O'Reilly Summer Nationals competitors knew that race day at Heartland Park was going to be tricky.
The thermometer would hit 90 degrees and track temperatures would soar making a slick racing
surface. Crew chiefs knew the key to winning rounds would be getting to the finish line under
power.
The Budweiser/Lucas Oil team continued their strong qualifying performance (3.887/307.02), nabbing
the No. 4 starting berth for the third time this season.
In the first round of race day competition, Bernstein faced off against Doug Kalitta.
Bernstein was first out of the gate and never looked back, crossing the finish line with a
3.985/297.22 vs. Kalitta's 4.080. 293.41.
"Doug is always on his game at the starting line," said Bernstein, "and you really have to be up
and ready because how quickly you get out of the gate is a critical factor in winning a round.
Our Budweiser/Lucas Oil team puts in a lot of effort and I don't want to let them down. "Rob
(Flynn, crew chief), Mike (Guger, assistant crew chief) and the team did a great job with the
tune-up."
In the quarterfinals, Bernstein and Clay Millican were off to a great looking race, but the
Bud/Lucas Oil dragster lost traction and spun the tires about half track and then hooked back up
again to no avail as Millican crossed the finish line first, 4.026/295.46 vs. Bernstein's
4.097/280.31.
"That was a backbreaker," said Bernstein. "We have a good car but that quick slip of the tires
probably cost us the round win. "Ironically the top four point leaders all lost in the second
round so theoretically we stayed pretty much status quo."
Bernstein is third in NHRA Full Throttle standings, 66 points out of the lead, and 23 out of second
place.
