BERNSTEIN IMPROVES FINAL-ROUND RECORD TO 11-3 WITH TOP FUEL WIN OVER SCHUMACHER AT LUCAS OIL NATIONALS

Tommy Johnson Jr., Dave Connolly and Antron Brown round out Lucas Oil winner's circle

BRAINERD, Minn. -- Brandon Bernstein upset three-time series champion Tony Schumacher Sunday in the Top Fuel final of the $1.6 million Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals for his third victory of the season. Bernstein's 4.510-second pass at 329.34 mph was enough to dismiss the hottest driver on the NHRA tour, who smoked his tires a few hundred feet down Brainerd International Raceway.

Rounding out the Sunday winners were Tommy Johnson Jr. in his Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo (Funny Car), Dave Connolly in his Skull Shine Chevy Cobalt (Pro Stock) and Antron Brown on his U.S. Army Suzuki (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Bernstein shook off a forgettable Western Swing, where he failed to win a single round, with a stunning victory in his Budweiser dragster over the three-time and defending champion Schumacher, who went into tire-spin at half track. The pilot of the U.S. Army dragster was competing in his fifth consecutive final round, two short of his own NHRA Top Fuel record for consecutive final rounds (7).

"We knew we needed to run something in the final against Schumacher because he'd been running so well," said Bernstein, who improved to 11-3 running for the money in his career. "I figured we'd have a low 4.50 and that's what we did. We made up some serious ground in the points today. I really believe we have a car that can contend for the title. There are still seven races left. If we stay consistent like this anything can happen."

Schumacher defeated Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta in the second round and he was able to make up 45 points on Kalitta to move into a second-place tie with Melanie Troxel (81 points back). Six races ago, Schumacher was in eighth place and was 336 points off the pace.

Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. defeated reigning series champion Gary Scelzi, who also lost traction during his final-round run. Johnson saved his best pass of the event for the final, running a 4.741 at 321.73 mph to take the win and set low E.T. of the meet. Scelzi got a small jump at the lights in his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger, but was soon battling tire shake and smoke and could only watch as T.J. zipped away for the win.

"I saw sprinkles on the windshield when I was backing up from the burnout and I stepped on it because I was so ready to race I wanted to get it done," said Johnson, who recorded his first multiple win season since 1999. "This win is a credit to the crew. It was a long wait and then we had 65 minute rounds so it was a thrash."

Johnson previously won at Phoenix this season and Sunday's win moved him into sixth place in the POWERade Series standings. At the top of the Funny Car points there was little movement in spite of the fact that leader Ron Capps lost in the first round to Bob Gilbertson. His closest pursuer, John Force, once again lost in the quarterfinals so the spread is 48 points heading to Memphis for the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals Aug. 18-20.

In Pro Stock, Dave Connolly stole one away from current points leader Jason Line on a four-hundredths of a second holeshot, winning with a slower 6.74 to Line's 6.73.

Connolly's reputation as a starting line expert definitely paid off Sunday as he tag-teamed the powerful Summit Racing team of Greg Anderson (who red-lighted in the semis) and Line (who lost on a holeshot in the final). Connolly had a .013- to .052-second starting line advantage for a three-hundredths victory over Line.

"Luck was going our way today," Connolly said. "With Greg going red and then Jason maybe thinking about it too much, I guess any time you can get in a driver's head a little bit it always helps. They still have the cars to beat but we're staying with them the best we can."

Line's third final-round showing in the last four races helped him increase his lead in the Pro Stock points from 64 to 83 points over his Pontiac GTO teammate Greg Anderson. Connolly remains in third, 108 points behind Line.

Antron Brown took the POWERade points lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle by winning his 16th career race and second this season, this one over Steve Johnson. After a runner-up finish at the last event in Sonoma, Calif., Brown made sure he took care of business here with a 7.108 to 7.159 win over 20-year veteran Johnson.

"I'm really proud of Steve Tartaglia," Brown said. "It's just his second year as a crew chief and he's hanging with all the big boys. Any one of the top four bikes can win the title this year. It's going to be exciting."

Brown's teammate Angelle Sampey was disqualified after her first-round win over Ryan Schnitz when she was found to be five pounds light at the scales. The miscue dropped her from second to fourth in the points. Brown, meanwhile, moved from fourth to first and now leads Andrew Hines by 15 points. Chip Ellis is third, 45 points behind Brown.

BRAINERD, Minn. -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 25th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. The $1.5 million race is the 16th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1. Brandon Bernstein; 2. Tony Schumacher; 3. Rod Fuller; 4. Morgan Lucas; 5. Melanie Troxel; 6. Doug Herbert; 7. David Grubnic; 8. Doug Kalitta; 9. Hillary Will; 10. David Baca; 11. J.R. Todd; 12. Larry Dixon; 13. Scott Weis; 14. Bob Vandergriff; 15. Joe Hartley; 16. Cory McClenathan.

