Fans Vote MLR's Brandon Bernstein into the NHRA's NITRO Shootout

UPDATE: BB4ME Worked!

A private message for fans of Brandon Bernstein

The campaign to get Brandon Bernstein and the Protect The Harvest/MAVTV Top Fuel dragster into the $100,000 Traxxas Shootout was a success! Brandon was selected as the eighth and final driver today during a ceremony at Monument Circle in downtown Indy.

The eighth driver was selected by a random ping pong ball drawing after a worldwide fan vote on the Internet determined how many balls each driver would receive. Brandon got the most fan votes, earning more than a third of the tens of thousands of ballots cast, and had the highest percentage of balls in the hopper today. The odds stayed in his favor when his name was drawn.

Special thanks to Craig Wack of my staff for coordinating a multi-tiered plan of attack to get the word out about voting for Brandon via video, campaign stickers and relentless Tweets and Facebook posts calling people to action. It obviously worked, and Brandon's immense popularity played a big role as well. Also thanks to Katie Pallone for being our person on the front lines at today's ceremony

Great work everyone!

Rob Geiger

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The NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout is a race within a race. The program rewards the top four finishers at the U.S. Nationals held in September. The winner will receive $100,000, runner-up receives $15,000, and semifinalists receive $7,500.

Only one spot remains open in each of the Nitro Shootout fields for Top Fuel and Funny Car. Those two positions will be determined by NHRA fans and a pair of lottery drawings. This is where the Lucas Oil Fan Club comes into play. We want Morgan Lucas Racing Top Fuel Driver and fan favorite, Brandon Bernstein to be the lottery winner picked by NHRA Fans.

Fan voting on NHRA's Facebook page is already under way and is open until noon on Tuesday, Aug. 28. (Mobile friendly voting app)

The fan-voting process will determine the number of lottery balls that each eligible driver will be assigned during the Traxxas Shootout lottery drawings. The Traxxas Shootout lottery drawings will be conducted during a press conference for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. The Traxxas Nitro Shootouts will be contested during the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus, Aug. 29-Sept. 3, at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

Six Top Fuel drivers are eligible for the fan-vote/lottery position for the final spot in that category. Brandon Bernstein already has the majority of fan votes but we need more to secure a spot in the Nitro Shootout.

Below are the drivers who have qualified for the Traxxas Nitro Shooutouts and their first-round pairings for the lucrative bonus races that will award the winning drivers $100,000 each.

TRAXXAS NITRO SHOOTOUT (TOP FUEL)
1. Antron Brown vs. No. 8 fan vote/lottery
2. Spencer Massey vs. No. 7 David Grubnic
3. Tony Schumacher vs. No. 6 Morgan Lucas
4. Steve Torrence vs. No. 5 Doug Kalitta
8. Position to be filled by fan vote and lottery drawing

TRAXXAS NITRO SHOOTOUT (FUNNY CAR)
1. Ron Capps vs. No. 8 fan vote/lottery
2. Robert Hight vs. No. 7 Jeff Arend
3. Jack Beckman vs. No. 6 John Force
4. Johnny Gray vs. No. 5 Mike Neff
8. Position to be filled by fan vote and lottery drawing

The Traxxas Nitro Shootout for Top Fuel will be conducted Saturday, Sept. 1, with rounds at 4, 7, and 8 p.m.

The Traxxas Nitro Shootout for Funny Car will be held Sunday, Sept. 2, with rounds at 12:30, 3:30, and 4:30 p.m.

Both Traxxas Nitro Shootouts will be showcased in ESPN2HD's Sunday race coverage.

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