NHRA - Countdown to the Championship - With adversity behind him, Bernstein builds on bid for first title

Brandon Bernstein
When Brandon Bernstein's Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster dropped a cylinder in the semifinals of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, opponent Tony Schumacher took advantage of the falter and pulled ahead for the win, 4.52 to 4.63. Schumacher went on to win the event and the NHRA POWERade world championship, a title that would have belonged to Bernstein had he won the match.

Bernstein's season-ending tough break capped a year that had been peppered with harsh adversities and emotional challenges, but it was also one of the most successful seasons of his career.

Following the third race of the 2007 season, Bernstein's world changed when his good friend Eric Medlen was injured in a testing accident after the Gainesville event. Medlen lost the battle for his life four days later, and a grief-stricken Bernstein harnessed his intense emotion and raced to victory just two events later in Las Vegas. The win was the first of five that year, a career high.

"Adversity challenges you, and it makes you a better person," said Bernstein. "You deal with things that happen, and you realize that life is precious. When you lose a close friend, it puts a lot of things into perspective, and you use that on and off the track."

Bernstein rode high in the points as he scored wins in Atlanta, Topeka, Bristol, and Brainerd and collected a runner-up next to Schumacher in Seattle, but in Dallas, Bernstein's world was rocked again when his father, Funny Car legend Kenny Bernstein, was involved in a terrifying crash with John Force. The elder Bernstein was uninjured in the collision, but Force was airlifted from the scene with major injuries that would require intensive physical therapy before he could return to the sport.

"I'd just [made a] run and had pulled into the pit area when I heard about the accident," said Bernstein. "I jumped on [ESPN announcer] Dave Rieff's golf cart and we rushed to the scene, trying to figure out what was going on. It's my father, and that crash was pretty severe. Any kind of crash involving someone that's dear to you is a struggle. He loves driving, though, and wanted to get back in the car, so I tried to put it out of my mind, but I was concerned."

Despite the concern for his father, Bernstein had no trouble getting back into his own car and battled for the world championship until the very end, finishing in third place.

Bernstein's father competed until the end of the season, and with 449 races and 69 wins behind him, he retired his driving gloves and hired nine-time national event winner Tommy Johnson Jr. to power the Monster Energy Funny Car in his place.

"I'm kind of bummed my dad's not racing," said Bernstein. "We had some fun with him, but the dynamics are good with Tommy. We've got a great Monster team and a great Budweiser team, and we're just trying to win races for Dad and our sponsors. With Dad being a hands-on owner, he's there day to day to talk to and pull from, and it's great. Having Tommy over here is cool because we've become pretty good friends fairly fast. I can talk to him about what he feels in his race car and everything else, and then go up there and support him just like he supports us. We're a team now."

The 2008 season didn't start off on a stellar note for Bernstein, who went out in the first round in Pomona when Cory McClenathan was quicker off the starting line and faster down the quarter-mile to turn on the win light, but Bernstein and crew chief Tim Richards upped their game, landed in the No. 1 qualifying position in Phoenix, and collected a round-win.

"After Phoenix, we put together a new car and tested well in Valdosta, Ga., and that's where we picked up," said Bernstein.

Bernstein qualified in the top half and raced to his first final round of the season, where he lost a close race with points leader Schumacher.

"It was a good day, but it could have been a great day," said Bernstein, who wanted to win the Gainesville trophy in honor of Medlen. "But we jumped up in points, which was great, and I know in my heart that Eric was looking down on us, and he's happy anyway."

Though a bid for his first world championship is at the top of Bernstein's career to-do list, he has a lot of other life-changing plans in motion.

"We're getting ready to move back to Indianapolis," said current Southern California resident Bernstein. "We built a brand-new 40,000-square-foot shop that's going to house both teams, and I'm building a house back there. Tracey, my fiancée, and I are going to move back, and we're planning a wedding for November. It's kind of crazy with the move, a house, and a wedding all in one year, plus trying to win a championship, but it's good stuff.

"We're really happy with the direction that our team's going, and I think that we can definitely try and get that championship this year."