Lead foot intact, Bernstein takes MAVTV dragster to Phoenix

Before Brandon Bernstein and his wife Tracey had their first child, the professional drag racer drove a sporty Lexus ISF as his daily driver. When his daughter, Lyla, arrived Bernstein had to go with a more kid-friendly ride.

So when the driver of the MAVTV/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster was asked by team sponsor Toyota to put a fleet of high performance Lexus cars, including the Lexus LFA, though their paces this past Monday at the Auto Club Speedway road course, the answer was an immediate yes.

"That LFA is a supercar," Bernstein said. "It's incredible. The throttle response, the power, the brakes on it are immense – it's so much fun to drive. Toyota was so great for letting us do that. It was an honor to drive a car like the LFA.

"Those events are the best. It gets us out of our normal drag racing mode. I feel blessed and special to have been asked."

Bernstein has also been having fun driving his weekend ride, the 8,000 horsepower MAVTV rail. The team had a strong opening weekend after qualifying in the top five and making it into the quarterfinal round of eliminations in Pomona last week. They are looking to take the next step forward at this weekend's 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

"We're real excited about Phoenix because we know we've got a great racecar," Bernstein said. "(Crew chief) Joe Barlam and the guys are doing a great job. The MAVTV car is going to be ready to rock-and-roll."

Bernstein, who has won twice in Phoenix, including his first win as a pro in 2003, said the Firebird track can be tricky, but he's glad to be back for its more familiar early-season place on the schedule.

"The track gets better as the weekend goes along," Bernstein said. "It's usually pretty rough in the beginning, but I've had some great success in Phoenix, and you always like to go back to tracks where you've done well at in the past. It gives you confidence to go to a track you have won at before.

"Last year was just weird going to Phoenix in the fall. This feels more natural, I guess you can say."

Qualifying for the NHRA Arizona Nationals get under way at 1:30 p.m. MST on Friday at Firebird International Speedway with two sessions. Qualifying picks back up on Saturday with another two sessions starting at noon. Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday. ESPN2 will air the qualifying show at 6 p.m. and the eliminations show at 7 p.m. Sunday.