The ‘King of Speed’ Kenny Bernstein
KENNY BERNSTEIN’S MILESTONE 300 MPH BUDWEISER DRAGSTER TO BE SHOWCASED AT INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME
TALLADEGA, AL – The ‘King of Speed’ Kenny Bernstein has done a lot during his decades of involvement with the NHRA, but his most notable accomplishment is the day he earned his nickname by breaking the 300 mph barrier in Top Fuel, 20 years ago. The historic pass took place at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway March 20, 1992 during a Friday qualifying session with the original Budweiser Top Fuel dragster we have in our possession. The 301.70 mph run surprised him and his team as much as it stunned the entire motorsports fraternity.
“The conditions were ideal,” Bernstein said. “We didn’t know this would be ‘the run’ but the race team, headed by crew chief Dale Armstrong, had spent the winter thinking about every part and piece they put into the Budweiser dragster with the 300 mile-per-hour-goal forefront in their thinking process.
“In Gainesville after I made the run and rounded the corner, a member of the Safety Safari was holding up three fingers. I thought he meant we had qualified third, when in fact he was trying to tell me we had just gone 300 miles per hour! Our entire team was ecstatic!
“The 300 mile-per-hour feat will always be what we could consider our greatest performance accomplishment,” said Bernstein. “The 300 mph Budweiser dragster will be on display at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame from March until October 2012 and then will return to its home where it was donated to the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, Calif. not long after the historic run,” commented Bernstein.
Not only was Bernstein a six-time NHRA world champion, record-breaking driver and team owner in the NHRA, he was also a successful team owner in both NASCAR and IndyCar.
Bernstein retired from the NHRA at the end of 2011, but his son Brandon still competes in the 7,000-horsepower Top Fuel class and for the first time in his nine-year career he’s not racing for his father’s team. Brandon joined Morgan Lucas Racing as the driver of the MAV TV/Lucas Oil dragster.
“We are just ecstatic to have the “King of Speed” Kenny Bernstein’s Budweiser Top Fuel Dragster that was the first to break the 300mph bearer just over 20 years ago”, said Bruce Ramey, IMHOF Operations Manager, “especially at this time as Kenny will be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame this May.”
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Continue West Coast Swing
as World of Outlaws Late Models Gear Up For Farmer Citys Illini 100 on This Weeks 4Wide
CONCORD, N.C. March 28, 2012 This weeks episode of 4Wide.TV includes highlights from Friday nights World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Mini Gold Cup action at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. We also meet up with current series point leader Donny Schatz and defending champion Jason Meyers as they talk about this weekends events at Merced Speedway and Calistoga Speedway.
Weve also put together a preview for this weekends Illini 100 as the World of Outlaws Late Model Series is coming off a month-long break and heading to the high-banked quarter-mile for a two-night shootout. We talk to defending series champion Rick Eckert, Jason Feger and Shane Clanton about their thoughts heading into the Farmer City.
4Wide.TV also takes a look at the World of Outlaws Sprint Car and World of Outlaws Late Model championship standings so far this season.
In addition to the highlights from the past weekend, check out the Hot Thread of the Week, where fans submit their predictions for the top five finishers and fast qualifier in the Illini 100, plus the Video of the Week comes from Chico as Seven Industries wraps up a short highlight reel of the Mini Gold Cup. In a leggy Shot of the Week, we captured Rich Scagliottas crew preparing his Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified for a night of racing during the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment last month at Volusia Speedway Park. Plus, weve got the dirt track racing Twitter feed that brings you non-stop news and notes from around the racing world.
All that and more in only 15 minutes check it out at 4Wide.TV, which now includes a new home page module to help share the video with your friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter.
If you are looking to follow the Sprints and Late Models this weekend, DIRTVision.com provides free live audio from all World of Outlaws and Super DIRTcar Series events and this weekend fans can watch live from Calistoga for only $11.99. If you want to tune in to all the events on the Cybercast schedule, the full season pass can be purchased for just $69.99. Be sure to check it out at DIRTVision.com.
JEKYLL OR HYDE? FORCE UNPREDICTABLE IN LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS, Nevada. – In Vegas, you can’t bet on John Force. Well, actually, you CAN bet on the 15-time NHRA drag racing champion, but you probably shouldn’t.
