I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

NOT!! Poor Kenny apparently can't afford to race on his own dime anymore and the poor guy is going to have to pack it in if a new "Corporate Sponsor" can't be found! Many of you on here probably don't remember or know the great ironey in this.
Way back in the 80s Poor Kenny and Don Garlits were in a bit of a struggle over the direction that the PRO should be taking and it was "Corporate Kenny" vs "Car Guy Garlits" with the winner basically deciding which direction the future of Drag Racing was going to take. What the arguement all came down to was that Garlits wanted to make it a rule that you had to finish the race with the engine block that you qualified with and if you broke the block then you were done. His reasoning was very sound, if you had to save the block then you couldn't lean on it too hard which would save parts and money and keep the racing more affordable for all concerned. "Corporate Kenny" wanted to hang the cost and spend whatever it would take to win! Well, Kenny won control and costs went crazy and the rest is history. Fast forward to 2009 and the big corporations are leaving, Garlits is in a Stocker and NHRA wants the Sportsmen to bail them out. Oh yeah the Sportsmen, back in the 80s when the PRO and NHRA sided with "Corporate Kenny" NHRA decided to take the Sportsmens Proxey away so that we would have virtually no say at all in our sport! Now we get to bail them out. Now THAT'S ironey!

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Maybe POOR KENNY wants the one block rule now? Stuffs tight all over hope sportsman bailing with thimbles helps.LOL
BTW I live a couple of miles from AHB in Williamsburg and you can see the effects of INBEV at Busch Gardens already. Little things but it's starting.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Yup, don't feel sorry for KB one little bit!!!

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Maybe its time for KB sr and KB jr to get a REAL job.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Billy

I know one person that feels real bad about K.B. It's the guy that drives the "CHAP STICK sponsored Ford CJ. Mr. $210.00 extra Ken Miele."

Hammer

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

That's not a Cobra Jet.
It's a '67.
Cobra Jets didn't arrive until the '68 model year.
As I've said beffore, calling those '67 GT500 Shelbys "Cobra Jets" is like calling an SR-71 a Piper Cub...

Kinda moot now that the boost babies have arrived, though... LOL!

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

I wouldn't feel sorry for Kenny Bernstein if he lost his bankroll to Bernie Madeoff !!!........Would be perfect if he did. He's the King of Corporate SuckUps. Garlits is a true racing icon and hero. Bernstein is not even in the same league......I don't care how many races he's won or how many championships......I won a Budweiser sponsored race....couldn't even find a beer to drink! I drink Imports anyway..... Bud is not King of anything with me!

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Well stated,Billy! ....I've always felt the same way about Bernstein, always the perfect corperate suckup during all those interview's. ......never showed the emotion of someone who was excited about winning,only satisfiying the corperate masters........Winston,for good or bad,at least gave a lot back to ALL the racers. ...Never saw Bud do much of anything for the unwashed masses of Sportsman racers ! ..........Oh well,I dont drink Bud anyway..................Tom

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

I dont feel sorry for any of these "PRO" racers, it is because of the excesive ammount of $$$ that these racers need is why the sportsman racers are suffering. Used to be able to get oil, spark plugs or other small freebies from most of the companies out there, but not since the cost for them to be involved with the pro cars has skyrocketed. Yet it is the $$$ from the sportsman racer that is paying for them to race.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

If you think Kenny is the only suck-up in drag racing you are extremely brain damaged...all the pro's are that way and if YOU have a significant sponsor you're a suck up too!

I have the pleasure to know Kenny and if you think he was born with a Bud in his mouth you couldn't be more wrong! Kenny worked his way up by racing on his own dime. He started out by running his own wrecker company in Dallas with him doing all the work until the business went big. He then sold that business and started Chelsea Street Pubs in Malls throughout the Southwest. He sold the business and went Funny Car racing on his own dime. After a race one weekend he trucked his entire rig up to the Bud plant so that when everyone came to work on mon. morning the whole plant saw his car and rig as they came to work...and that got him his sponsorship...and he worked his *** off to keep it!

While you are gloating you missed the point completely......if this can happen to one of the most successful race teams what do you think other sponsors are thinking now? Would your sponsor be financially better off if he didn't have to give you money?

This is the crack in the dam and I believe we're going to see a lot more of this....from top to bottom.

Jim

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

I know all about his past history and I am NOT missing the point! The point is that man almost singlehandedly ruined Drag Racing! He took it from a "Car Guys" game to a "Corporate" game. I still feel sorry for Garlits.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Yep, the hell with em ! Not a KB, but one of the bigbiys(in his own mind) owed me $5300, refused to pay any more, got me in a bind, and went out and bought himself a $100,000 Mercedes. Thats one I wont piss on, if he catches fire. ....

Best part is, he aint racing this yr again !!!

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Either you guys are very young or you just have a dislike for Kenny.

Do you really think Kenny was the first guy to have a major sponsor? What about prudhomme, he started BEFORE Kenny, in fact you have to go back to the '70's to find pro's getting with major sponsors.

