Kenny Bernstein scored the biggest victory of his rejuvenated Top Fuel career, Funny Car winner Jim White ran an incredible 5.16 at 288.27 mph (the fastest run in Funny Car history), and Darrell Alderman continued his rampage in Pro Stock with his ninth victory of the year, but the exploits of 26-year-old Pat Austin were what made the 1991 U.S. Nationals one of the decade's most memorable events.

Austin not only won his fourth straight U.S. Nationals Alcohol Funny Car title, but he runner-upped in his Top Fuel debut. Hopping from one car to another at drag racing's biggest race, Austin became only the third driver to reach the finals in separate eliminators at the same event.

Hounded constantly in the two weeks before the race about what his family would do with the Castrol GTX operation of the late Gary Ormsby, the pressure on Austin was as great off the track as it was on, but he performed like a seasoned veteran.

Driving Roland Leong's Hawaiian Punch Daytona, Jim White recorded the fastest run in Funny Car history with a 5.16, 288.27 in his final-round victory over John Force in the Budweiser Shootout.

After defeating a red-lighting Jimmy Nix in round one of Top Fuel, Austin ran a 5.05 to beat Eddie Hill's quicker 4.98 in round two, then beat Tom McEwen in the semifinals. Unfortunately for Austin, his dragster banged the supercharger on the burnout in the final — all the more frustrating when Bernstein smoked the tires on his title run.

"The tires hooked up and I got back on the throttle trying to get them to smoke," said Austin. "The motor bogged, the engine went lean, and that was it. [Crew chief Lee Beard] had put a new blower on the car, and he told me that it would run 4.99 or 4.98 but to be careful on the burnout because the car would be responsive; that the acceleration would be more explosive.

"My first thought was, 'Wow, that just cost us the U.S. Nationals.' I climbed out of the car; I was in a daze. All I remember seeing was the look of disappointment on [crewmember Dickie Venables'] face and on the faces of all the guys. You never met a guy who hates to lose as much as I do, but this one really hurts. We had that race won."

As for Bernstein, he reached the final with a string of 5.0s, including a 5.02 in round two to defeat No. 1 qualifier Joe Amato. Bernstein then strapped a .438 reaction time on Frank Hawley in the semifinals and held on for a 5.07 to 5.04 holeshot victory.

"It wasn't pretty, and certainly not the way we would like to have won, but we'll take it," said Bernstein, whose victory, his sixth of the season, tied the record held by only three other drivers: Don Garlits, Darrell Gwynn, and Gary Ormsby. "I have mixed feelings. We outran some good people from the tough side of the ladder, and it's no fluke to outrun Joe Amato and Frank Hawley. We paid our dues."

As for White's Funny Car victory, only Bernstein and Don Prudhomme, who won the Budweiser Shootout and the U.S. Nationals in 1983 and 1989, respectively, had enjoyed a better Indy.

Prior to his 5.16, 288.27 in his final-round victory over John Force in Sunday's Shootout, White reset the national speed record in Roland Leong's Wes Cerny-tuned Hawaiian Punch Daytona with a first-round 287.81-mph blast, which he backed up with a 286.07 in the second round.

Pro Stock Bike winner Jim Bernard completed his sweep of the Wax Shop Pro Bike Dash and the U.S. Nationals with a victory over Paul Gast in the final.

White, who qualified on the pole with a 5.23, made five 5.2-second runs in all. He set low e.t. in his first-round victory over a red-lighting Richard Hartman with a 5.210, then defeated Al Hofmann in round two with a 5.214. A broken rear end slowed White to a 5.78 in his semifinal victory over a tire-smoking Mark Oswald, but he bounced back with a 5.27 at 283.64 mph to beat Force in the final.

Only Force, with a 5.31 and pair of 5.32s, and Hofmann, who ran a 5.32, came close to matching White's performance.

In Pro Stock, Alderman continued his victory rampage with his ninth win of the season and first U.S. Nationals title. Alderman, whose victory tied him with Bob Glidden for most wins in a season, qualified his Mopar Parts Avenger No. 2 with a 7.30 behind Warren Johnson's 7.28 and set low e.t. with a 7.27 in his first-round victory over Jerry Yeoman. From there, Alderman beat Glidden, Scott Geoffrion, and, in the final, Larry Morgan. Alderman cut a .419 light and ran a 7.29 to beat Morgan's 7.30.

After five runner-ups in just 10 starts, 22-year-old Jim Bernard broke through for his first national event win in Pro Stock Bike. Two days after winning the Wax Shop Pro Bike Dash, Bernard completed his Indy sweep with a victory over Paul Gast in Monday's U.S. Nationals final.

Though Austin's fourth straight Alcohol Funny Car victory may have been overshadowed by his remarkable debut in Top Fuel, it certainly didn't diminish the feat. Austin became only the second driver in NHRA history to win four consecutive U.S. Nationals titles when he defeated first-time national event finalist Tony Bartone.