The first eight times that Vegas oddsmakers tapped the 62-year-old icon as the Funny Car favorite in the SummitRacing.com Nationals, an event contested this week for the lucky 13th time, Force took his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang beyond the second round just once and never raced for the title.
Although he regularly dominated other events in the NHRA Full Throttle Series, once racing in nine straight finals at the Summit Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Ga., Force was just 7-8 in his first 10 tries at the SummitRacing.com Nationals. In no other event did it take the 15-time Auto Racing All-American so long to win for the first time.
To add insult, it was at the 2007 race at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that Force’s record streak of 395 consecutive starts came to an abrupt end when he failed to qualify. A year later, he inexplicably DNQed once again, only the second time in history he had failed to make the field for a race two years in-a-row.
Furthermore, it is the same LVMS track on which first round opponent Bob Bode left the starting line before the system was activated at the inaugural fall event, the Las Vegas Nationals, and, when a startled Force set out after him, he also was caught up in a rare double disqualification that since has been addressed in new regulations.
The sum of his difficulties at LVMS might lead one to surmise that drag racing’s biggest winner is just another loser when he comes to Las Vegas.
Au contraire. It’s not like Force has had no success in Sin City. It’s just that it hasn’t come in waves like it has elsewhere. In fact, fall victories at LVMS provided a springboard to both his 2002 and 2010 world championships and his 2010 spring win ended 10 years of futility in the SummitRacing.com Nationals.
The reality is that while you probably shouldn’t bet on the former truck driver, if you consider his overall record, one that includes 134 event victories and 1,110 rounds won, it also would be ludicrous to bet against him.
Just bet that Force still will be on everyone’s radar this week when he tries to duplicate his winning performance in the season-opening O’Reilly Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., that gave him at least one win in almost 25 consecutive pro seasons.
Ironically, while Force has been one of the most vocal champions of NHRA’s diversity program, two of the sport’s most celebrated young female drivers were directly responsible for his fall from first place to fifth in the current Full Throttle standings.
After winning the season-opener, the man who this year will be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega, lost consecutive first round races to his 23-year-old daughter Courtney and to fellow rookie Alexis DeJoria.
Nevertheless, after losing, Force followed the advice he has given all three of his racing daughters.
“I told Courtney, just like I told Ashley (Force Hood) and Brittany: when you’re in the dumps, get out to the ropes and (start) signing autographs because half the people out there don’t even know you got beat.
“Get out there and they’ll make you feel better,” he said. “They love us, they love our products and, more important, they buy ‘em – Castrol oil, Ford cars and trucks, Traxxas R/C vehicles, Auto Club insurance, all of it.”
OPTIMISM SOARS FOR VEGAS
FORCE SHAKES OFF CRASH AND FIRST OPENING ROUND LOSS,
OPTIMISM SOARS FOR VEGAS
LAS VEGAS (March 27, 2012) – Following an unexpected weekend in Gainesville, Fla. for Courtney Force and her recently assembled Traxxas Ford Mustang team, all are looking to regroup and make a strong comeback in Las Vegas for the 13th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.
Two weeks ago, the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals didn’t exactly go as Courtney force and her Traxxas Ford Mustang team had planned. The 23-year-old rookie Funny Car driver and youngest daughter of drag racing legend, John Force, smacked the guard wall during her 3rd qualifying attempt and suffered minor bruising from the car.
“Every time I’m in the seat of my Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car, I’m learning something new. When I hit the guardrail in Gainesville it was just another lesson learned. As a rookie driver I’m figuring out each racetrack and the different things that come with it. Obviously every racetrack and lane is different, although NHRA does a great job prepping it for each race. With my particular run it pulled me a little to the outside, which was immediately when I should have just stepped off. However, I stayed in it just a little too long which caused my car to shoot me over to the wall.
“The best thing I learned from that run is timing and that I needed to get right back in the car after hitting the wall on a run like that. My team hustled to be ready for the next qualifying pass and I was ready to jump right back in it. Dad made it clear that it was crucial to ‘jump back on the horse’ after a hit to the wall like that, and I’m glad I did. I was ready to get my car qualified and was able to run my best E.T. of qualifying on that final pass which is exactly the boost of confidence me and my team needed!” Force added.
The weekend had its ups and downs, giving Force a firsthand experience in overcoming a Funny Car crash, essentially building awareness in herself and a stronger sense of dependence in her brand new crew. Through it all, Force and the Traxxas team led by Ron Douglas still managed to qualify in the No. 12 qualifying position.
