Legends ready to race on The Strip

Wednesday, April 3, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

Two of drag racing's living legends will take center stage this weekend when the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series returns to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the third annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

John Force, the 11-time NHRA Funny Car champion, will make his third attempt to capture his 100th career NHRA win. Force, 52, earned his 99th career victory at the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., then lost in the final at Phoenix two weeks later and was ousted in the first round of eliminations last month in Gainesville, Fla.

"I'll get it this year," Force said of his milestone victory. "It's destiny and maybe it will happen in Las Vegas."

Force would become the first drag racer and only the third driver in a major North American motor sports series to reach the 100-win plateau, joining NASCAR drivers Richard Petty (200 wins) and David Pearson (105) -- both of whom are retired.

Force, who has not advanced past the second round of eliminations in three trips to Las Vegas, comes into the weekend leading the NHRA Funny Car points standings by 34 points over Del Worsham.

The Strip at LVMS is the only track on the NHRA schedule where Force has failed to win.

Sharing the spotlight with Force this week will be Kenny Bernstein, the six-time NHRA champion who has won the previous two NHRA spring events at The Strip. Bernstein, 57, announced last year that he would retire from driving at the end of this season and turn the reins of his Budweiser King Top Fuel dragster over to his son, Brandon.

This weekend will mark the first of two visits by Bernstein to Las Vegas this season on his "Forever Red -- A Run to Remember" farewell tour; the NHRA will stage its second annual fall race at The Strip in late October.

In three trips to Las Vegas, Bernstein has two wins and a runner-up finish (in last year's inaugural fall event) and is favored by local odds makers to win his third consecutive spring event in Las Vegas.

"We've been to the final round two out of three races this season," Bernstein said. "We've had a lot of success at The Strip, winning both spring races since the track opened. We hope to be able to capitalize on that success, and roll the dice for another win."

Bernstein, who is looking for his first win of 2002, will have plenty of competition this week from Top Fuel points leader Larry Dixon. Dixon, who has two wins in three final-round appearances this season, leads Bernstein by 105 points in the category.

Of local interest, Las Vegas businessman George Marnell will attempt to turn around his luck in the spring event here with his Matco Tools-sponsored Pontiac Grand Am Pro Stock entry. In the two previous NHRA spring events here, Marnell has failed to qualify for Sunday's final eliminations.

Marnell, who earned his second career Pro Stock victory at the season-opening Winternationals, advanced to the semifinals at the fall event here last year before he was eliminated by eventual champion Mark Pawuk.

The third annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals gets under way Thursday morning with qualifying in the sportsman categories. Qualifying for the professional categories begins Friday afternoon.

Third annual SummitRacing.com