FUNNY CAR:

1. Tommy Johnson Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo; 2. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Charger; 3. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus; 4. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo; 5. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo; 6. John Force, Ford Mustang; 7. Bob Gilbertson, Stratus; 8. Eric Medlen, Mustang; 9. Mike Ashley, Stratus; 10. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo; 11. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo; 12. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo; 13. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo; 14. Ron Capps, Charger; 15. Robert Hight, Mustang; 16. Bob Bode, Monte Carlo.

PRO STOCK:

1. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt; 2. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO; 3. Greg Anderson, GTO; 4. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus; 5. Larry Morgan, Stratus; 6. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt; 7. Mike Edwards, GTO; 8. Greg Stanfield, GTO; 9. Jim Yates, GTO; 10. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus; 11. Tom Lee, Cobalt; 12. Tom Martino, GTO; 13. Dave Howard, Cobalt; 14. V. Gaines, Stratus; 15. Richie Stevens, Stratus; 16. Warren Johnson, GTO.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1. Antron Brown, Suzuki; 2. Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 3. Tom Bradford; 4. Ryan Schnitz; 5. Chip Ellis; 6. Matt Smith; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki; 8. Marco Andreano; 9. Shawn Gann, Suzuki; 10. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 11. Chris Rivas; 12. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 13. Geno Scali, Suzuki; 14. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki; 15. Matt Guidera; 16. Angelle Sampey.

BRAINERD, Minn. -- Sunday's final results from the 25th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. The $1.5 million race is the 16th of 23 in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Brandon Bernstein, 4.510 seconds, 329.34 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 7.098 seconds, 126.52 mph.

Funny Car -- Tommy Johnson Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.741, 321.73 def. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Charger, 7.387, 112.75.

Pro Stock -- Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.743, 204.17 def. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.737, 205.22.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.108, 186.85 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.159, 187.60.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Bill Reichert, 5.244, 275.00 def. Arthur Gallant, 5.331, 272.23.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.625, 259.71 def. Cy Chesterman, Monte Carlo, 7.228, 118.41.

Super Stock -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 10.043, 132.33 def. Abe Loewen, Pontiac Grand Am, 9.514, 131.18.

Stock Eliminator -- Peter Biondo, Chevy Camaro, 10.933, 115.86 def. Jamey Picht, Pontiac Gran Sport, 11.359, 114.77.

Super Comp -- Terry Edwards, Dragster, 8.922, 165.29 def. Clarence Mayo, Dragster, 8.867, 175.59.

Super Gas -- John Blezien, Pontiac Firebird, 9.895, 159.49 def. Dan Smith, Chevy Camaro, 9.888, 133.03.