“After having some trouble on one of my runs where I hit the wall, it made it a challenge for my team to be ready for the next session that same day. All four JFR teams came together to put together our spare Traxxas car and have it ready to run in that next session,” said Force. “I was so proud in this moment to be a part of a team that came together so quickly to help each other out. I was so thankful we were able to get it done and we were able to pull it up for the next qualifying session. On that pass we ran the quickest E.T. throughout all of qualifying and it definitely made all of the hard work pay off. I think it made us stronger as a team and made everyone realize that we could pull it off under a time constraint and even under all that pressure while getting the work done efficiently.”
Force suffered her first opening round loss since her Funny Car debut during Sunday’s eliminations, but managed to keep from slipping too many spots in the points. She was holding onto the No. 6 spot going into Gainesville and left 7th in points. She will now attend her 4th race of her career hanging on to a top ten position even after her collision and first round loss in Gainesville.
“It’s so unreal to think that our Traxxas team is 7th in the points being that this team was built from scratch while having a rookie driver in the seat. It proves that we have accomplished so much already and we will strive to work harder and do better at every event. I’m so proud to have them as my team and to have Ron Douglas as crew chief. It gives me confidence as a driver this early on in the season, which makes me excited to see where it will take us!”
“I’m very excited going into the 4th race of the season in Las Vegas. Being that I’ve been through some ups and downs already makes me that much more excited to get out there and drive this Traxxas Ford Mustang down The Strip with a little more confidence. Our team has built confidence thus far and I know we learned a lot from our runs in Gainesville so I’m feeling more comfortable in the car and excited to see how we do going into the event,” said Force
JOHN FORCE RACING 2012 Season-to-Date
Car Castrol GTX Ford Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford
Crew Chief(s) Mike Neff (Bernie Fedderly) Dean Antonelli (Danny DeGennaro)
Residence Fishers, Indiana Yorba Linda, California
Date of Birth September 13, 1966 May 4, 1949
Car Auto Club of Southern California Ford Traxxas Ford
Crew Chief(s) Jimmy Prock (Eric Lane) Ron Douglas (Daniel Hood)
Residence Yorba Linda, California Yorba Linda, California
Date of Birth August 20, 1969 June 20, 1988
Q-F-Pos-Perf. Q-F-Pos-Perf. Q-F-Pos-Perf. Q-F-Pos-Perf.
2nd-RU-1st-4.072/309.91 8th-W-2nd-4.132/307.02 5th-11-3rd-4.115/307.51 12th-4-6th-4.099/307.30
4th-4-1st-4.065/313.00 3rd-W-2nd-4.039/317.12 7th-10-5th-4.114/309.49 11th-12-7th-4.136/306.12
Pos – Position in Full Throttle points at conclusion of the event
Perf – Best individual elapsed time and speed of the event (underlining indicates best of the race)
NEFF TRIES TO CHANGE HIS LUCK IN LAS VEGAS
NEFF TRIES TO CHANGE HIS LUCK IN LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – With apologies to the race winner in Aesop’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, “slow and steady” is a strategy that, when applied to professional drag racing, assures little more than total and complete failure.
Slow isn’t relative to any of the work done before, during or after a typical 1,000 foot sprint, one in which high tech Funny Cars reach speeds of near 320 miles per hour. “Fast and steady” is the goal and this year no one has done that better than Mike Neff.
That’s why, even though he has not yet won a race, the driver and crew chief on the Castrol GTX® Ford Mustang will roll onto The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this week’s 13th SummitRacing.com Nationals as the Full Throttle points leader.
Neff, who won two NHRA championships as a Funny Car crew chief – the first with Gary Scelzi in 2005 and the other with John Force in 2010, came ever so close to winning again last year, claiming the regular season championship before fading in the Countdown to 1 playoffs and finishing fourth overall.
The former surfer, motocross-er and off-road truck mechanic has learned from that experience and is back this year trying to become the first to win an NHRA Funny Car title as driver and crew chief in the same car since the late Shirl Greer did with his Ford Mustang II back in 1974.
Runner-up at the season’s first two races and a semifinalist three weeks ago in the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla., Neff’s Ford will be the car to beat again this week even though the native Californian has won only one racing round in seven previous driving appearances at LVMS.
