Championship Drag Racing

Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis, IN
(August 29-September 3)

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Brandon Bernstein MAV TV/Lucas Oil dragster

Indianapolis, Monday: Debuting a commemorative Elvis 30th Anniversary paint scheme, the Kenny Bernstein-owned Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel team was a fan favorite at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. To add to the Elvis sensation, driver Brandon Bernstein was decked out in a white jumpsuit-style, “blinged” out fire suit with Oakley blue suede driving shoes, fashion worthy of the King of Rock ‘n Roll.

Budweiser supported the annual Elvis celebration in August with a Bernstein/Dale Earnhardt Jr. ‘One Night Stand’ promotion on the first night of the “Music and Movies” series on the front lawn of Graceland. Earnhardt, Jr. also sported a commemorative Elvis paint scheme on his Budweiser No. 8 Chevy on the NASCAR circuit.

At O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Bernstein qualified 12th with a 4.568/324.36.

In the opening round of eliminations, the second generation driver piloted “The King” to a round win over a tire-smoking David Grubnic with an impressive low elapsed time of eliminations, 4.525 seconds, at 324.90 mph.

“That was an awesome run,” said Bernstein, “Tim (Richards, crew chief) had a great set-up. Even with hot, tricky track conditions he has the ability and talent to pour a lot of power into the tune-up and still make the car stick to the track.”

In the second round of eliminations, Bernstein faced off against Melanie Troxel. The two had nearly identical reaction times and were neck and neck to the finish line, where Troxel scored the winning edge with a 4.606/325.77 to Bernstein’s 4.620/319.82.

“That was a close race,” said Bernstein. “With four races until the Countdown to Four, every round counts. You hold your breath until you qualify for the field, and then try to calm the butterflies that build up before each round. We’re hanging in at fourth but we’ve got four competitive cars behind us breathing down our exhaust pipes.”

Bernstein is 86 points out of the lead.

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