Top Fuel driver Brandon Bernstein has won the last two NHRA national events to jump into the championship lead while, at the same time, dealing with the loss of close friend Eric Medlen, who died in a Funny Car testing accident.
"I guess time will help heal the loss of Eric, but the pain will never go away completely," Bernstein said after winning at Atlanta, the second of two wins for Bernstein (the other being at Las Vegas) following Medlen's death. "Whenever we were in the final round, Eric was always at the top end to greet me and I don't think I'll ever be able to erase that from my memory. [Top Fuel driver] J.R. Todd has taken over that role and this time he put the winner's medal around my neck. We both really miss Eric.
"Our team loves to win races. That's what we're out here to do. Hopefully we'll remain in the [championship format] countdown to eight, but when it comes to that point, everything is going to have to be triple and quadruple checked if we want to make the countdown to four and the countdown to one for the championship. It's still a long season, but we're going to enjoy the victories as they come along."
Father Kenny Bernstein, one of two drivers to win NHRA championships in Top Fuel and Funny Car, built his Funny Car team from the ground up over the winter and brought in crew chief Jimmy Walsh following the second race. "I think in reality [the season] is going really well," Kenny said. "With the changes we've made with bringing in Jimmy Walsh and the improvements we've seen since, I think things are going really well for us."
That hasn't entirely been the case for Kenny, who came out of retirement to drive in the Funny Car division this season and failed to qualify for the opening two events. But he's made the last four and won three rounds of eliminations -- one at Las Vegas and two at Gainesville, Fla., to move into 12th in the points.
This weekend the Bernstein clan moves to The NHRA Powerade series races at Gateway International Raceway, just outside St. Louis, for the latest NHRA Powerade event.
"It would definitely mean everything to win there," Brandon said. "It's huge to win there because Budweiser (our sponsor) is located there. It's like a second home for us. That's our backyard, so to speak, and we want to win there bad."
"I guess time will help heal the loss of Eric, but the pain will never go away completely," Bernstein said after winning at Atlanta, the second of two wins for Bernstein (the other being at Las Vegas) following Medlen's death. "Whenever we were in the final round, Eric was always at the top end to greet me and I don't think I'll ever be able to erase that from my memory. [Top Fuel driver] J.R. Todd has taken over that role and this time he put the winner's medal around my neck. We both really miss Eric.
"Our team loves to win races. That's what we're out here to do. Hopefully we'll remain in the [championship format] countdown to eight, but when it comes to that point, everything is going to have to be triple and quadruple checked if we want to make the countdown to four and the countdown to one for the championship. It's still a long season, but we're going to enjoy the victories as they come along."
Father Kenny Bernstein, one of two drivers to win NHRA championships in Top Fuel and Funny Car, built his Funny Car team from the ground up over the winter and brought in crew chief Jimmy Walsh following the second race. "I think in reality [the season] is going really well," Kenny said. "With the changes we've made with bringing in Jimmy Walsh and the improvements we've seen since, I think things are going really well for us."
That hasn't entirely been the case for Kenny, who came out of retirement to drive in the Funny Car division this season and failed to qualify for the opening two events. But he's made the last four and won three rounds of eliminations -- one at Las Vegas and two at Gainesville, Fla., to move into 12th in the points.
This weekend the Bernstein clan moves to The NHRA Powerade series races at Gateway International Raceway, just outside St. Louis, for the latest NHRA Powerade event.
"It would definitely mean everything to win there," Brandon said. "It's huge to win there because Budweiser (our sponsor) is located there. It's like a second home for us. That's our backyard, so to speak, and we want to win there bad."