Second-generation driver Brandon Bernstein improved to 10-1 in Top Fuel finals with a victory Sunday at the 42nd annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing. Bernstein traversed National Trail Raceway's quarter-mile in 4.531 seconds at 329.58 mph to beat veteran Cory McClenathan. Bernstein was joined in the winner's circle by Funny Car winner Tony Pedregon, Pro Stock champ Jim Yates, and Pro Stock Motorcycle victor Angelle Sampey.

Pedregon's win was his second in a row in the sport's crowded Funny Car class. He beat Whit Bazemore in the final despite Bazemore's lane-choice advantage. Yates became the eighth different Pro Stock winner of the first eight races by trouncing a quicker Vieri Gaines at the starting line. Sampey regained the POWERade points lead with her third win of the season, which has featured only four Pro Stock Motorcycle races so far.

Brandon Bernstein

When Bernstein gets his Budweiser dragster to a final, he's tough to beat, as witnessed by his 10th victory of his first 11 chances. The son of drag racing legend Kenny Bernstein saved his best run of the weekend for the money round, posting a 4.531 at 329.58 mph to easily dismiss McClenathan's surrendering 5.784 at 147.47 mph.

This was Bernstein's second win of the year. McClenathan, who ran a special-edition Jeg's Mail Order car at this event, fell to 28-20 lifetime. His last win was more than two years ago in Atlanta.

"When Tim [Richards, crew chief] gets on a roll, he's tough to beat," Bernstein said. "By the time you get to the final, you just have such a good feeling, especially with the success we've had in finals. It seems Tim always delivers either our best pass of the weekend or at the very least keeps us repeating what we've done in previous rounds.

"I think we're contenders. We certainly have the car and the capability to win the championship. This team has gotten it done before. [Melanie Troxel] has a good lead on all of us, but we have a long way to go this year, and if you can have a few days like today when she goes out early and you go on, it doesn't take long to catch up."

All four of Bernstein's Sunday runs were in the 4.5-second range. His biggest win was in the semi’s when he took out beer rival Larry Dixon by .013-second in a thrilling side-by-side contest.

Season-long points leader Troxel padded her lead over second-place Doug Kalitta by 22 points to 154 at this event. Bernstein is now third, just 21 behind Dave Grubnic.

Tony Pedregon

It wasn't the prettiest win of his career, but Pedregon was thrilled with his 31st Funny Car triumph. Although he seemingly had some sort of engine trouble in every round, he held off all comers and got to Bazemore, who lost engine power at half-track and watched Pedregon win with a slowing 4.923 at 313.66 mph in the Q Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

"We put so much time and effort into what we do," Pedregon said. "On the surface it seems like such a glamorous job, but it's a lot of work just to get to the track. To win one race out here is very difficult. To win two in a row is fantastic. This is a huge victory for us.

"We didn't have any parts damage in qualifying, then we come in today and for some reason, our tune-up got touchy when the conditions and climate varied. We usually don't have much damage, but today we did. We had to switch motors every round. We’ve got eight motors in the trailer and we used four of them today, but it was worth it."

Pedregon's consecutive wins have lifted him from 12th to sixth place in the points. Bazemore scooted up two spots to eighth overall. Points leader Ron Capps lost in the first round for the second race in a row, but once again the damage was minimal because his closest pursuer, John Force, also bowed out in round one. Capps' lead is now 91 points.

Jim Yates

Breaking a winless streak spanning three-and-a-half years, two-time Pro Stock champion Yates used a giant holeshot in his Sea Ray Boats Pontiac GTO against a game Gaines to take his 25th trophy. Yates, who last won in 2002 at the Reading race, left the starting line with a .040-second reaction time to Gaines' costly .082. The early advantage was enough to reward Yates the win by .0032-second, matching the closest Professional race-win margin of the day.

The numbers showed Yates collecting the win with a 6.726 at 205.72 mph, just ahead of Gaines' quicker but losing 6.687 at 206.23 mph. By winning the race, Yates became the eighth different winner in the class this year. Only the 2002 season, which began with nine different winners, has had more variety in the winner's circle.

"With 'Grump' [Bill Jenkins] handling the motors and Jamie tuning the chassis, we feel like we've got all the golf clubs in our bag to win," Yates said. "Now we need to go out there and hit the ball right. We did it today. We got that monkey off our backs.

"Before the final, Jamie told me he needed some help on the Tree because he didn't think we had enough in the tune-up to win. So I told him I'd get it done. We're a team, and we all contribute. I tell you, it's such a joy to work with my son and my wife. It makes it so special for all of us."

Yates' win helped him move around Erica Enders and into third place in the rankings, 48 behind points leader Greg Anderson. Gaines' winless streak is even longer than Yates' was: He last tasted victory in 2001 at the Dallas event. He is now 2-3 with a trophy on the line.

Angelle Sampey

After a close start, Sampey blew the wheels off challenger Matt Smith in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final with her quickest run of the weekend to take her third victory of the first four races. Her 7.046 at 188.52 mph on the U.S. Army Suzuki was just too much for Smith's 7.122 at 185.31 mph on his Torco/Skull Gear S&S Buell V-Twin.

This was the 40th victory of Sampey's 139-race career, extending the all-time record for female drag racers. Smith took solace in his third final-round appearance, which lifted him from 12th to sixth in the points. Prior to this race, Smith hadn't won a round this season.

"My goal this year was for the rest of the Pro Stock Motorcycles to hate the U.S. Army Suzukis," Sampey said. "I learned a long time ago that if everyone else hates you, then you're doing good. Between me and Antron, we've won all four races this year, so I'm sure the hatred is building out there.

"We ran our best time in the final round because that was the first pass all weekend that the bike went straight. All the credit in the world goes to Steve Tartaglia, our crew chief. No one works harder than him. I worry that he works too hard sometimes.

"You don't count the points now. It's a long season. Just look at this year. I won the first two races and Antron only won one and he took the points lead from me. That's how quick it turns. I've learned to just enjoy the wins when they come and not think about the championship."

Sampey regained the points lead she held after the first two races. The three-time series champion now leads reigning champ Andrew Hines by 36 points, and Brown, who led coming into this event, slipped to third, 74 off the pace.

E-mail this article   Print this article