KENNY BERNSTEIN HOPING FOR VICTORY AT LUCAS OIL NATIONALS

BRAINERD, Minn. – Six-time NHRA world champion Kenny Bernstein finished runner-up in Norwalk , Ohio , July 1, and is avidly pursuing his first victory of the season at the Lucas Oil Nationals Aug. 10-12.

Bernstein is no stranger to Brainerd International Raceway’s victory circle, having won in 1983 and 1987 during his early Funny Car hey day, and in 1991, 1996 and 2002 in the Top Fuel category.

“It would be really special to bring home a victory at the Lucas Oil Nationals,” said Bernstein, “because Forrest and Charlotte Lucas are our sponsors. Actually, they are more than sponsors, they are our really good friends.

“Additionally we are still trying to work our way into the countdown to eight in the new championship format. We need a good showing at Brainerd International Raceway to keep our foot in the door.”

After standing on the starting line for the past three years cheering for his son and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team he continues to own, a sponsorship opportunity allowed him to return to the Funny Car ranks this year as driver and owner of the Monster Energy/Lucas Oil car.

“We have always enjoyed the competitive side of racing,” said Bernstein. “Standing on the sidelines was difficult for me. Monster Energy drinks are distributed by Anheuser-Busch wholesalers in most of our race market areas, so the tie-in with Monster and the 28-year sponsorship association we’ve had through the Budweiser brand of Anheuser-Busch made perfect sense.

“We knew building another team from the ground up would be a massive undertaking, but our performance numbers have been on the upswing and our consistency is improving. I have confidence that every time we pull to the starting line, we have a chance to win.

“We would love to add to our trophy collection. We don’t want to get too greedy here, but

it would be another NHRA milestone if Brandon and I could both win at the Lucas event.”

Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying for the Lucas Oil Nationals begins Friday, Aug. 10 at 3:30 p.m. with a second session at 6:15 p.m. There are two qualifying runs Saturday, noon and 2:45 p.m. , with eliminations scheduled to begin Sunday at 11 a.m.

Follow the Monster Energy/Lucas Oil Funny Car team at Kenny Bernstein Racing. Please visit our sponsors at Monster Energy - Unleash the Beast, Lucas Oil, Initializing...., AlphaTrade.com - digital media and marketing company specializing in creating networking opportunities to build your brand, sell more products, increase your web traffic and gain more attention for your company (OTCBB:APTD) and AlphaTrade FN - Free stock quotes, stock market news & personal finance.