King Racing
Encyclopedia
King Racing was the name of famed NHRA
champion Kenny Bernstein
's racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR
Winston Cup Series
as well as in CART
and the Indianapolis 500
.
Winston Cup Series race in 1988 with Ricky Rudd
at the wheel of the Quaker State Buick at The Budweiser at the Glen. Rudd also won the Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at Sears Point Raceway
in 1989.
The third and final win for King Racing came in 1990 at the First Union 400
at North Wilkesboro
with Brett Bodine
driving. Bodine competed in the most events with the team, driving in 158 races. At the 1994 Brickyard 400
, Bodine drove the car to a second place finish to Jeff Gordon
. It would be Bodine's final top 5 finish of his career, and the team's best result over the final few seasons.
In 1995, sprint car champion Steve Kinser
started the season in the car but struggled and was released. Hut Stricklin
took over and ran the rest of the season, with two top 5's. Bernstein sold the team in 1995, but has maintained his NHRA team with continuing success.
in 1980, at the 64th Indianapolis 500
. The team then took a long hiatus before returning to the series in 1988. King Racing ran as a part-time entry, focusing primarily on the Indianapolis 500
, but at times, entering other CART events.
Jim Crawford
led laps during the 1988 Indy 500
in a Buick
-powered entry and finished 6th. Johnny Rutherford
's final Indy start came with the team in the same year. In 1989, Crawford qualified 4th at Indy, but dropped out with a broken drive train.
The team scored a pole position
at the 1992 Indy 500
with Roberto Guerrero
at the wheel. Guerrero and Jim Crawford flirted with track records all month long. On race day, Guerrero spun out and knocked the wall during the pace lap due to cold tires, and did not start the race. In 1993
, the team fielded a three-car team at Indy. Al Unser
led laps and finished 12th.
King Racing's final years in CART was 1994, with driver Scott Goodyear
. Goodyear drove a full season, winning the Michigan 500
, the team's lone Indy car victory.
National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...
champion Kenny Bernstein
Kenny Bernstein
Kenny Bernstein is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King dragster, he has also been nicknamed "The King of Speed," because he was the first driver to break 300 miles per hour in the standing-start...
's racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Winston Cup Series
NEXTEL Cup
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . The series was originally known as the Strictly Stock Series and Grand National Series . While leasing its naming rights to R. J...
as well as in CART
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
and the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
.
NASCAR
The team won its first NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Winston Cup Series race in 1988 with Ricky Rudd
Ricky Rudd
Ricky Rudd is a former American NASCAR driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and Nationwide Series driver Jason Rudd. Rudd is known as the "Iron Man" of NASCAR; holding the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR racing. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Rudd had made 788...
at the wheel of the Quaker State Buick at The Budweiser at the Glen. Rudd also won the Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at Sears Point Raceway
Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills...
in 1989.
The third and final win for King Racing came in 1990 at the First Union 400
First Union 400
The First Union 400 was a former NASCAR Winston Cup race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA, in late March or early April from 1951 to 1996...
at North Wilkesboro
North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway was a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996...
with Brett Bodine
Brett Bodine
Brett Bodine is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and is the current driver of the pace car in Sprint Cup events. Brett is the younger brother of 1986 Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine and the older brother of 2006 Craftsman Truck Series champion Todd Bodine...
driving. Bodine competed in the most events with the team, driving in 158 races. At the 1994 Brickyard 400
1994 Brickyard 400
The Inaugural Brickyard 400 was held on Saturday August 6, 1994 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race marked the nineteenth race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. It was first race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway besides the Indianapolis 500 since the Harvest Classic in...
, Bodine drove the car to a second place finish to Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...
. It would be Bodine's final top 5 finish of his career, and the team's best result over the final few seasons.
In 1995, sprint car champion Steve Kinser
Steve Kinser
Steve Kinser , is a professional sprint car racer. He has won 20 championships in the World of Outlaws series, and currently drives the #11 Bass Pro Shops car. Kinser left the World of Outlaws in 2006 to compete with the National Sprint Tour series, but returned to the World of Outlaws for the...
started the season in the car but struggled and was released. Hut Stricklin
Hut Stricklin
Waymond Lane "Hut" Stricklin is a former NASCAR race car driver. He was born on June 24, 1961, in Calera, Alabama. He married Pam Allison, the daughter of NASCAR legend Donnie Allison after they were introduced by her cousin Davey. Hut was the last member of the Alabama Gang.In 1986, Stricklin won...
took over and ran the rest of the season, with two top 5's. Bernstein sold the team in 1995, but has maintained his NHRA team with continuing success.
Indy cars
King Racing first fielded Indy carsAmerican Championship Car Racing
Since 1916 there has been a recognized United States national automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level, single-seat open wheel race cars. The championship has been under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1909. Since 1911, the Indianapolis...
in 1980, at the 64th Indianapolis 500
1980 Indianapolis 500
Results of the 1980 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 25, 1980.-Recap:After failing in its 1979 debut, Jim Hall's radically new Chaparral chassis is driven to easy victory by Johnny Rutherford. Tom Sneva becomes the first driver to place second after starting last. He also...
. The team then took a long hiatus before returning to the series in 1988. King Racing ran as a part-time entry, focusing primarily on the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
, but at times, entering other CART events.
Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
led laps during the 1988 Indy 500
1988 Indianapolis 500
The 72nd Indianapolis 500 was held Sunday May 29, 1988 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Team Penske dominated the month, sweeping the top three starting positions with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sullivan on the inside of the front row, and Al Unser, Sr. on the outside...
in a Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
-powered entry and finished 6th. Johnny Rutherford
Johnny Rutherford
For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Johnny Rutherford . For other people with a similar name, see John RutherfordJohn Sherman Rutherford III , better known as Johnny Rutherford, and also known as "Lone Star JR" is a former U.S...
's final Indy start came with the team in the same year. In 1989, Crawford qualified 4th at Indy, but dropped out with a broken drive train.
The team scored a pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
at the 1992 Indy 500
1992 Indianapolis 500
The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser, Jr...
with Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
at the wheel. Guerrero and Jim Crawford flirted with track records all month long. On race day, Guerrero spun out and knocked the wall during the pace lap due to cold tires, and did not start the race. In 1993
1993 Indianapolis 500
The 77th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, 1993. Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead with 16 laps to go, and won his second career Indy 500 victory...
, the team fielded a three-car team at Indy. Al Unser
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
led laps and finished 12th.
King Racing's final years in CART was 1994, with driver Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
. Goodyear drove a full season, winning the Michigan 500
Firestone Indy 400
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.Between 1970 and 2007, Michigan International Speedway hosted at least one open-wheel race in every season, hosting 55 open-wheel races over 38 years...
, the team's lone Indy car victory.