Wed, 29 Oct 2003, 09:15 AM Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award to Be Decided by Media

Courtesy of NHRA Communications

GLENDORA, Calif. -- Vote For the first time in NHRA history, the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner will be determined by a special vote from a distinguished panel of motorsports journalists.

Two candidates -- Top Fuel drivers David Baca and Brandon Bernstein -- have been nominated for the prestigious award, which recognizes NHRA's top rookie performer each year.

The select 39-member panel of auto racing journalists will determine the winner via special ballot. The winner will be revealed Nov. 10 during the annual NHRA Awards Ceremony, held at the spectacular Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

The winner receives $20,000 and a commemorative trophy.

Baca, 45, drives the American Racing Wheels dragster and has posted two No. 1 qualifying awards and one final round appearance. He is currently sixth in NHRA POWERade points and has posted career best performance of 4.49 seconds at 326 mph.

Bernstein, 31, drove the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster to three victories, two top qualifying performances, led the POWERade points standings for one race and posted a runner-up finish in the lucrative Budweiser Shootout, an all-star race for Top Fuel competitors, before his season was cut short following a crash at Englishtown, N.J.

Past winners of the award include Gene Wilson, Darrell Russell, GT Tonglet, Don Lampus, Melanie Troxel, Scotty Cannon, Antron Brown, Jeg Coughlin, Doug Kalitta, Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps, Mike Edwards, Matt Hines, Tony Pedregon, Larry Dixon, Bob Vandergriff, Kurt Johnson, Danielle DePorter, Del Worsham and K.C. Spurlock.

The 39-member media panel includes (in alphabetical order):

Mark Armijo, Arizona Republic
Jon Asher, RACER Magazine
Steve Ballard, Indianapolis Star
Bobby Bennett, Competitionplus.com
Terry Blount, Dallas Morning News
Louis Brewster, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Mike Brudenell, Detroit Free Press
Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune
Bill Coats, St. Louis Post Dispatch
Dave Despain, Speed TV's Wind Tunnel
Chris Dolack, Auto Racing Digest
Damian Dottore, Orange County Register
Tony Fabrizio, Tampa Tribune
Shav Glick, LA Times
Gary Graves, USA Today
Kyle Hardner, Newark Star-Ledger
Roger Hart, AutoWeek
Brian Hilderbrand, Las Vegas Sun
Richard Huff, New York Daily News
Tim Jeffreys, The Fast Track on KNBR 1050 San Francisco
Tom Jensen, National Speed Sport News
Evan Jones, Reading Eagle
John Kernan, RPM 2Night and RPM Radio
Ron Martin, Westwood One's Focus on Racing Radio
Mike McKean, Santa Maria Times
Jane Miller, Peoria Journal-Star
Jim Pedley, Kansas City Star
Thomas Pope, Fayetteville Observer-Times
Steve Ramirez, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Kenny Sargent, SpeedFreaks on KSPN 710 Los Angeles
Pete Schnatz, Philadelphia Inquirer
Jim Short, Riverside Press-Enterprise
Bill Stephens, NHRA 2Day and ESPN.com
Joe Stiglich, Contra Costa Times
Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News
John Sturbin, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Susan Wade, Dragracingonline.com
Don Wilno, Asbury Park Press
Jeff Wolf, Las Vegas Review-Journal