Sun, 15 Feb 2009, 09:34 AM Kenny and Brandon Bernstein Two Generations of Racing Excellence

Courtesy of Susie Arnold Photo copyright 2009 Auto Imagery, Inc.

LAKE FOREST, Calif. --

Kenny Bernstein

With new crew chief Rob Flynn making the tune-up calls on the Kenny Bernstein-owned Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster for the 2009 season, the team is motivated and fighting for a seventh family championship, the first for second-generation driver Brandon.

Team owner Kenny Bernstein dominated Funny Car competition in the 1980s, racking up four consecutive NHRA championships (1985-1988) during a decade in which his team's technological advances changed the face of competition. He scored two more championships in Top Fuel (1996, 2001), becoming the first driver in NHRA history to win championships in both nitro categories. But above his championships, Kenny calls his greatest and most memorable achievement becoming the first in history to surpass the 300 mile-per-hour barrier (1992).

Kenny Bernstein

Kenny holds the unique distinction of being the first and only race team owner to have collected wins in each of America's three major motorsports series: NHRA drag racing, NASCAR, and CART. He was nominated for the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association Newsmaker of the Half-Century award (2005), voted in the top 10 on NHRA's 50 Greatest Drivers list (2001) and has been inducted into the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame (2006) and the Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame (2007).

Kenny stepped out of the cockpit in 2002 and passed his helmet and the keys to the company car to his son Brandon who followed his father's winning ways writing his own entry in the history book which stands today. Brandon is credited with having the most successful career launch of any other Top Fuel or Funny Car driver in the sport, having won five times in his first 13 starts.

Brandon Bernstein

Kenny Bernstein

Brandon has 17 career victories to his credit. In his inaugural year behind the wheel of his father's legendary dragster, Brandon won "Rookie of the Year" honors. In 2007, he pursued the NHRA Top Fuel championship to the semifinals of the season-ending event finishing third in point standings for the second consecutive year, his third career top three finish.

Brandon, a soccer star at Jesuit High School in Dallas, proclaimed his desire to follow in his father's racing footsteps during his high school years. Before he was invited to join the race team, Kenny insisted his son get a college degree. In 1996, Brandon graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology. Shortly after graduation, Brandon joined his father's team as a crew member beginning with menial tasks, gradually assuming more responsibility. He is now actively involved in the day-to-day management of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team.

Brandon Bernstein

The familiar Budweiser logo has adorned some of the fastest NHRA nitro-breathing race cars for three decades. Between the two drivers, the Budweiser-sponsored cars have claimed 85 NHRA national event victories, with Kenny scoring 68 of them (29 Funny Car and 39 Top Fuel). The duo also made history in 2001 at "The Strip" at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, becoming the first father-son combo in NHRA history to win the same event - a feat they would duplicate at Chicago later that year.

Kenny's expertise extends far beyond the driver's seat. As the namesake of Kenny Bernstein Racing, he is a merchandiser, salesman and avid brand ambassador. His combination of professionalism, commitment and competitiveness has made him a motorsports icon.

The Budweiser crew celebrates 30 years.

Early one morning in 1979, Kenny Bernstein arrived in St. Louis to sell Budweiser on sponsorship of his race team, parking his transporter and Funny Car in the Anheuser-Busch employee parking lot. Thus began the longest running sponsor/team relationship in motorsports history - Budweiser and Kenny Bernstein Racing celebrating 30 years together this season.

"Obviously, we're very proud to have enjoyed the kind of relationship we've had with Budweiser," said six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein. "We are deeply indebted to the brand for the unmatched support it has provided over three decades."

The Bernstein/Budweiser partnership eclipses Richard Petty's 28-year primary sponsorship by Scientifically Treated Petroleum (STP).