Sat, 10 Nov 2001, 01:46 PM Bernstein and 'Forever Red'

Courtesy of Susie Arnold The Perfect Crowning Touch

POMONA, Calif. -- Racing seemed to flow through Kenny Bernstein’s veins about the time he was old enough to sit on his grandfather’s lap and drive a truck around his grandfather’s farm in the country suburbs of Farwell, Texas. As he grew old enough to get a driver’s license, he was captivated by cars, did some cruising through the local Hi-De-Ho high school hangout, and a little racing through the country roads of Texas. He played football and read hot rod magazines until they fell apart.

He went to college towing a racecar and parked it outside his dorm. It wasn’t long before the dean told him to make a decision between academics and racing. Bernstein chose racing.

After a series of starting and selling successful businesses and driving a variety of Top Fuel racecars for Texas-based owners, Bernstein landed the Budweiser sponsorship in 1980 and was able to field the legendary Budweiser King Funny Car and campaign the NHRA circuit on a full-time basis.

At first, Budweiser King was the name of the racecar, but it wasn’t long before Bernstein became known as the ‘Bud King.’ He won four NHRA Winston championships, 1985-1988, and launched the sport of drag racing to another marketing, public relations, and racing technology plateau.

In 1990, he switched from the Funny Car to the Top Fuel dragster category, still maintaining the Budweiser King car name. In 1992, Bernstein became ‘The King of Speed’ after his historical run through the 300 miles-per-hour barrier at Gainesville, Fl.

In 1996, he won the NHRA Winston Top Fuel championship and became the first driver, and the only driver to date, to win championships in both nitro categories.

Now, after 22 years of Budweiser sponsorship, the longest current racer-sponsor association in all of motor sports, Bernstein has announced that his 23rd year with Budweiser will be his last as a driver.

2002 Bud Dragster Rendering

The 2002 “Forever Red….A Run to Remember” tour will crown his final year in the cockpit. “We fell in love with the tour name the minute Budweiser presented it,” said an enthusiastic Bernstein. “We’ve been teased through the years about Budweiser red flowing through our veins and we can’t think of a better way to sum it up.

“My dream when I was growing up, was to be able to race professionally and to make racing my livelihood. Without Budweiser and the opportunity that NHRA Winston drag racing has afforded me, I never would have been able to realize this dream.

“It has been an honor for me to represent Budweiser for 22 years, Mac Tools for 14 years, along with Winston and NHRA through out my entire career.

“We want to be able to give something back next year in our ‘Forever Red’ tour to the sponsors and the thousands of fans who have supported not only our Budweiser King team, but our sport.

“We also want to pay tribute to the crew members through the years that have contributed to all the accomplishments, records, victories, and championships we’ve attained.

“In one respect, we’re looking forward to the ‘Forever Red’ tour knowing that the future holds a wealth of opportunity for my son, Brandon. On the other hand, as the year progresses, we know that we’ll miss driving the Budweiser King, which is the most fun a guy like me could ever dream of.”

Brandon Bernstein spent the 2001 season behind the wheel of the Darien-Meadows Federal-Mogul dragster and had an enviable rookie season, including capturing the Division 7 championship.

Kenny Bernstein has been fortunate to have a long list of achievements, but when Brandon sped onto the scene this year, the Budweiser-sponsored family duo put another indelible entry into the records books. In Las Vegas, in April, they became the first father/son duo in NHRA’s 50-year history to win at the same national event. They doubled again in Chicago in June.

Brandon will not compete in the Federal-Mogul series next year, but will concentrate his efforts as a member of the Budweiser King team and begin his apprenticeship as heir to the throne by testing the Bud King, which his father will continue to own when Brandon takes over the keys to the company car.

“With a lot of energy focused on the details of our retirement tour next year, it has given us a lot of time to reflect on how fortunate we’ve been through our career,” said Bernstein

“We certainly owe a lot to the vision of NHRA founder Wally Parks. Without that vision, there wouldn’t have been this great playground with venues all across the country for us to race safely.

“Thanks to our fans, sponsors, and NHRA for making our dream come true.”