Kenny Bernstein

Bernstein in 1996

Bernstein (red dragster in near lane) reversing back to the start line after a burnout. Larry Dixon is opposite Bernstein.

Bernstein's 1987 Funny Car, which had just set the record for the first elapsed time below 5.4 seconds

Kenny Bernstein (born September 6, 1944 in Clovis, New Mexico), is an American drag racing driver and former NASCAR owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King dragster, he has also been nicknamed "The King of Speed," because he was the first driver to break 300 miles per hour.

[edit] Drag racing career

Bernstein first became a full-time professional Funny Car driver in 1979, although he had participated in a few events in preceding years. The following year, he acquired a sponsorship deal from Anheuser-Busch (which, as noted above, is with its Budweiser brand), which has lasted 29 years, but will come to an end following the 2009 season as Anheuser-Busch's new, foreign ^[1] owner, InBev, decided not to renew their contract^[2]. New sponsor, COPARTS signed a contract with Kenny Bernstein himself on 9-4-2009. Bernstein won his first Funny Car championship in 1985, and successfully defended his title over the next three seasons.

In 1990, following a change in NHRA rules, Bernstein began to drive in the Top Fuel Dragster class. Two years later, Bernstein became the first driver in any class to exceed 300 MPH in competition, and won his first Top Fuel championship in 1996, becoming the first driver in NHRA history to win a championship in both of the nitro classes, however, Bernstein states that his 1996 championship was "somewhat tainted", due to the loss of driver Blaine Johnson. At the awards banquet that year, Bernstein gave up his championship trophy to Blaine's brother, and life long crew chief Alan, who has gone on to win eight more championship trophies himself, as crew chief for both Gary Scelzi, and Tony Schumacher. Bernstein reclaimed the title in 2001, and is the only driver to have achieved multiple championships in both nitro categories.

Bernstein retired in 2002, handing driving duties of the "Budweiser King" to his son, Brandon Bernstein. However, Kenny returned to the car in June 2003 after his son suffered a season-ending broken back. Although he only raced in 15 events, Bernstein picked up right where he had left off, winning four straight Top Fuel events to close out the season, placing him sixth in season points. He returned to running his team after the season, but rumors began to persist that a comeback was in the works.

In September 2006, Bernstein announced that he would return to racing in the Funny Car division the following season, fielding the Monster Energy Dodge Charger for his own team. His return to active competition was not a good one to start, as he failed to qualify for the opening two events in the 2007 season, earning the minimum 10 points each driver gets for making at least one qualifying run. Following those events, Bernstein fired his crew chief Ray Alley and replaced him with Jimmy Walsh, former crew chief for Top Fuel driver J.R. Todd.

Bernstein's results gradually improved over the season, but he didn't make the inaugural Countdown to the Championship. He returned to retirement following the season and hired Tommy Johnson, Jr. to drive the Monster Energy Charger for 2008.

Bernstein is the current president of the Professional Racers Organisation (PRO), a group of NHRA drivers, mechanics, and team owners, which has helped influence safety and prize money. In light of crash that took the life of Eric Medlen, Bernstein has been influential in adjusting safety standards on NHRA race cars and safety restraints.

In 2008, as a direct result of the death of Funny Car Driver Scott Kalitta, Bernstein, along with help from 14 time Funny Car Champion John Force, six time Top Fuel Champion Tony Schumacher, and NHRA's Track Safety Committee, developed a sensor that monitors the engines of Top Fuel dragsters, and Funny Cars. Should the engine backfire at any time, the fuel pump will automatically shut off, and the parachutes will instantly deploy. This measure is intended to reduce, if not completely eliminate the kinds of circumstances that contributed to Kalitta's death.

[edit] Owner

Bernstein owned King Racing, a NASCAR team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the same he operated the IndyCar team King Motorsports. Bernstein is the only team owner to record victories in all three categories.

[edit] Awards

• Named sixth on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000
• Kenny is the second race car driver to be elected into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. (2006) Jody Scheckter was elected in 1983.
• Bernstein was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009.^[3]

[edit] Trivia

• A 1991 NASCAR Racing Champions diecast car bears the name Kenny Bernstein on the collector card, but Bernstein is the owner, not the driver. Brett Bodine was the driver at the time, although it was probably not known by Racing Champions before press time.
• Bernstein and former crew chief Dale Armstrong are often credited with making aerodynamics a key part of Funny Car design, with a series of Ford Tempos used during the 1984-86 seasons and a design loosely based on a Buick LeSabre, known as "the Batmobile", during the 1987 season.

• Bernstein was the first driver to win Championships in both Funny Car, and Top Fuel, a feat recently duplicated by Gary Scelzi.

• Bernstien's relationship with Budweiser is the longest sponsor relationship in motorsports history with 30 years (either him or his son), that started in 1979.

• At the end of the 1996 season, during the awards banquet, Kenny gave his Top Fuel Championship trophy to Alan Johnson, the crew chief, and brother to deceased Top Fuel competitor Blaine Johnson, who had died during qualifying that year, at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Johnson had been leading the Top Fuel points at the time of his death and was the favorite to clinch the Top Fuel title in 1996. Though Blaine did not get to compete in the last quarter of the season, he had amassed enough points to finish fifth in the season ending points standings.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bernstein Racing
• NHRA profile