“That’s the upbringing from my father (Bert) on the business side when he told me, ‘Always give the customer more than they pay for.’ The customer was Budweiser in my eyes. I didn’t really care if they (public) ever knew who Kenny Bernstein was as long as they knew it was Budweiser. I knew if we made that wholesaler happy, and he was convinced he was getting something out of this, regardless whether we won or not. They hung in there with us because they knew we were selling beer. When we won, it was icing on the cake.

“We were fortunate to be with a company that had a program set up with the wholesalers that you could work with. There are some companies, when you look for sponsorship, there’s really no way to show them how you can help them. There’s no way to prove incremental business. But, with wholesalers, you could.”

Brandon Bernstein, who took over from his father in 2003, didn’t win last season. That’s a problem in today’s instant gratification society.

“Things have changed a lot in the last several years because there are so many different venues out there,” Kenny admitted. “In NASCAR and NHRA, the sponsor load is not very big, and everyone is beating on the same sponsors. Now, it’s almost like the marketing side is not quite as important as it is having success on the racetrack. Which is just the opposite of what it was in the beginning.”

Brandon, a 17-time winner working with new crew chief Rob Flynn, conceded: “There’s pressure. It’s weird: I didn’t feel it my first year. I think I was just having so much fun driving. After that, I started feeling more pressure, from myself, to perform for Budweiser and my dad.”

Kenny tapped into another emotional keg as he thought about this history. Especially since the prospects for a 31st year are uncertain now that Belgian brewer InBev owns Anheuser-Busch. A decision should be known by mid-late April.

“When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was race, and they gave me a chance to do what I loved and make a living out of it. I don’t know what else you can ask for.

“I feel badly for people across the world that are doing jobs they really don’t want to do. We got to do what we wanted to do. It’s hard. It’s taxing. It’s tough on you. It’s all the things that go with a normal job. People think it’s a hobby. It’s not. It’s dollars and cents. It’s travel. It’s work and you’ve got to prove yourself almost every week. It’s ‘What have you done for me lately?’ in most cases these days.

“They’re both great accomplishments. I don’t think you can take away from that first to 300, though. That’s a pretty special day. That first to 300 was something that will never be repeated in drag racing. Somebody else could repeat 30 years with another sponsor, possibly, but the 300 will always be there.”

Cheers, Kenny. After 30 great years on-and-off the track, this Bud’s for YOU!