KENNY BERNSTEIN: PONDERING THE FUTURE
Bernstein now has the time to hunt for funding, but admits, if funding isn't found, he is prepared to walk away from the world of drag racing.
“If there’s no major sponsor, this company and this team will not be in existence is what it boils down to,” said Bernstein on Saturday morning at Houston Raceway Park. “The reason for that is really simple. This is our business and how we make a living. We don’t have other businesses to fall back on that we can pull from for a year.
Thirty Years Under the Budweiser Umbrella; What Direction Will Bernstein Take In 2010?
Kenny Bernstein needed to let the public know he doesn't want to walk away from drag racing. Budweiser didn't want to hurt a sport they have invested in for the past 30 years. The compromise 
was an announcement made the day after Gainesville, instead of waiting until the fall.
Bernstein now has the time to hunt for funding, but admits, if funding isn't found, he is prepared to walk away from the world of drag racing.
“If there’s no major sponsor, this company and this team will not be in existence is what it boils down to,” said Bernstein on Saturday morning at Houston Raceway Park. “The reason for that is really simple. This is our business and how we make a living. We don’t have other businesses to fall back on that we can pull from for a year.
“This is how we make a living. I can’t take money out of my pocket at this age in my life and put it into a race team when there might not be anything there. It’s an endless, bottomless pit. You just can’t do that.”
Make no mistake, Bernstein isn't just tossing in the towel. Given the word Budweiser was walking away, Bernstein immediately thought of the future. The world needed to know, as soon as possible, his organization was hunting for funding.
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“That’s the good thing about the announcement being early,” Bernstein explained. “That’s what we fought for. That’s what took so long in getting it done. We knew about it before and there were some discussions before because we had to be careful. Number one, we didn’t want to hurt the sport in any way that a sponsor like this was moving on. At the same time, we had to protect ourselves. We had to give ourselves some time to find something. We had to put the shingle out there and let everyone know we were available.
The main thing is that we want to keep it going. I want to make that clear to everyone. We want to find a sponsor. We want to do that for Brandon and all of the employees we have had for years, and for the sport that we love. I think we are important to the sport. We want to be here for that and do it. If I was at a point where I didn’t want to do it then I would say we were done. But, Brandon has a whole future ahead of him. He’s a young guy and just getting started, so to speak. I know it’s been five years but we have a great team with Rob Flynn and these guys, not that it hasn’t been good before; it’s just very exciting right now. I hope that we can keep it going because we really want to. That’s our first intent, period.
“That’s what we have done.”
Bernstein clearly understood the economy and time would present the biggest obstacles in the search for new funding.
“The current economic conditions couldn’t be worse. I told BUD they ought to give me one more year and let these economics turn around and give me a chance – this is a tough deal out here,” Bernstein said with a hint of humor. “I feel like we have enough time because it’s March and most companies aren’t looking at these programs right now. They’ll start soon but it’s not right now. We have a couple of months before things start rolling in these areas.
On the positive side, Bernstein has part of the funding in place. However, it will take a major sponsor to keep Bernstein from walking away.
“The answer is simply this – if we’re not able to get major funding, I have associates lined up and we’re good there, and if we can’t get a major sponsor to make this work at a level we want to be at, and to perform at a level we always want to be at, to look the way we want to look and represent the company the way we want to, then we won’t do it. It will be time for us to close the door and sell things out.”
It is hard to fathom attending a national drag racing event without Kenny Bernstein and his operation on property. Imagine how difficult it was for Bernstein to accept Budweiser was leaving.
“In the time before when we knew it – disappointment, but not surprised,” Bernstein recalled. “It was a little harder once the announcement was made. Then the realization set in and I had a tough three or four days after the announcement was made, with me personally. It was, ‘Wow this is really happening.’
“You all of a sudden start getting emails and phone calls and the real world sets in. Then it sets in that we have to go find another sponsor now, something to keep this thing going. That’s what I feel.
“As time has progressed, a couple of weeks have gone by, I’m okay with it. I understand it. I knew it for a long time. The reality has already set in and gone. Now it’s basically back to business.”
