Before the Pro Alcohol finalists at the City of Ipswitch Winternationals fired their cars, there was a feeling that something spectacular would transpire. Dramatic would be a weak description of the final round between newly christened 19-time series champion Gary Phillips and robust challenger John Cannuli.

Phillips was the king of speed and Cannuli the master of elapsed time. The final round was to be another battle in a rivalry which appears to be ratcheting in intensity with each meeting.

Cannuli put .024 on Phillips out of the gate and appeared to be on a strong run with the front wheels in the air. As Cannuli's car traveled, it also drifted out of his lane and across the centerline where it impacted Phillips.

Neither driver was injured and exited their respective cars before safety crews arrived.

"That was not the way I wanted to end my day," said Phillips. "That could have been worse; we could have totaled the car or something worse. It was a bit of a bummer for a perfect weekend."

The weekend was indeed a good one for Phillips, as he clinched the championship after winning the second round by beating Wayne Price and also becoming the first driver in Australian drag racing history to exceed 270 miles per hour in an Alcohol Funny Car.

"That will likely be my last milestone," said Philips, who broke his previous mark of 269.83. "It was an outstanding experience, and the car even went 217 and some change to the half-track. It was getting it.

"I think we made a pretty big statement with that run."

Cannuli made a few strong statements of his own over the course of the weekend, starting on Friday with a 5.358 elapsed time for a new series record. 

The Brisbane-based Cannuli came to the starting line with every intention of proving he had the strongest car. When the car left the line, it appeared very aggressive

"It left the line like it normally does and it carried the wheels a little further than it usually does, saw the shift light, punched my shift and didn't realize I was out of the groove and into his lane," Cannuli explained. "Then I felt something hit me and I pulled the chutes and tried to keep it off of the walls."

Cannuli said before this weekend's race the team had gone through his Funny Car extensively and adjusted the set-up to calm the car down a bit. He added the car had more and the 5.35 came on a run where he was off of the throttle early. 

Cannuli came to the starting line intent to make a statement he intends to be a solid contender for seasons to come. 

"100 percent ... we've lost two years in a row. We lost this first IHRA championship [and it was] to this guy again," said Cannuli. "Couple of rounds with the massive fireball last year, and then this year. We will be back again bigger and stronger next season."

"We were going to run a 5.33 [on that pass], and knew it had it in it." 

Phillips said running hard for championships is the only way he knows to race. 

"Winning championships is why Lucas Oil has been with me for 20 years," said Phillips. "This is what keeps me driven, winning championships. You have to keep on slugging away.

"I come out here and race to win championships, and that's it. I'm a black and white kind of guy."