Bernstein was raised in Lubbock, Texas, attending Monterey High School where he played football. He enrolled at Arlington State College (now the University of Texas at Arlington) to study business administration but dropped out in 1966 to pursue racing. Lacking funds, he worked as a traveling salesman for a teenage clothing line, driving across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
Bernstein made his debut at the 1978 NHRA Summernationals at Englishtown, driving the Chelsea King funny car. He transitioned to full-time professional Funny Car competition in 1979 and quickly secured one of the most enduring sponsorships in motorsport history — a thirty-year relationship with Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser brand. Working with crew chief Dale Armstrong, Bernstein won four consecutive NHRA Funny Car championships, claiming the title in 1985 and successfully defending it through 1988.
In 1987, Bernstein and Armstrong collaborated with land speed racers the Arivett brothers to produce a Funny Car body based on the Buick LeSabre. Nicknamed the "Batmobile," the design introduced sophisticated aerodynamic thinking to Funny Car construction and fundamentally changed how the class approached bodywork.
Following a rule change in 1990, Bernstein shifted to the Top Fuel Dragster class. Two years later, in 1992, he became the first driver in any category to exceed 300 mph in competition — a milestone that cemented his place in drag racing history and earned him the "King of Speed" nickname.
Bernstein won the Top Fuel championship in 1996, making him the first driver in NHRA history to capture titles in both nitro categories. He later acknowledged that the 1996 championship carried a bittersweet weight, having arrived in the same season that saw the death of driver Blaine Johnson. At that year's awards banquet, Bernstein gave his championship trophy to Blaine's brother Alan Johnson, who subsequently built a remarkable career as a crew chief, winning twelve more championships with drivers including Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham, Shawn Langdon, and Brittany Force. Bernstein reclaimed the Top Fuel title in 2001, becoming the only driver to hold multiple championships in both nitro classes.
Bernstein retired from full-time driving in 2002, handing the Budweiser King dragster to his son Brandon. When Brandon suffered a severe back injury in June of that year, Bernstein returned as a substitute driver. Despite competing in only fifteen events, he won four consecutive Top Fuel rounds to close the season, finishing sixth in points.
In September 2006, Bernstein announced a return to Funny Car competition for 2007, fielding a Monster Energy Dodge Charger through his own team. His comeback was difficult — he failed to qualify for the opening two events and did not reach the inaugural Countdown to the Championship. After the season, he hired Tommy Johnson Jr. to drive the Monster Energy entry for 2008, then discontinued the team at the end of that year.
On November 15, 2011, two days after the close of the season, Bernstein announced full retirement from NHRA racing as both driver and team owner.
Beyond his own driving, Bernstein operated King Racing, a NASCAR team active from 1986 to 1995, and the IndyCar operation King Motorsports simultaneously. His NASCAR and IndyCar ventures produced race victories, making him the only team owner to record wins across NHRA drag racing, NASCAR, and IndyCar. At the 1988 Indianapolis 500, his car driven by Jim Crawford led eight laps and finished sixth, Crawford still recovering from serious leg injuries sustained the previous year.
Bernstein served as president of the Professional Racers Organisation, an NHRA drivers-and-team-owners body that worked to improve safety standards and prize money. Following the death of Eric Medlen, he pushed for improved safety restraints and car structures. After the 2008 death of Scott Kalitta, Bernstein collaborated with John Force, Tony Schumacher, and the NHRA's Track Safety Committee to develop a sensor system that monitors nitro engines during competition. Should the engine backfire, the fuel pump automatically shuts off and parachutes deploy — a direct safety response to the circumstances that killed Kalitta.
Bernstein was ranked sixth on the NHRA's Top 50 Drivers list for 1951–2000. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009. His thirty-year commercial relationship with Budweiser, covering both his own career and his son's, stands as one of the longest sponsor-driver relationships in motorsport history. The aerodynamic philosophy he and Dale Armstrong introduced with the "Batmobile" Buick LeSabre body in 1987 remains a foundational chapter in Funny Car development.
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