“We need to get some round wins under our belt. This team is better than what we’ve shown so far and I had a stumble last week with a red light. A victory would be just what the doctor ordered.”

In addition to winning last year, Bernstein was also the No. 1 qualifier at the O’Reilly Spring Nationals.

Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying begins Friday, April 8 at 4:30 p.m., followed by a second session at 7:30 p.m. There are two qualifying rounds Saturday, 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Final Eliminations begin 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.”

O’REILLY SPRING NATIONALS TELEVISION ADVISORY

Qualifying – April 9 – ESPN2
7 – 9 p.m. ET

Eliminations – April 10 – ESPN2
7 – 10 p.m. ET