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SIDEBAR - NO CONTEST; NOTHING TOPS BEING THE FIRST TO 300
Thirty years is a long time to make a lot of fond memories. Winning
poles, races and championships are all part of the Bernstein/Budweiser
legacy.Yet, without hesitation, Bernstein, his eyes twinkling as a smile grows across his face knows exactly which of all those accomplishments stands out above all the others.
“That something you don’t even have think about for us and we’ve been so fortunate to have some great people with us throughout the years and to have some great days,” said Bernstein. “It’s still that wonderful day in Gainesville in 1992 when we broke that 300. That was a statement said around the world that meant so much to ALL motorsports in the world, not just drag racing. For this team to accomplish that will always be the greatest memory. To this day, wherever I go, someone will always mention that ‘he’s the first guy to go 300.”
“That was a pretty big thing at that stage and we really didn’t realize how big it was. We knew it was large but we really didn’t know what it meant until much later.” - Stan Creekmore, Steve Kitchens Photos circa Gainesville 1992
Back to business means racing to win, and hunting for funding in the right places. Bernstein's operation is blessed with time to find a new primary sponsor, however that doesn't mean there is time to waste.
Just don't expect an overnight announcement.
“I don’t think it is going to happen in two or three months,” Bernstein agreed. “I’m concerned about that very much … yes … but there are categories in this economy that are doing well. We have to focus on those categories and those few do fit our demographic profile. We’ll have to focus on those with the people who are working for us. They are beating the dog, so to speak, trying to find something. That’s all we can do and we’ll do the best we can to put it together. We want to continue with the NHRA. We love it and we believe in it. We think it is a great market and a great opportunity for a company to get a lot of return on an investment for not much money being spent when compared to other forms of sports and certainly motorsports. That’s all we can do it. If we get it done, we’ll keep going and if we can’t we’ll have to stop.”
Bernstein has made the decision to pull the plug before. He shuttered his Winston Cup, now Sprint Cup, operation. But, was that tougher than having to announce Budwesier's departure?
“No that was a decision I made [to sell the Cup team],” Bernstein said. “It was something I got to do, I got to make that decision. This one is completely different. We had just looked in the last few years of that and we wouldn’t have been able to compete on the same level as the Hendrick, Yates and Childress (operations) of that time unless we got moved to the next level on monetary income and the ability to get the driver and the people. In all honesty, the key area was personnel and what you need to go forward. The dollars just weren’t there to do it.
“That was an easy decision to make because if I can’t compete in anything, I’m not going to do it. If I’m hampered by money or personnel, then I’m not going to do it. I want to have at least that chance and if I can’t get that done, then shame on me.”
There is a similarity here.
Unable to garner enough funding to be competitive in NASCAR, Bernstein has set the precedent by which he can close down his drag racing operation. If he can't find the funding to compete with the likes of Schumacher, Prudhomme and Johnson then come next February Pomona will go on without him, which was truly be a sad day for the NHRA.
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“I probably won’t,” Bernstein admitted. “I know myself too well. The best for me would be out of sight, out of mind. Then I won’t become concerned and consumed. I have a lot of other things I like to do. Retirement is not a bad thing right now for me if that was to happen. It’s not the end of the world for me. I love exercising. I love playing golf. I love riding a motorcycle. I love doing a lot of things. I can get lost pretty easy. In a couple of years I might get little itchy but believe me I could live with it for a couple of years.
“The main thing is that we want to keep it going. I want to make that clear to everyone. We want to find a sponsor. We want to do that for Brandon and all of the employees we have had for years, and for the sport that we love. I think we are important to the sport. We want to be here for that and do it. If I was at a point where I didn’t want to do it then I would say we were done. But, Brandon has a whole future ahead of him. He’s a young guy and just getting started, so to speak. I know it’s been five years but we have a great team with Rob Flynn and these guys, not that it hasn’t been good before; it’s just very exciting right now. I hope that we can keep it going because we really want to. That’s our first intent, period.”
Get the message here? Bernstein is not using the departure of Budweiser as an excuse to walk away. He admittedly has goals left to achieve in the sport. He has a son and employees who have earned his loyalty. Bernstein will leave no stone unturned in his efforts to ensure the 2010 opens next February with him and not without him.
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