This weekend’s Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway will be the first for MAVTV/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Brandon Bernstein as a proud papa of two children following the arrival this week of Landon Russell Bernstein.
All 6 pounds, 3 ounces and 19.5 inches of baby Bernstein came into the world at 12:31 a.m. on Wednesday, July 18. Mom, Tracey; big sister, Lyla; and baby are doing fine.
“We’re all excited Landon has finally arrived,” Bernstein said. “I’m glad I’m able to go into Denver without the pressure of Tracey being that far along and me being so far from home. I hate having to leave so soon after his birth, but Tracey’s mom and my mom are both here, so she’s got a good support network for when I’m gone.
“Hopefully a win this weekend will be a nice present to bring back home to him.”
Following a test after the Norwalk event, Bernstein is feeling confident the MAVTV team will soon be back to its speedy ways.
“We stayed the Monday after Norwalk,” he said. “Crew Chief Joe Barlam learned a lot. We ran a 3.82 (second pass) and a 3.83 the first two runs before the track started to go away.
“We made two more runs, but didn’t make it down. Joe still got a lot of good data in the runs we made.”
Bernstein said he always looks forward to racing at the track that is the traditional kickoff to the NHRA annual Western Swing.
“I love racing on the side of the mountain,” he said. “It’s just a beautiful track. I haven’t had a ton of success there in the past but hopefully that will change with the MAVTV team.”
Pro qualifying for the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals gets under way at 4:45 p.m. MDT Friday from Bandimere Speedway. Qualifying continues on Saturday with two sessions starting at 12:45 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations get started at 11 a.m. ESPN2 will air the qualifying show at 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday and the eliminations at 7 p.m. Sunday.
