Bernstein’s son steps into NHRA hot seat

Wednesday, April 2, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

IF YOU GO

What: NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals, round 4 of the 23-race National Hot Rod Association Powerade Drag Racing Series

When: Thursday through Sunday

Where: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Times: Racing begins at 8 a.m. Thursday (Sportsman categories), 7:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday

Tickets: Single-day tickets range from $15 (general admission) on Thursday to $60 (reserved) on Sunday; full event passes start at $100

TV: Saturday, 7-9 p.m., ESPN2 (tape); Sunday, 11 a.m.-noon, ESPN and 8-10 p.m., ESPN2 (tape).

Replacing a legend has its inherent challenges. When that person also happens to be your father, the pressure is multiplied.

When Kenny Bernstein decided to retire as driver of the Budweiser Top Fuel dragster at the end of last season and put his son, Brandon, into the cockpit, he knew he would be the subject of lofty expectations.

After all, the elder Bernstein had piloted the familiar red dragster to 35 national-event victories and two NHRA championships -- including the 2001 Top Fuel crown -- in 13 seasons.

As part of the process of grooming his son to take over, Kenny cautioned Brandon, 30, to forget about the past and concentrate on the present. In other words, "What has been there before doesn't mean anything at this stage; this is a new game," Kenny said.

Brandon Bernstein has proven to be a quick study. After a first-round loss in the season opener in Pomona, Calif., he earned his first Top Fuel victory two weeks later in Chandler, Ariz., in only his second career start in the category. As if to prove that was no rookie fluke, Bernstein went out and won the next race, the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Bernstein heads into this weekend's NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with two victories and trails reigning Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon by only 17 points in the series standings.

So much for pressure.

"I didn't really let that get into my head too much," Bernstein said of the expectations some had placed on him. "It was really just a matter of doing the best that I could do when I get into the racecar and then hopefully we win rounds and win races that way.

"I really didn't listen to all the pressure (or) let the pressure build inside me; I was just like, 'Just go out there and do the best you can at the start of the season and we'll just see where we end up.' "

Although his father said he knew his son was capable of winning races, Brandon admitted to being taken aback by his early success.

"It has been pretty overwhelming, actually," he said. "We knew that this team would be competitive out of the gate because it's the same team coming back from last year and all the guys on the crew are the same guys. We knew that we would have a competitive car and everything and, yeah, there's a little asterisk there, seeing how I would do in the racecar.

"But I felt really comfortable in the racecar at testing and, as it has shown the past two or three weeks, we've been more and more comfortable in the racecar. It has been fun but it's still a learning curve. We're still learning here and I'm still learning every time I go down the track."

After watching his father win the Top Fuel title two years ago and battle Dixon down to the wire last season before finishing second in the championship, Bernstein said there is no reason why he can't challenge for the title.

"With this team and with this car, we knew that we could be competitive and gun for that championship," he said. "I didn't really set any goals for the year, per se, but the main goal was to win the championship -- that's what we're out here for. I guess if you would say that I had a goal, that was my goal.

"Granted, it is our rookie year but this was the same team coming back and I knew, in my mind, that I could do the job of driving the racecar."

So did Kenny.

"The goal is to win the championship and it certainly is not out of the question from a rookie driver -- it has been done before," Kenny said. "The team is extremely good. Tim Richards is a great crew chief and the team is good -- and that's the first thing you have to have, is the mechanical side being as good as it can be. Certainly, that's in place; now it's up to Brandon to do the job in the cockpit and he's capable of doing that."

Brandon said he especially is looking forward to this weekend's race at The Strip, where he earned his first Top Alcohol Dragster victory in 2001 -- on the same day his father captured his second of two Top Fuel wins in Las Vegas. It marked the first time in NHRA history that a father and son had won their categories at the same national event.

"There's some definite history there with us and the Bernstein name," Brandon said. "I'm really excited about coming back to Vegas. This is my first time driving in Top Fuel there so I'm really excited about seeing if we can keep that Vegas tradition going."

Brandon said his father's success here in the dragster should give him an edge -- even if it is a psychological one -- this weekend.

"I think we do have a little bit of an edge because of how Tim and Kim (Richards) and the guys have done so well in Vegas in years past," he said. "The car has just run awesome in Vegas and obviously with the history, that was my first win ever there, and dad and I both winning there, it's a special place.

"It's really cool to come back there and I'm really looking forward to competing in Top Fuel because I think we do have a little bit of an edge -- but not much. It doesn't really play into going down the racetrack but it does because you can look back on those runs and kind of compare them."