Why all the fuss? Well, consider this. In 11 competitive rounds this season, Neff’s average for the 1,000 foot distance has been 4.109 seconds. The significance is that teammate Robert Hight, winner of the last two events in the series and the man closest to Neff in points, has averaged 4.445 seconds on nine competitive laps.
Quite simply, Neff’s hybrid hot rod has gone down the racetrack – and done so very, very quickly – on each and every competitive run it has made. His slowest thousand-footer was 4.264 in the second round at Phoenix; his quickest 4.039 in losing the final round to Force, his boss and teammate, at the season-opening O’Reilly Winternationals at Pomona, Calif.
Still, it frustrates him that he hasn’t yet been able to close the deal this season, especially since he feels like he’s squandered three really good opportunities to put himself and his race car in the field for the inaugural Traxxas Nitro Shootout to be contested Sept. 2 in conjunction with the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, Ind.
“We’re happy with the consistency,” said the 45-year-old Neff. “That always makes you feel good, but I am a little frustrated with letting three chances slip away. The Traxxas Shootout is definitely something we want to be part of with this team and this Castrol GTX Mustang.
“We want to win every race and we work hard at it,” continued the 2008 winner of the Auto Club’s Road to the Future award that identifies the NHRA’s top rookie, “but, on the positive side, we’ve had two races with John Force Racing Mustangs in the finals and it should have been three, so we’re definitely satisfied with that. We’ll just keep on keepin’ on.”
And the competition will have to keep on wondering how it’s done.
Coughlin gets lots of seat time at Tenn-Tuck bracket event
Coughlin gets lots of seat time at Tenn-Tuck bracket event
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (March 26) – While he didn’t win one of the top prizes during this weekend’s Tenn-Tuck Triple Crown E.T. racing series event at Beech Bend Raceway Park, Troy Coughlin Jr. did accomplish a goal that may ultimately prove to be more beneficial as he got the opportunity to make numerous competitive runs behind the wheel of his JEGS.com dragster.
“For my first bracket racing outing of the year, I’m very pleased,” Coughlin said. “I got down to the last nine cars during Sunday’s $5,000-to-win race ,which was pretty good. I lost to Scott Lemen and he went on to win the race. It was cool watching him win and seeing the reaction of his family on the starting line. That’s what this sport is all about.
“I felt like I had a chance in almost every race and that’s really all you can ask for at these big bracket races because everyone you race is so tough. Overall, I drove well and the car was just about perfect. I just didn’t have the luck I needed.”
Although Saturday’s $10,000-to-win Big Bucks main event and $5,000 to win Little Bucks companion race were rained out, Coughlin still got to make upwards of 15 runs in his dragster over the weekend, allowing the JEGS crew, led by crew chief Tony Collier, to add to its extensive data base.
“On almost every run I made my dragster was within a few thousandths of a second at the 60-foot timers,” Coughlin said. “That’s exactly the type of consistency you need in bracket racing. That’s also what you can expect when you have a great combination that includes an American Race Cars dragster, a Rupert alcohol carburetor, a Hughes transmission and Mickey Thompson tires. We design our dragster using the best Track Tested parts from JEGS and that’s a big part of why our team has been so successful.
“Overall, I had a great time this weekend even though we didn’t make it to a final round. The Tenn-Tuck race is one of the best bracket races in the country and it has been for quite some time. [Beech Bend track operator] Dallas Jones and his staff do a great job and it’s a special feeling just to be a part of this race.”
Coughlin plans to spend next weekend rooting for his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes in their Final Four matchup in the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament before returning to action on April 13-15 in another high stakes E.T. bracket racing event, the $50,000 Top Eliminator Classic at Piedmont Dragway in Greensboro, N.C.
San Antonio Nitro Jam Fact Sheet
San Antonio Nitro Jam Fact Sheet
Second race of 2012 Nitro Jam season gets underway March 30-31 at SAR
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (March 26, 2012) – The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Nitro Jam series returns to San Antonio Raceway in San Antonio, Texas on March 30-31 for the San Antonio Nitro Jam.
This year’s San Antonio Nitro Jam features multiple professional and sportsman classes spread over the two-day weekend. The 2012 San Antonio Nitro Jam will feature professional competition in Pro Fuel Dragster, AMSOIL Prostalgia™ Nitro Funny Car, Nitro Harley and Fuel Altered and multiple sportsman classes including Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod, Hot Rod and Junior Dragster. The event will also feature multiple exhibitions including the 30,000 horsepower Super Shockwave jet semi, side-by-side 300 mph jet dragsters and jet funny cars, wheelstanders and the world debut of the Grave Digger vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle monster truck drag race.