Garlits has always done it on his own and had major sponsors through the '70's .......ie. the Wynnscharger?

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Billy, you are absolutely right and I couldn't agree more. But when you stop to think about it, hasn't the same exact thing happened in just about every form of motorsports? The story always seems to start with humble, "grass roots" beginnings and ends up with the need for "cubic dollars" in order to participate. Seems to be a never ending battle.

P.S. With all due respect to all of the great names in the sport, past and present, Garlits is still my hero. (Could have something to do with my age I suppose).

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Don"t kid yourself Kenny Bernstein and most the pros like him have alot of money ,and could run on their own dime with only associate sponsors.They want to spend others money.Unfound money is easier to spend.Why do you think so many of these products that sponsor racing are always higher priced retail products.We are paying for it.Why is Brad penn oil cheaper than Castrol we feed John Force oil?Just my 2 cents.


Kevin

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

:eek: BILLY, YOU SCARE ME ..................YOUR RIGHT AGAIN:rolleyes:

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

I agree with you billy. why don't we dump the PRO classes anyway and then we all move up on the food chain. I don't know about you guys but I don't even watch PRO racing anymore. I like stock and super stock the best. Besides how often does a PRO car do a "moonshot" wheelstand on little tires????

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

If it were not for all the plastic in his phoney face he might have some $$$$$$ to compete.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

I was just going to say that RJ. The guy looks like a mannequin.

I think the sad part of this is that a great American company was bought by a European company...and it will never be the same. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I support the companies that support the things I like...which means no Budweiser for me anymore.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Feel sorry for Kenny??? Not a chance!!! I would like to see BIG DADDY go to glendora and clean house, throw these overpaid non gearhead bean counters out on thier *****!!!!!
But what do I know im just a lowly stocker guy anyway just my 02cents

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

They could drop the fuel classes as far as I'm concerned, I'd much rather watch Pro Stock, Pro Mod and stockers, heck I'd rather watch bracket racing than fuel cars.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

You're missing Billy's point.......Bernstein took Corperate to a whole new level,escallating costs to a point where even some very wealthy privateers said enough! .......Those early sponsorships were for a lot less than you could imagine, and usually were based on a per diem basis that required multiple apperances per week,at dealerships ,ect......Over the years I've met and got to know a few of the Fuel pioneers, their stories ar a lot like ours, living to go to the next race,trying to get enough money to get there........Bernstein, and others like him escalated the costs for all others, starting with among other things, Million dollar salaries for crew chiefs!........Tom

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

No, I'm not missing his point!
His point is a personal attack on someone he doesn't even know and singles Kenny as the root of all evil, not even mentioning the prudhomme's, Mcculloch's, who started out with corporate sponsors....before Kenny came back into racing! Lay the blame on all of them or none but don't just single out one person because you have some delusion that he is at fault.

If you want to throw stones at someone, throw them at the NHRA that has a whole division that is responsible for finding sponsors for NHRA professional racers.

Lastly, by the end of the year you're going to hear that other pro's are losing their sponsors and if enough of that happens and the pro's are no longer racing.....neither will you be racing.....the NHRA will fall if enough sponsors pull out.

How I see it.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

and is NHRA failing a bad thing?

A lot of people thought that Crane being taken over and run by a new team was a good thing.

Why would NHRA being taken over and run by a NEW TEAM bad?

Bob

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

I think there's one other pertinent fact that is being overlooked, here.

There's an AWFUL LOT of FAT to be trimmed from the budget of these Pro teams before they throw in the towel for a lack of sponsorship money.

I am well aware of the high-dollar 18-wheeler stacker/machine shop trailer rigs that have become the norm for the mega-monied teams that populate the Pro ranks, today. They have that stuff because it's nice to have, and show off their opulent lifestyle at the pleasure of Budweiser, Skoal, or whatever $$$$$$$ $ponsor they may be enjoying at the moment. It makes everybody involved look financially healthy and happy.

But, just how NECESSARY is all that high-dollar merchandise? Didn't Top Fuel operate much the same as it does today ON THE RACETRACK when the norm was a gooseneck Chapparal pulled by a 454 Dually? The Crews still worked on the cars between rounds, like they do today, and the only real difference between then and now is the convenience of having a place where the crew chief and driver can go to escape the curious eyes of the fans, and a place to do some machine work and check the computer readout from the last run. Clutch work can be accomplished outside... I've seen it done.

What I'm trying to say is, if the financial parameters of funding a Pro car have to be scaled down to the level of the 1970's..... then, SO BE IT! SELL the 18-wheeler, the whole take-it-with-you machine shop and go racing like racing was before the mega-budget influx of sponsorship money hit the scene with the advent of the Budweiser, Winston, Pepsi, and other non-existent corporate sponsors, today.

Tow vehicles and mega-buck pit-area perks don't make the race car a bit faster... but, they eat up a LOT of cash.... as do outrageous salaries for crew chiefs.

