BERNSTEIN DRIVES TO SEMIFINALS IN SEASON FINALE; COUNTS ST. LOUIS VICTORY AS HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 6) – Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver Brandon Bernstein scored his seventh semifinal appearance of the 2005 season at the Automobile Club or Southern California Finals at Pomona Raceway. As in many races this season, the team set low elapsed time of one round in eliminations.

Bernstein qualified fourth for the season-ending event with a strong 4.491/325.45.

In the first round of eliminations, Bernstein clocked a consistent 4.498/327.82 to collect the round win while opponent Doug Kalitta struggled with loss of traction.

“I think the butterflies in my stomach are always the worst in first round,” said Bernstein. “But that run was very competitive and was second quick of the session. Tim (Richards) and the team made a very good tune-up call and we’re settling in for a good day.”

In round two, Bernstein faced off against Kalitta’

said Bernstein. “We’ve had some pretty aggressive numbers these first two rounds.”

In the semifinals against Tony Schumacher, Bernstein was out of the gate first but lost traction early in the run, while Schumacher advanced to the final.

“Our team wanted to end the season on a winning note,” said Bernstein. “Obviously we haven’t had the season we dreamed about, but we won two events and captured two No. 1 qualifying spots.

“The victory in St. Louis was the high point of the year. Not only were we able to celebrate in Budweiser’s backyard, but it was also the last race my grandfather attended before we lost him to cancer. It was very special to be able to dedicate the win to him.

“As far as the future goes, we are well into some research and development for next year and we’ll be excited when pre-season testing starts in January. We think we’ve got some innovations that will kick our performance up another notch. The entire team will be back in ’06 more determined than ever.”

Bernstein finished seventh in NHRA POWERade Top Fuel point standings.

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BUDWEISER/LUCAS OIL TEAM LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY TO END THE SEASON

POMONA, Calif. – Brandon Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, would like to end this season on a strong note. Bernstein will be competing in the Auto Club Finals Nov. 3-6, the final race in the NHRA 23-event series.

“If we could end on a strong note, that would allow us to ride a positive wave in the off-season,” said Bernstein. “This has been a rollercoaster year for our team. We’ve struggled some, but we’ve had flashes of brilliance. The best memory from the year will be winning in St. Louis and being able to dedicate that victory to my grandfather, Bert Bernstein, the last race he was able to attend before we lost him to cancer.

“I know our team will be burning the midnight oil through the off-season, and we’ll look forward to the beginning of ’06,” said Bernstein.

The Budweiser/Lucas Oil team has two victories (St. Louis and Seattle) going into the season finale along with No. 1 qualifying efforts at Bristol and Denver.

“We had an awesome first round elapsed time at the last race in Vegas,” said Bernstein. “It was low elapsed time of the round, a monster run as announcer Bob Frey put it. So we are right there. We just need consistency and I need to stay on my game. There’s some tough competition this year. We’ve proven we can win by taking two decisive victories. We’d love to add a third.”

Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying begins Thursday, Nov. 3 with a qualifying session at 3 p.m. followed by a second session at 3 p.m. Friday. There are two qualifying rounds Saturday, noon and 3 p.m., with eliminations Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.

AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FINALS
TELEVISION ADVISORY

Qualifying – Nov. 5 – ESPN2
10 p.m. – 12 a.m. ET

Eliminations – Nov. 6 – ESPN2
7 – 10 p.m. ET