Trailblazer Bernstein Hopes for Strong Finish

Kenny Bernstein, the most successful combination top-fuel and funny car driver in drag racing history, probably will make the final pass of his 32-year career behind the wheel of the Budweiser King top-fuel dragster sometime Sunday afternoon at Pomona Raceway.

He hopes it will be in the final round of the Auto Club NHRA Finals. And he hopes it will be against Larry Dixon, Don Prudhomme’s driver, who spoiled Bernstein’s hope of winning a seventh National Hot Rod Assn. championship in his last year. Dixon clinched his first title two weeks ago in Las Vegas.

Bernstein, 58, the only driver to win NHRA championships in both nitro classes, won four funny car titles from 1985 to ’88 and top-fuel titles in 1996 and 2001.

His greatest accomplishment, he believes, is being the first driver to break the 300-mph barrier in a dragster, which he did with a 301.70 mph run in 1992 at Gainesville, Fla.

“That was a real milestone,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll see the 400-mile barrier in my lifetime. I can’t even foresee us running much faster than we are now.”

The 300-mph run has become commonplace in both top fuel and funny cars the last 10 years, but Bernstein is still the leader. He holds the NHRA record of 332.18 mph set last year at Mohnton, Pa.

“This may be my last hurrah, but I’ve got more things to do before I bow out,” he said. “I want to win another Budweiser Shootout on Saturday and I want to win my final race on Sunday. Along the way, I’d like to beat Larry. He and [crew chief] Dick LaHaie have had a great year. They deserve everything they have accomplished, but it would be great if I could beat them one last time.”

(Trivia note: Bernstein’s crew chief, Tim Richards, is LaHaie’s son-in-law. Richards’ wife, Kim, crewed her father’s NHRA championship season in 1987, and is now the clutch specialist for Bernstein’s dragster.)

Bernstein is top-seeded in the eight-driver Shootout field, a bonus event for the season’s quickest top qualifiers. Others in the event, which pays $100,000 to the winner, are Dixon, last year’s winner; Doug Kalitta, Tony Schumacher, Cory McClenathan, Andrew Cowin, Doug Herbert and Darrell Russell.

Bernstein won the Shootout in 1991 and 1993.

“Whatever happens, this is it,” Bernstein said as the final hours of his “Forever Red” retirement tour approached. “I’m turning the Budweiser King over to [son] Brandon right after Pomona. I’ll be around, taking a hands-on approach with the car, but Brandon will be behind the wheel.”

Brandon, after driving a top-alcohol dragster in 2001, did not compete this year. Instead, he has worked with the Budweiser King crew to familiarize himself with the team’s operation.

“There’ll probably be a lot of emotion when I pull to the starting line for the first round Sunday. But when we run our last round, no matter which round it is, we’ll be happy to pass the helmet and fire suit to Brandon.

“It’s been a great run.”

NASCAR

Although Tony Stewart has not won a NASCAR Winston Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway since 1999, he rates it as one of his favorite tracks. He has been racing there since 1993 in a variety of cars.

It could become his all-time favorite if he clinches his first Winston Cup championship there Sunday in the Checker Auto Parts 500. With a 112-point lead over old-timer Mark Martin, Stewart could sew up the title and its $3.75-million payoff by winning Sunday if Martin finished 26th or worse in the 43-car field.

Or, if he won and Martin finished 13th or worse, all Stewart would need to become champion would be to start in the season finale Nov. 17 at Homestead, Fla.

Martin and his Jack Roush-owned team are still smarting from a 25-point penalty for having an illegal spring in his No. 6 Viagra Ford after finishing second to Johnny Benson last week in Rockingham, N.C.

“I feel like we got the death sentence for shoplifting,” said Martin, twice before a Winston Cup runner-up. “Everyone in the garage knows that it was an honest mistake and provided absolutely zero advantage at the track. This is a pretty steep penalty for what is essentially a meaningless violation.”

Roush has until Wednesday to file an appeal.

Stewart first drove a Silver Crown car on the Phoenix Mile in 1993.

Since then, he has run Indy Racing League cars, USAC midgets and supermodifieds as well as the Home Depot Pontiac in Winston Cup.

“I won there in a midget in January 2000,” Stewart said. “I ran against Jason Leffler, Davey Hamilton, Ryan Newman, Dave Steele, Billy Boat, all the USAC regulars. I drove for Steve Lewis, the same guy that I won with at Irwindale two years ago on Turkey Night.

“With every division of car that I’ve run at Phoenix, I’ve ended up running a different line. With that, I’ve learned a lot about that racetrack and where the sweet spots are. You learn about all the bumps and where they are on the racetrack. You learn about the spots that have more grip than other spots, or, depending on how your car is driving, a place where you can go to change the balance of your car.”

Non-Winged Sprint Cars

Two-time defending champion Richard Griffin and U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown champion J.J. Yeley will battle this weekend for the championship in Ron Shuman’s Non-Winged Sprint Car World tour at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix. Griffin leads Yeley, 651-613, with races tonight and Saturday night as part of the Western World Championships.

It took 2 hours 6 minutes to complete 100 laps in the Oval Nationals last Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway, but only 15.934 seconds for Concord’s Damion Gardner to lap the half-mile clay oval in qualifying. It was the first sub-16 second lap at the 6-year-old facility.

Bud Kaeding, who won $30,000 in the Oval Nationals, will be looking to avenge last year’s Western World disappointment. He led every lap, except the last one. Jeremy Sherman’s last-lap pass won the race.

Perris will hold its final stock car program Saturday night with five classes of action. The 50-lap Kendoll Classic sprint car race will end the season on Nov. 15.

Last Laps

Ned Yost, the Milwaukee Brewers’ new manager and an avid NASCAR fan, will wear No. 3 next season in honor of his close friend Dale Earnhardt, who was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.... Lee Hatch, an eight-time Grand National karting champion from Covina, won a 200-lap Mechanix Wear Speed Truck Challenge last Saturday night in Las Vegas. Hatch was a wire-to-wire winner to earn rookie-of-the-year honors with four wins. He also finished only 13 points behind champion Randy Brown of West Covina.

A.J. Foyt IV, grandson of the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, has passed his Indy Racing League driver’s test and has been named to drive in next year’s IRL season as a teammate of Brazilian Airton Dare. Foyt IV, who won the Indy Racing Infiniti Pro series this year, lapped Texas Motor Speedway at 215 mph to complete his test.

Anaheim and San Diego will become part of the THQ World Supercross GP championship next year, it was announced by Clear Channel, operators of the AMA supercross series. The season will open Dec. 7 in Geneva, Switzerland, with another race in Arnhem, Holland, before coming to the United States. Events are scheduled Jan. 4, Jan. 18 and Feb. 1 at Edison Field, and Feb. 8 at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.