Bernstein in 1990Bernstein (red dragster in near lane) reversing back to the start line after a burnout. Larry Dixon is opposite Bernstein.Crew chief Dale Armstrong working on his carBernstein's 1987 Funny Car, which had just set the record for the first elapsed time below 5.4 seconds
Kenneth Dale Bernstein (born September 6, 1944) is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King funny car and dragster. He has also been nicknamed the "King of Speed," because he was the first driver to break 300 miles per hour in the standing-start quarter mile. Bernstein owned King Racing, which he drove for in the NHRA and fielded various cars in other racing series such as IndyCar and NASCAR. Bernstein retired from full-time competition in 2002 and moved his son Brandon into the Bud King Top Fuel dragster, but returned to finish the season in place of his son after Brandon suffered a severe injury. With the exception of a brief return to Funny Car in 2007, Bernstein did not return to the car and instead continued to run his team until the end of the 2011 season when he left drag racing altogether.
At the 1978 NHRA Summernationals at Englishtown, Bernstein drove the Chelsea Kingfunny car.[2] He first became a full-time professional Funny Car driver in 1979. The following year, he acquired a sponsorship deal from Anheuser-Busch (with its Budweiser brand), which lasted for thirty years[citation needed] until the new owner of Anheuser-Busch, InBev, elected not to renew his contract. Bernstein won his first Funny Car championship in 1985, and successfully defended his title over the next three seasons.[citation needed]
In 1990, following a change in NHRA rules, Bernstein began to drive in the Top FuelDragster 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 lifelong crew chief, Alan, who has gone on to win twelve more championship trophies himself, as crew chief for Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham, Shawn Langdon and Brittany Force. 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. However, he was pressed back into action as a substitute driver after Brandon Bernstein broke his back in June. 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 EnergyDodge 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 did not 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 discontinued the team following that season.
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 the 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 or eliminate circumstances that contributed to Kalitta's death.
After Budweiser stopped sponsoring his team, Bernstein signed Copart Inc. to sponsor Brandon's dragster. They were joined by Lucas Oil for 2011.
On November 15, 2011, two days after the close of the 2011 racing season, Bernstein announced his full retirement from NHRA racing as both driver and team owner.[6]
Owner
Bernstein owned King Racing, a NASCAR team that operated from 1986 to 1995. At the same he operated the IndyCar team, King Motorsports. Bernstein is the only team owner to record victories in all three categories. His team raced at the 1988 Indianapolis 500 with Jim Crawford behind the wheel. Crawford, still recovering from leg injuries from the previous year, led 8 laps and finished 6th.
Awards
Named sixth on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000
Bernstein and former crew chief Dale Armstrong are often credited with making aerodynamics a key part of Funny Car design, with a design loosely based on the Buick LeSabre, in 1987.[3] Designed by the Arivett brothers, this car would be dubbed the “Batmobile”.[4] It would profoundly change Funny Car aerodynamics.[5]
Bernstein's relationship with Budweiser was one of the longest sponsor-driver relationships in motorsports history with 30 years (either him or his son), that started in 1979.[citation needed]
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world.
Donald Glenn Garlits is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field of drag racing, he perfected the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster, an innovation motivated by the loss of part of his foot in a dragster accident. This design was notably safer since it put most of the fuel processing and rotating parts of the dragster behind the driver. The driver was placed in front of nearly all the mechanical components, thus protecting him and allowing him to activate a variety of safety equipment in the event of catastrophic mechanical failure or a fire. Garlits was an early promoter of the full-body, fire-resistant Nomex driving suit, complete with socks, gloves, and balaclava.
Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers' showroom models. They also have the engine placed in front of the driver, as opposed to dragsters, which place it behind the driver.
Shirley Muldowney, also known professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is an American auto racer. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a Top Fuel dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980, and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She won a total of 18 NHRA national events.
John Harold Force is an American NHRA drag racer. He is a 16-time NHRA and 1 time AHRA Funny Car champion driver and a 22-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing (JFR). He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 155 career victories. He graduated from Bell Gardens High School and briefly attended Cerritos Junior College to play football. He is the father of drag racers Ashley Force Hood, Brittany Force, and Courtney Force. His oldest daughter Adria Hight is the CFO of JFR.
