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Monday, November 6, 2006
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On track with NHRA driver Brandon Bernstein COMMENTARY Sports Copy Editor Brandon Bernstein is one of the NHRA's best Top Fuel drivers. The son of six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein, Brandon has won four races this season, including Brainerd.
Currently third in the points standings, Bernstein is aiming for a strong finish next weekend in Pomona, Calif., in the NHRA's last race of the season.
Q: Going into the final race at Pomona, it looks like you're on the outside looking in, 100 points behind Doug Kalitta. Does your strategy change with first place nearly out of reach?
A: We're just going to go into Pomona and try to win the last race of the season. We're going to perform the best that we can. It's unfortunate we are looking on the outside for first but second place is within our grasp. We're definitely going to try for second.
Q: It seems like you turned your season around at Brainerd. Was there anything that special happened here?
A: When we came into Brainerd, we really put it all together. We got the win and used that to spring forward into the championship hunt.
Q: You've had a lot of success at Brainerd. Do different NHRA tracks have different characteristics?
A: Not really. They're all pretty similar. Some tracks are better than others as far as the smoothness of the race surface. It just depends on the weather. And, I think a lot of it actually has to do with the history of how you did at the race track in the past. You have that data to fall back on to see how you've performed.
Q: How does the weather influence the racing?
A: Weather is huge. If you have a setup that runs well in cool temperatures, then you can really run hard and run in the low 4.50s or 4.40s. Obviously, you want to run when it's cool and these cars run best when it's cool. If you have a hot setup on a day when it's gets really warm, then you have an advantage. It's definitely harder in the heat to get these cars to (run better) then when it's cool.
Q: Is winning the Powerade Championship next year a realistic goal?
A: Definitely. We were there this year. Next year the ultimate goal is to go out there and win the Powerade championship.
Q: You've been racing Top Fuel only since 2003 but have been one of NHRA's more successful drivers. What do you credit for that success?
A: Tim Richards and the Budweiser-Lucas Oil team. We have great people involved in my racing team. And, also my dad (Kenny Bernstein). He's helped me a lot in being a good driver and realizing the potential that I have.
Q: What's the most important advice your dad has given you about being driving in the NHRA?
A: From day one, he's always said to breathe. It's kind of funny. Sometimes when you get really anxious before the start, you don't take big deep breaths and you should to relax.
Q: What's his role with your team nowadays?
A: He's the owner and general manager. He's involved with the racing every day. He's in and out of the office, taking care of things. He's the man and he's the boss.
Q: In the NHRA, races last only a few seconds. When the margin of victory is so thin, what's the key to success?
A: You have to have everything together, the car and the driver performing to their best of their abilities. You have to have a great starting line in your reaction time. And, you have to have a car that's going to perform down the track. These races are won by inches. It's an amazing sport that we have. Sometimes it's tough to take on the losing side when it's by inches but I've been on the winning end of those inches too.
Q: Do drivers have any special training to get better reaction time?
A: We have practice trees. I have a full tree in our shop. We have handhelds that we practice on at the racetrack. It's one of those deals you have to keep practicing at it and eventually it'll come around.
Q: Before Top Fuel, you drove in Alcohol. Are there any differences?
A: There's a big difference in speed. Top Fuel is much quicker and faster. The main thing is halfway down the track these Top Fuel cars keep pulling. An Alcohol car is nosed over and feels like you are going in slow motion, 270 mph though, but the Top Fuel keeps pulling (at speeds over 320 mph).
Q: In 2003 at Englishtown, N.J., you crashed into the retaining wall and flipped over it, suffering a major back injury. After the accident, did you ever consider not getting back into racing?
A: No, I never thought about getting out at all. In fact I wanted to get right back in the next week but obviously physically I couldn't do it. But there was never a doubt I wanted to get back into these cars.
Q: Your favorite athlete and most treasured autograph is Michael Jordan. Can you draw any parallels between his career and racing?
A: In racing, wins and losses are measured in seconds. I can look at his career in basketball and so many times he has made the clutch shot at the last second to win the game. You look at that and the way we race and there's a parallel of trying to win at the right moment.
TREVOR WILLIAMS, sports copy editor, can be reached at trevor.williams@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5866.
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