1983 U.S. Nationals
In horse racing, the ultimate winning streak is the sweeping of the Triple Crown. For years, drag racing had no equivalent, but with the creation in 1982 of the Budweiser Big Bud Shootout, a special event within an event for Funny Car racers at the U.S. Nationals, drivers first had a chance to double up at the same event. Kenny Bernstein was there to take full advantage of it in 1983.

Bernstein not only won the $25,000 Shootout title Sunday, defeating Al Segrini in the final round, but he also followed Monday with a sweep of the U.S. Nationals Funny Car title, no mean feat considering the tightness of the field — for the first time in history, all 16 cars had qualified in the five-second zone, led by Bernstein's stunning 5.81 at 256.41, which he later backed up for a new NHRA national speed record, though it was just one of many stupendous runs.

Kenny Bernstein was doused in Budweiser and dollars when he swept two titles at the U.S. Nationals in 1983. On Sunday, he defeated Al Segrini in the final round of the Budweiser Big Bud Shootout.

Mark Oswald got left on by Bernstein in the second round Monday but made drag racing history. His 5.88 at 257.87 mph fell short of catching Bernstein's 5.93, 250.00 but was the fastest speed by anything with a piston-driven engine on a dragstrip, matching Top Fuel racer Shirley Muldowney's similar number turned in at the Gatornationals earlier that year.

Crew chief Dale Armstrong had the Budweiser King Mercury LN-7 running as never before, and Bernstein was never out of the five-second zone. His slowest run was a first-round 5.98 defeat of Mike Dunn. After besting Oswald in round two, Bernstein entered a classic semifinal against Raymond Beadle and the Blue Max EXP.

Bernstein slapped a .527 to .577 holeshot on Beadle and held him off, 5.90, 254.23 (which backed up the 256.41 for the record) to Beadle's better 5.87, 247.93.

In the final, Bernstein met up with Tom Anderson, who had defeated John Collins, Segrini, and John Force.

After a nearly even launch, Anderson's mount shook the tires just past the Tree, and Bernstein hammered out a 5.93 to eclipse Anderson's on-and-off-the-throttle 6.04, 239.36. The dual victories produced for Bernstein a record winner's purse in the neighborhood of $80,000.