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HALL OF FAMER KENNY BERNSTEIN LAUNCHES NEW COPART/LUCAS OIL TEAM
POMONA, Calif. – The season opening Kragen O’Reilly 50th Winternationals found the legend, six-time champion Kenny Bernstein, and his son Brandon, decked out in blue for the first time in three decades. The new blue Kenny Bernstein-owned Copart/Lucas Oil team was the epitome of corporate America with all its newly painted, shiny support equipment bearing a trendy graphics package and team members decked out in tailored crew uniforms.
Kenny, well-known for his marketing and sales acumen, understands brand awareness. Having won 69 NHRA national events in his career, he understands winning sells.
Bernstein is all-in and is anxious to help Copart, a company that’s already at the top of its game in its industry, become a household name.
A dozen or more Copart corporate executives were in Pomona for the inaugural launch of the Copart/Lucas Oil dragster, entertaining customers, networking with fans and meeting new potential business partners.
While Copart entertained, the Kenny Bernstein team got down to the business of racing.
In Sunday’s opening round of eliminations, driver Brandon Bernstein faced off against Thomas Nataas, a second generation drag racer from Norway. The Copart/Lucas Oil dragster made a straight, trouble-free run right down the groove and Bernstein won the round with a 3.887/312.64.
"That was a huge win for our Copart/Lucas Oil team,” said Bernstein as he exited the car in the shut down area. “We wanted to start the season off right for our sponsors.”
Bernstein transferred to the quarterfinals to meet Larry Dixon and the Al-Anabi team.
With Bernstein’s strong reaction time advantage out of the gate (.070 seconds vs. Dixon’s .101 seconds), it was a fight to the finish with Dixon inching Bernstein for the win, 3.854/316.82 vs 3.929/309.34.
“Our team has been consistent this weekend,” said Bernstein. “We ran well on a warm track without losing traction. We just need to pick up the pace a couple of ticks.
“We are sixth in Full Throttle Top Fuel point standings after the first race, and we’re headed to Phoenix. Hopefully some of the data we recorded during pre-season testing will be helpful and can benefit our tune-up combination for the national event. We’re looking to make a move up the point ladder.”