I can't imagine that a really good crew chief on a Fuel operation being paid more than a quarter of a million dollars, annually. I'm sure several make more than that, but really... until he pulls of another "Alan Johnson."

So, I think that the real answer to the financial crisis is to scale back expenses to the point that Pro racing is affordable to do, and to have NHRA re-align the national event schedule to minimize travel expenses, since fuel is a big part of the budget, now.

I think Pro racing can be made affordable on a much-reduced budget if the people who design the program will exercise some common sense and put together a racing budget that mirrors today's reality.

You don't NEED a $500,000.00 truck to haul a 2,300-pound car to the strip.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

The old man (Bernstein) will just muddle his way through life.But what about spikey blond junior?He might have to get a job selling Buds at the ballpark and settle for racing bracket 2 on weekends.
Wow I go on vacation for 4 days and things start warming up again thanks to that "Evil" Nees guy again.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Some of us guys who may not be all that old had friends or neighbors who raced Top fuel out of 2 car garages on regional levels. I remember Chealsie Street Pubs they were really good and well run. Best Nacho's you ever had at a Mall Joint. The point being when kenny sold his soul to the corporate devil he boxed the oldtime real racers out with cubic bucks. Maybe he should have stuck with wreckers and resturants and not have screwed dragracing into the ground. Some of us youngsters remember funny car dryhops, John Collins, Tim Groose and a score of other real racers who got priced out of competition. POOOOOOOOOR kenny

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

[QUOTE] Lastly, by the end of the year you're going to hear that other pro's are losing their sponsors and if enough of that happens and the pro's are no longer racing.....neither will you be racing.....the NHRA will fall if enough sponsors pull out...... How I see it.[quote]

Hardcore Sportsman racers will be finding a way to go racing long after the last Pro stops racing due to lack of Corperate sponsorship. .....Sportsman racing Associations are already thriving and will probably get stronger as NHRA fades...I've given up a lot of things in life to pursue my racing habit on my own dime,it frys my *** when I hear some of the pros whine about not racing without a sponsor, If you are a serious racer ,you'll find a way. .....I'm the last person anyone would call a Dave Connoly fan, but you have to admire the guys desire to race. ...He is willing to race almost anything, and has ! ........Tom

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

I couldn't agree more with Tom as far as sacrificing many things just to race. Sportsman racers were here long before the so called Pro's. Local tracks and racers will survive without the Kenny Bernsteins or any of the pro's that came before or after him. The only big sponsored "Pro" that I ever heard acknowledge the importance of Sportsman racers was Bob Glidden. He said basically if it wasn't for grass roots local racing back in the bad era of the '70's Drag Racing itself would have died............

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Im sure Garlits has matured with age but I was standing next to him 40 or so years ago at Miami /Hollywood Dragway when someone asked him when he was going to run again. He said " as soon as they are done running the ****boxes ." Anyone want to guess which class he was talking about ?

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Not a KB fan and not defending him in any way, but anybody could have screwed dragracing into the ground.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Bill,

I used to drive to the strip, take the slicks out of the trunk and bolt them on and after the race put them back in the trunk, then I graduated to flat towing, to a flat bed trailer, and finally to an enclosed trailer.

Now stock racers are showing up with $800,000.00 motor homes and stacker trailers.

It just seems to be a natural progression to escalate to a better rig as the money gets better. Is this not what the pro's have done.....the more money the better the rig. I was a gofer and tire wiper for Garlits for a very short while in the '60's when he towed an homemade inclosed trailer with a chrysler stationwagon.

The massive influx of money by sponsors calls for the best performances and a lot of wins, which in turn means more spare parts and engines to maintain that winning record so they can get more money for next year.......it's like a giant dragon...the more he eats, the more he needs food....but someday there will be no more and I think that's where the NHRA is going...one day it will have eaten itself!

Tree

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

That day may be arriving more quickly than anyone anticipates.

WHEN IT HAPPENS, will we see a return to common sense spending for all this stuff; gooseneck trailers and duallys in place of the 60-foot long, 18-wheel stackers with onboard machine shops, or do you think the Professional community will simply pack it in and Professional category drag racing as we have come to know it, will cease to exist, (rather than return to the grass-roots modus operandi of the '70s????)

It's gonna be fun to watch, whatever happens, 'cause it's definitely coming. Dunno exactly when, but they have killed the goose that laid the Golden Egg. At least, it would appear that way.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

You'll have a few teams that can still put the money together so the low buck dually guys may make it to an event or two and MAYBE you'll get full fields with those low-buck locals. But as long as ONE team has a big budget others will either have to try to be at the level to compete or park it. I see 8 car pro fields in the not too distant future.

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Hey Bill,

If you go to Atlanta or Joliet you will see the Duallie in Top Fuel. Chris Karamasines is entered. If all those sponsors drop, Chris stands a chance, he is one of my hero's, right up there with Garlits.

I saw Chris up at Joliet recently, and he had run his best ever but had to quit, his slicks were down to the cords, God love the man!

Re: I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!
 

Bobby no offence but go back and read Billy's opening post.