Don Prudhomme, nicknamed "the Snake", is an American drag racer.
Gary Scelzi is an American dragster racer and midget car owner who has won the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship on three occasions and the Funny Car title once. In 1997 he won the title in his first full year of competition, after replacing Blaine Johnson, who had been killed at the 1996 US Nationals, while leading the top fuel championship, in the Johnson family-owned car. He has not competed in NHRA competition since the 2008 season.
Tony Schumacher, is an American drag racer who is an eight-time NHRA Champion. He is the son of NHRA legend Don Schumacher, but despite their identical surname the family is not related to the Formula 1 drivers Michael Schumacher and Ralf Schumacher.
Conrad "Connie" Kalitta is an American businessman and former drag racing driver, nicknamed "The Bounty Hunter." Kalitta is the CEO of Kalitta Air and the owner of Kalitta Motorsports.
Blaine Hiram Johnson was a professional drag racer.
Scott D. Kalitta was an American drag racer who competed in the Funny Car and Top Fuel classes in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He had 17 career Top Fuel wins and one career Funny Car win. At the time of his death, due to an accident during race qualifying, he was one of 14 drivers to win in both divisions. He was the son of veteran NHRA driver and crew chief Connie Kalitta.
Larry Dixon Jr. is an American professional drag racer in the NHRA. Larry is the son of Larry Dixon Sr., who won Top Fuel Eliminator at the 1970 NHRA Winternationals.
Maple Grove Raceway (MGR) is a quarter-mile dragstrip located near Mohnton, Pennsylvania, just outside Reading. It opened in 1962 as a 1/5-mile dragstrip. It was eventually lengthened to its current quarter-mile length in 1964. The track has been sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association for most of its existence. It has hosted an NHRA national event since 1985. Uni-Select Auto Plus came aboard as the Nationals sponsor in 2011. Other key events include the American Drag Racing League, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the Geezers Reunion at The Grove, the Super Chevy Show, Mopar Action, Fun Ford Weekend and the NHRA Pennsylvania Dutch Classic.
Dale Armstrong was a Canadian drag racer and crew chief. After winning 12 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and 12 International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) events in the 1970s, including the Pro Comp title in 1975, he became Kenny Bernstein's crew chief. The combination produced four consecutive national championships in Funny Car and another in Top Fuel. Bernstein became the first driver to top the 300 miles per hour mark in an engine tuned by Armstrong. Armstrong has been inducted in numerous halls of fame. He died on November 28, 2014, at his home in Temecula, California, at the age of 73. He had sarcoidosis.
Tom McEwen was an American drag racer who was a winner of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) U.S. Nationals. His racing career spanned 45 years. He is ranked at number 16 on a list of the 50 most significant drivers of NHRA’s first 50 years.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is a drag racing series organized by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). It is the top competition series of the NHRA, comprising competition in four classes, including Top Fuel Dragster, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Cruz Pedregon is a 2-time NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car Champion from Torrance, California. He is the brother of Tony Pedregon, also a two-time Funny Car Champion & Frank Pedregon Jr. who has won multiple NHRA National Events. He currently races for his own team, Cruz Pedregon Racing, Inc.
Del Worsham is an American NHRA Funny car driver who began his professional career as a driver in Pomona, California, in 1990. Worsham drives a Lucas Oil sponsored car Worsham Racing, a family team. Through the first five races of the 2011 season, he has amassed 33 career victories, eight in the Top Fuel Series and 25 in the Funny Car Series. In 1991, Worsham became the youngest driver to win a Funny Car event and went on to win the NHRA Rookie of the Year. His best finish in the Point Standings first came in 2011 when he won the NHRA Full Throttle Championship in Top Fuel. In 2015, Worsham won the NHRA Mello Yello Championship in Funny Car. He became the third driver to win championships in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, joining Kenny Bernstein and Gary Scelzi in this category.
Ed McCulloch, nicknamed "The Ace", is an American dragster and funny car driver.
The 1978 NHRA Summernationals were a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing event, held at Englishtown, New Jersey, on 16 July.
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