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Gainesville Raceway was the site of Brandon Bernstein’s second career victory in his 2003 rookie season. It was also the track where he first tested the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster before he took the reins following his father’s retirement. The track is certainly steeped in Bernstein tradition having been the location of Kenny Bernstein’s history-breaking ‘first to 300 mph’ run in 1992.
But at the NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals, the unthinkable happened. For the first time in his 80-race career, Brandon Bernstein was bumped from the field and failed to make the top 16 to run in Sunday’s eliminations. He held the third longest current consecutive qualifying streak in Top Fuel.
“The air was great today,” said Bernstein, “but the track has been tricky. We dropped a cylinder on that last run and that probably did us in.
“This team is strong and has a lot of talent. We will bounce back. On the flip side, I’m happy that my dad qualified and my role was to be there to support him.” Bernstein had driven his Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster to a runner-up finish in the season-opening event in Pomona, Calif., a quarterfinals showing in the second race in Phoenix, and was second in Top Fuel point standings going into the Gainesville event.
He is now sixth in NHRA Top Fuel point standings, 110 points out of the lead.
“We were fortunate that our misstep still left us well into the top eight for the championship chase,” said Bernstein. “We’ll test on Monday in Gainesville to prepare for our next race in Houston in two weeks.”
Tough Florida outing for Bernstein
Gainesville Raceway was the site of Brandon Bernstein’s second career victory in his 2003 rookie season. It was also the track where he first tested the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster before he took the reins following his father’s retirement. The track is certainly steeped in Bernstein tradition having been the location of Kenny Bernstein’s history-breaking ‘first to 300 mph’ run in 1992.
But at the NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals, the unthinkable happened. For the first time in his 80-race career, Brandon Bernstein was bumped from the field and failed to make the top 16 to run in Sunday’s eliminations. He held the third longest current consecutive qualifying streak in Top Fuel.
“The air was great today,” said Bernstein, “but the track has been tricky. We dropped a cylinder on that last run and that probably did us in.
“This team is strong and has a lot of talent. We will bounce back. On the flip side, I’m happy that my dad qualified and my role was to be there to support him.” Bernstein had driven his Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster to a runner-up finish in the season-opening event in Pomona, Calif., a quarterfinals showing in the second race in Phoenix, and was second in Top Fuel point standings going into the Gainesville event.
He is now sixth in NHRA Top Fuel point standings, 110 points out of the lead.
“We were fortunate that our misstep still left us well into the top eight for the championship chase,” said Bernstein. “We’ll test on Monday in Gainesville to prepare for our next race in Houston in two weeks.”
