BRISTOL, Tenn. (May 1) -- The Budweiser/Lucas Oil team showed continued performance progress by nabbing the No. 1 qualifying spot at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, and setting elapsed time and speed marks for the event.

Rain played havoc with the two qualifying days, but competitors were able to get one qualifying lap on the books and set the starting field. Second generation driver Brandon Bernstein claimed his seventh career Budweiser Shootout low qualifier award with a 4.539/324.83. It was his second pole at Bristol Dragway and his first of the 2005 season.

In the opening round of eliminations against David Baca, the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team served up low elapsed time and top speed of the event with a 4.512/331.04 to defeat Baca's tire-smoking 11.794/81.19.

"Tim and the team have this Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster on kill,” said Bernstein. “Everything is really starting to come together."

In the second round, Bernstein was out of the starting gate first but lost traction down track while Scott Weis collected the round win.

“We were on another good pass, but the car got loose about half track,” said Bernstein. “These cars will humble you. You think you have the tune-up on a string, and then it kicks the tires loose.

“Tim (Richards, crew chief), Kim (Richards) and the team have made great strides these last two races. We’re working on the consistency, but it was a thrill to be the No. 1 qualifier at this event and put down event-best numbers in the first round.”

Bernstein maintains ninth place in POWERade Top Fuel point standings.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Brandon Bernstein and the Kenny Bernstein-owned Budweiser/Lucas Oil team visited victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2003, young Bernstein’s rookie year.

Though the season hasn’t started out as well as they would have liked, the team is confident that the tide is beginning to turn and they hope for a final round showing at the Thunder Valley Nationals April 29 – May 1.

“This is only my third season behind the wheel,” said Bernstein, “but I got spoiled. The first two seasons we already had some victories in the bag by this time. This season our team is hungry.

“Tim (Richards, crew chief), Kim (Richards) and the team have worked really hard and at our last event in Vegas we saw real progress in performance. We were the quickest of the last qualifying round and we had low elapsed time of round one. Now we have to work on consistency.

“Tim tuned us to a victory here in ’03 and there’s no question that this team has lots of talent. With a dash of luck in the recipe, and if I’m on my game, perhaps we’ll get to celebrate Sunday night.

“One thing that we’re extremely lucky to have on this team is true camaraderie,” continued Bernstein. “We all spend time together and enjoy each other’s company. It’s rare to find a team that gets along like we do. So without a doubt, I can say that every man and woman puts forth 100 percent effort and we all pull together.”

Bernstein, NHRA’s 2003 AAA of Southern California Rookie of the Year, has six career victories on his resume, three earned in 2003, and three in 2004.

Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying for the Thunder Valley Nationals begins Friday, April 29 at 5 p.m. with a second session at 8 p.m. There are two rounds Saturday, 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. with final eliminations beginning Sunday at noon.

Kenny Bernstein nominated for American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Newsmaker of the Half-Century Award: Bernstein is one of 12 nominees for the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association’s Newsmaker of the Half-Century Award. The other nominees include: Mario Andretti, Dale Earnhardt, John Force, A.J. Foyt, the France family, Jeff Gordon, Dan Gurney, the Hulman-George family, Wally Parks, Roger Penske and Richard Petty. Nominees were selected by AARWBA’s Board of Directors from an original list of 50 “who’s who in motorsports.” The full AARWBA membership will vote for one of the 12 nominees and the winner will be announced at a public ceremony this May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“This is a fabulous honor,” said Bernstein. “I’m still pinching myself to make sure I heard this correctly. To be whittled down to the final 12 from the mega hit list of motorsports’ greatest newsmakers is unbelievable. And it’s very noteworthy that the drag racing side makes up 25 percent of the final nominees. We’re thrilled not only for ourselves, but for the recognition for our sport.”

THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
TELEVISION ADVISORY

Qualifying – April 30 – ESPN2
7 – 9 p.m. ET

Eliminations – May 1 – ESPN2
7 – 10 p.m. ET