One of the most prominent rumors floating around the professional drag racing scene over the last couple of weeks had Brandon Bernstein taking the seat in the second Morgan Lucas Racing team car for the 2012 NHRA season. Today, that rumor was proven to be true as the team made an official announcement introducing Bernstein in that role. The car carries sponsorship from MAV TV and Lucas Oil. Bernstein is one of the winningest active Top Fuel pilots and is actually 10th on the all time win list for Top Fuel, tied with Shirley Muldowney.

Shawn Langdon drove the car for the last couple of seasons before departing for a seat in one of the Alan Johnson tuned Al Anabi machines for 2012. The Lucas team has some high expecations for 2012 and bringing in a proven winner like Bernstein seems like a good move from our perspective. Bernstein knows the commitments and rigors of the tour and we’re sure he’ll do a great job representing Lucas and MAV TV this season.

We can say with confidence that you’ll see one of the first video interviews with Morgan and Brandon right here on BangShift as both men will be testing in West Palm Beach, Florida in the coming weeks and we’ll be there filming interviews and broadcasting live from the event! Stay tuned for details!

Until then, a hearty congrats to Brandon Bernstein and the whole Morgan Lucas Racing organization. They are heading into the season with two proven commodities piloting their cars!

Here’s the full release from MLR:

Brandon Bernstein has been selected to drive the MavTV/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster for Morgan Lucas Racing in 2012 and beyond. Bernstein’s dragster, the same one driven by Shawn Langdon the last three years, will be tuned by longtime MLR crewmembers Joe Barlam and John DeFilippis.

“Brandon Bernstein is the total package,” Lucas said. “He brings an amazing presence, a professional attitude, and a tremendous fan following to this race team, not to mention his obvious ability behind the wheel of a Top Fuel dragster. He’s the perfect choice to fill the seat and represent our sponsors.”

Added MavTV President Bob Patison, “Brandon Bernstein is a solid choice to pilot the MavTV Top Fuel dragster. His professionalism and proven record of success on the track are exactly the attributes a sponsor wants in a driver. Brandon will be a great ambassador for MavTV, a network featuring the best in movies, sports, and variety programming.”

An 18-time national event winner, Bernstein already ranks fifth among active Top Fuel drivers in total number of victories and is tied for 10th with legend Shirley Muldowney on the all-time class list.

“I’m honored to have this chance to drive for MavTV, Lucas Oil, and Morgan Lucas Racing,” Bernstein said. “It was a stressful holiday season, to be honest, as I assessed the limited opportunities out there. It wasn’t much fun, until today.

“Racing with my dad was a dream come true, and now I have a very unique chance to race with my second family — Forrest, Charlotte, and Morgan Lucas. We raced with the Lucas Oil brand on our cars for many years, and it’s great to come back into the fold. I feel an immense amount of gratitude to them for giving me this chance.”

Aside from MavTV and Lucas Oil, the car will be branded with ProtectTheHarvest.com, an initiative spearheaded by Forrest Lucas. More details on specifics of the various sponsorship arrangements are forthcoming.

“Drag racing requires a lot of its drivers,” Morgan Lucas said. “The part where you’re actually driving the car is only a small piece of what it takes.

“Brandon has such a well-rounded vision of how to meet the demands of high-profile brands like MavTV, Lucas Oil, Toyota, GEICO, and all the other companies that support Morgan Lucas Racing. He also knows how to interact with the media and the fans. He’s a real pro, and that was a big part of why he was selected. The fact we’re longtime friends also was important. Brandon’s a family man with strong values. He’s the perfect choice to drive this car.”

Bernstein said that his longtime friendships with Morgan and Barlam is making the transition to his new team an easy one.

“I’ve known these guys a long time,” the 39-year-old said. “Morgan and I grew up out here together, and I remember bugging Joe back when he was a crew guy on the McDonald’s car. I was probably 14 years old at the time, but he was always cool to me, and we’ve remained in touch. It’s a very comfortable feeling here.

“Joe and John have been working overtime with Morgan’s crew chiefs [Aaron Brooks and Rod Centorbi] to make these two dragsters identical. We’re going to take things to a new level this year.”

Lucas and Bernstein will begin testing for the upcoming season on Jan. 16 in south Florida.