BRAINERD, Minn. -- Final round-by-round results from the 25th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 16th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Doug Kalitta, 4.599, 322.73 def. David Baca, 4.582, 322.58; David Grubnic, 4.570, 324.36 def. Hillary Will, 4.577, 326.24; Morgan Lucas, 4.597, 314.09 def. Cory McClenathan, 11.552, 86.46; Melanie Troxel, 4.562, 327.66 def. J.R. Todd, 4.622, 314.61; Tony Schumacher, 4.476, 331.85 def. Joe Hartley, 8.588, 95.48; Doug Herbert, 4.613, 320.51 def. Larry Dixon, 4.700, 307.23; Brandon Bernstein, 4.614, 315.19 def. Scott Weis, foul; Rod Fuller, 4.863, 224.17 def. Bob Vandergriff, 5.972, 171.05;
QUARTERFINALS -- Lucas, 4.607, 312.06 def. Herbert, 4.620, 319.52; Bernstein, 4.519, 330.80 def. Grubnic, 5.002, 306.53; Fuller, 4.584, 321.42 def. Troxel, 4.565, 327.59; Schumacher, 4.565, 322.27 def. Kalitta, 6.598, 135.63;
SEMIFINALS -- Schumacher, 4.482, 329.42 def. Fuller, 4.544, 321.88; Bernstein, 4.545, 332.10 def. Lucas, 4.687, 252.28;
FINAL -- Bernstein, 4.510, 329.34 def. Schumacher, 7.098, 126.52.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.814, 325.85 def. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 5.034, 224.70; Tommy Johnson Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.817, 321.96 def. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.877, 302.14; John Force, Mustang, 4.754, 320.51 def. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.825, 325.14; Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.805, 325.14 def. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.858, 311.56; Bob Gilbertson, Stratus, 4.813, 311.05 def. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.890, 299.66; Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.815, 323.27 def. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.812, 322.81; Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 5.411, 221.52 def. Mike Ashley, Stratus, foul; Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.785, 322.88 def. Bob Bode, Monte Carlo, 5.467, 193.71;
QUARTERFINALS -- Scelzi, 5.819, 222.11 def. Gilbertson, 5.826, 258.17; Johnson Jr., 4.768, 320.05 def. Medlen, broke; Worsham, 4.899, 309.77 def. Force, 5.360, 204.73; Head, 4.829, 322.58 def. Wilkerson, 4.972, 267.96;
SEMIFINALS -- Scelzi, 4.787, 323.81 def. Head, 4.830, 311.49; Johnson Jr., 4.772, 322.73 def. Worsham, 6.073, 165.29;
FINAL -- Johnson Jr., 4.741, 321.73 def. Scelzi, 7.387, 112.75.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Mike Edwards, Pontiac GTO, 6.786, 202.79 def. Tom Lee, Chevy Cobalt, 6.799, 203.28; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.768, 203.52 def. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.783, 203.00; Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.793, 202.58 def. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, foul; Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.770, 202.79 def. Tom Martino, GTO, 6.809, 203.16; Jason Line, GTO, 6.760, 203.68 def. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.797, 202.85; Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.796, 203.12 def. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.813, 201.82; Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.769, 203.95 def. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.820, 202.94; Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.782, 202.55 def. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.850, 203.06;
QUARTERFINALS -- A. Johnson, 6.763, 203.49 def. Morgan, 6.754, 203.77; Connolly, 6.750, 203.40 def. Stanfield, 6.783, 202.06; Anderson, 6.726, 204.57 def. Edwards, 6.775, 203.37; Line, 6.725, 204.45 def. K. Johnson, foul;
SEMIFINALS -- Connolly, 6.761, 203.61 def. Anderson, foul; Line, 6.737, 204.51 def. A. Johnson, 6.776, 203.19;
FINAL -- Connolly, 6.743, 204.17 def. Line, 6.737, 205.22.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.201, 185.64 def. Chris Rivas, Buell, foul; Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.154, 184.50 def. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, foul; Matt Smith, Buell, 7.176, 184.90 def. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.187, 185.84; Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.140, 186.92 def. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.982, 167.66; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.143, 187.60 def. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.222, 185.00; Marco Andreano, Buell, 7.956, 128.93 def. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, foul; Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.082, 187.76 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.207, 183.49; Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 12.313, 67.22 def. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, DQ'ed;
QUARTERFINALS -- Johnson, 7.151, 183.00 def. Andreano, foul; Schnitz, 22.260, 30.80 def. Stoffer, foul; Bradford, 7.080, 187.99 def. Smith, foul; Brown, 7.104, 186.05 def. Ellis, 7.111, 184.85;
SEMIFINALS -- Johnson, 7.173, 186.77 def. Schnitz, 7.381, 179.97; Brown, 7.128, 185.38 def. Bradford, foul;
FINAL -- Brown, 7.108, 186.85 def. Johnson, 7.159, 187.60.

BRAINERD, Minn. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 25th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 16th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Doug Kalitta, 1,158; 2. (tie) Tony Schumacher, 1,077; Melanie Troxel, 1,077; 4. Brandon Bernstein, 1,042; 5. David Grubnic, 934; 6. Rod Fuller, 909; 7. Larry Dixon, 859; 8. Morgan Lucas, 758; 9. Hillary Will, 710; 10. Cory McClenathan, 708.

Funny Car

1. Ron Capps, 1,175; 2. John Force, 1,127; 3. Tony Pedregon, 985; 4. Eric Medlen, 983; 5. Robert Hight, 946; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 938; 7. Gary Scelzi, 935; 8. Whit Bazemore, 819; 9. Del Worsham, 707; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 672.

Pro Stock

1. Jason Line, 1,149; 2. Greg Anderson, 1,066; 3. Dave Connolly, 1,041; 4. Jim Yates, 896; 5. Kurt Johnson, 853; 6. Mike Edwards, 849; 7. Allen Johnson, 841; 8. Larry Morgan, 760; 9. V. Gaines, 746; 10. Greg Stanfield, 714.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Antron Brown, 730; 2. Andrew Hines, 715; 3. Chip Ellis, 685; 4. Angelle Sampey, 679; 5. Ryan Schnitz, 548; 6. Matt Smith, 521; 7. Karen Stoffer, 509; 8. Tom Bradford, 503; 9. Matt Guidera, 482; 10. Craig Treble, 429.