Kenny Bernstein (born September 6, 1944 in Clovis, New Mexico), is an American drag racing driver. September 6 is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years). ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Clovis, New Mexico is a small city in Curry County, New Mexico, United States, with a population of approximately 32,700 (2000 census). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Drag racing career

Before his drag racing career he attended Oliver Ames High School where he was best friends with Jared Deibel. They were very close to each other and they had a lot of fun in high school. Kenny became a successful business man before he declared bankrupcy and then decided he would become a drag race king Bernstein won four consecutive NHRA Funny Car championships (1985-88) and two Top Fuel championships (1996 and 2001). He is one of only two drivers to win championships in both categories, the other being Gary Scelzi. In 1992 he became the first drag racer to exceed 300 mph in competition, and incidentally became known as the "King of Speed". He was an innovator of corporate sponsorship in drag racing, and his team's deal with Budweiser is the longest running sponsorship deal in motorsports history. The National Hot Rod Association, known as the NHRA, was founded by Wally Parks in 1951 in the State of California to provide a governing body to organize and promote the sport of drag racing. ... Funny Car is an NHRA drag racing car class. ... Clocked Speed = 314 mph (506 km/h), Kwinana Race Track, W.A., 2005 Top fuel dragster time (4. ... Gary Scelzi, (born August 11, 1960, Fresno, California), is an American dragster racer who has won the NHRA top fuel championship on three occasions. ... Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Bud Light redirects here. ...

Bernstein retired in 2002, handing driving duties of the "Budweiser King" to his son, Brandon Bernstein. However, Bernstein returned to the car in June of 2003 after his son sufferend a season-ending broken back. Although he only raced in 15 events, Bernstein picked up right where he had left off, winning four straight Top Fuel events to close out the season, placing him sixth in season points. He returned to running his team after the season, but rumors began to persist that a comeback was in the works. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

Near the end of 2006, Bernstein announced that he would return to racing in the Monster Energy Dodge Charger Funny Car in 2007. His return to active competition was not a good one to start, as he failed to qualify for the opening two events in the 2007 season, earning the minimum 10 points each driver gets for making at least one qualifying run. His third race saw him qualify towards the end of the field, but Bernstein advanced to the semi-finals of the event in Gainesville, Florida, falling to eventual race winner Ron Capps. Bernstein sits 18th in points after three events, with 91. Monster Energy (usually simply known as Monster) is a brand of energy drink manufactured by Monster Beverage Company of Corona, California. ... There have been three entirely different Dodge vehicles bearing the Charger nameplate. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

Owner

Bernstein owned King Racing, a NASCAR team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the same he operated the IndyCar team King Motorsports. Bernstein is the only team owner to record victories in all three categories. King Racing was the name of famed NHRA Champion Kenny Bernsteins NASCAR Winston Cup team that operated in the late-1980s and early-1990s. ... The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States. ... Champ Car, an abbreviation of Championship Car, has been the name for a class and specification of cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades. ...

Awards

• Named sixth on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000

• Kenny is the second race car driver to be elected into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. (2006) Jody Scheckter was elected in 1983.

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. ... Jody David Scheckter (born January 29, 1950) is a former auto racing driver, the 1979 Formula One World Drivers Champion. ...

Trivia

• A 1991 NASCAR Racing Champions diecast car bears the name Kenny Bernstein on the collector card, but Bernstein is the owner, not the driver. Brett Bodine was the driver at the time, although it was probably not known by Racing Champions before press time.
• Bernstein was the last driver to face the late Eric Medlen in competition, at the 2007 Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida.

Bodine poses with his Ralphs Ford Sponsor a Driver. ... Eric Medlen , (born August 13, 1973, Indianapolis, Indiana) NHRA Funny Car Driver. ... Downtown Clock Tower, housing the restored clock bell from the 1885 courthouse Gainesville is the largest city and county seat of Alachua County, Florida. ...

External links

• Bernstein Racing
• NHRA profile