Wed, 20 Oct 2004, 01:01 PM Bernstein to be Honored as Grand Marshal of the Elite Budweiser Shootout for Top Fuel

Courtesy of NHRA Communications Photo copyright 2004 Auto Imagery, Inc.

GLENDORA, Calif. --

Kenny Bernstein

Six-time NHRA POWERade champion Kenny Bernstein has been selected to be the Grand Marshal for the 20th annual Budweiser Shootout. It is the first time the special bonus event for Top Fuel has had a Grand Marshal.

Bernstein has one of the most successful sponsor relationships in motorsports history. Budweiser has sponsored Bernstein for nearly 30 years. As a driver Bernstein collected 69 national event victories in addition to his six championship. He remains the only driver in history to win a championship in both nitro categories.

"It's an honor to serve as Grand Marshal for the Budweiser Shootout," said Bernstein, a four-time winner of the Budweiser Shootout (2 TF, 2 FC). "We were one of the founding fathers of the Budweiser Shootout in the early 1980s and started the concept with the Funny Cars. Obviously since our sponsor is involved we take a very big interest in this specialty event and having competed in both the Bud Shootout for Funny Cars and Top Fuel a total of 19 times we can identify with the drivers who are putting it all on the line for a big $100,000 payday."

Bernstein retired at the end of the 2002 season, after racing the "Forever Red" farewell tour in each of the 20 cities that host the 23 NHRA POWERade Series events. His son, Brandon, took over the driving duties but was sidelined after just eight events because of injuries suffered in a crash. The elder Bernstein stepped back in the car, winning his final four races as a driver. Once the '03 season ended, Bernstein went back to his retirement job: Team Ownership.

Brandon Bernstein earned 3,150 points in Budweiser Shootout qualifying points, good enough for the No. 4 spot on the list. He will join the drivers seeded second through seventh in a draw party, which has been created to reveal several unknowns - including first-round pairings. Only top qualifier Doug Kalitta knows what position he will start from. He will be racing the lottery pick - one of eight potential drivers. One name from the No. 8-15 drivers will be selected in a lottery, determining who will face off with Kalitta.

The Budweiser Shootout Draw Party will start at 6 p.m. at "The Joint" at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on Oct. 28. Professional qualifying for the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals will start at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 29.

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