This is the second race of the 2012 IHRA Nitro Jam season with championship points on the line in all professional classes. A spot in the year-end Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions is on the line for racers in the sportsman classes on Saturday. Last year’s event was the largest U.S. event in Nitro Jam history, so spectators are advised to arrive early. Adult tickets are only $25 if purchased in advance.
Spectator gates open at 2 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday with the FanFest Pit Party set to begin at 6:30 p.m. both nights followed by the Nitro Jam professional show at 8 p.m. Sportsman racing will be contested throughout the day.
Bill Evans.jpg
WHAT: The San Antonio Nitro Jam is the second race of the 2012 IHRA Nitro Jam season.
The event will include four professional classes including Pro Fuel Dragster, AMSOIL Prostalgia™ Nitro Funny Car, Fuel Altered and Nitro Harley, multiple sportsman classes including Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod and Hot Rod and thrilling exhibitions including the 30,000 horsepower Shockwave jet semi, 300 mph jet dragsters and jet funny cars, wheelstanders and the world debut of the Grave Digger vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle monster truck drag race.
Friday and Saturday will feature sportsman racing throughout the day followed by the FanFest Pit Party at 6:30 p.m. The FanFest Pit Party features driver autographs and interactive stations for fans of all ages. FanFest and complete VIP access to the pit area is included with the price of admission. The Nitro Jam professional rounds will begin at 8 p.m. both nights.
WHEN: Friday and Saturday, March 30-31
WHERE: 3641 S. Santa Clary Road, Marion, TX 78124
CONTACT: Call San Antonio Raceway at (210) 698-2310 or visit http://www.nitrojam.com or http://www.sanantonioraceway.com
World Of Outlaws Merced Speedway and Calistoga Speedway
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series At a Glance
Merced Speedway and Calistoga Speedway
MERCED, Calif. – March 26, 2012 – With the last two Saturdays being rained out, the World of Outlaws are looking to build momentum as the initial West Coast swing wraps up this weekend in California.
The Outlaws return to Merced Speedway, which was reconfigured from a quarter-mile track to a one-third miler in the offseason, on Friday before concluding the trip in California on Saturday at the scenic Calistoga Speedway.
Sammy Swindell, who set quick time and won the first-ever World of Outlaws race at Merced Speedway last year, enters this weekend in search of his first victory of the season. Meanwhile, Craig Dollansky heads to Calistoga looking for redemption after he ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading last season’s race.
There will also be a few bonuses for fans at Calistoga, including a hot rod show at the track featuring vintage race cars, a car display on Main Street from Noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday and free wine tasting on Saturday and Sunday at Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena.
WHEN
Friday, March 30, at Merced Speedway in Merced, Calif. Front gates are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with racing at 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 31, at Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga, Calif. Front gates are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE
Merced Speedway is located on the Merced County Fairgrounds at 900 Martin Luther King Way in Merced, Calif. Click on the link for a map ( http://g.co/maps/gsknw).
World of Outlaws Points Standings
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Points Standings through March 23
| Pos. | Driver |
Total |
Diff |
Wins |
Top 5 |
Top 10 |
QT |
| 1 | Donny Schatz |
978 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
| 2 | Joey Saldana |
958 |
-20 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
| 3 | Sammy Swindell |
952 |
-26 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
| 4 | Jason Sides |
952 |
-26 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
| 5 | Kraig Kinser |
943 |
-35 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
| 6 | Steve Kinser |
940 |
-38 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
| 7 | Jason Meyers |
914 |
-64 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| 8 | Craig Dollansky |
903 |
-75 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
| 9 | Chad Kemenah |
862 |
-116 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| 10 | Lucas Wolfe |
828 |
-150 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| 11 | Cody Darrah |
827 |
-151 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 12 | Kerry Madsen |
785 |
-193 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| 13 | Bill Rose |
768 |
-210 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 14 | Terry McCarl |
756 |
-222 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| 15 | Sam Hafertepe Jr. |
743 |
-235 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
| 16 | Jac Haudenschild |
741 |
-237 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 17 | Tim Kaeding |
586 |
-392 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
| 18 | Trey Starks |
474 |
-504 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 19 | Brian Brown |
467 |
-511 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| 20 | Austen Wheatley |
421 |
-557 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
