Championship Drag Racing

Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals
Sonoma, CA
(July 28-30)

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Driver Profile

Brandon Bernstein MAV TV/Lucas Oil dragster

Sonoma, Sunday: For the second consecutive week, the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel team captured the prestigious $3,000 Full Throttle award for performance and consistency in qualifying. The team qualified in the No. 2 spot with a 4.532-second elapsed time at 327.11 miles per hour.

But all the strong, consistent runs made in qualifying were for naught as sunny conditions prevailed to heat the track up for the first round of eliminations.

Second-generation driver Brandon Bernstein faced off against Larry Dixon in the opening round. Both drivers had their struggles with loss of traction, and despite breaking a blower belt, Dixon got to the finish line first.

“We had done so well in qualifying once again,” said Bernstein. “We kept pace with the field in both cool and sunny conditions and thought we knew where the edge was, but we stepped over it.

“We’ve got to stand on the gas now to make up for the ground we lost on the Western Swing. It’s obvious we’re capable of running competitive numbers, and I know with Tim (Richards, crew chief) leading the charge, we can jump back in the dogfight.”

Bernstein is fourth in NHRA POWERade Top Fuel point standings.

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