Racing Spencer Massey in the first round of the NHRA Auto Club Nationals left Scott Palmer feeling a measure of sentimentality. Help from a few friends put him alongside a longtime friend in the first round.

Even though Massey beat Palmer decisively in the first round, the memories overshadowed the loss.

“Spencer was with me when I started this Top Fuel team,” Palmer explained. “We got to the races and unloaded the trailer. Me and Spencer … it was the two of us.”

On this Sunday afternoon, Tony Schumacher looked every bit like a battle wearied soldier walking off the battlefield. The newly crowned seven-time NHRA Top Fuel champion fended off the formidable challenge from Larry Dixon and in the end, the two points he gained with Saturday evening’s No. 1 effort made the difference.

“It was probably the toughest [championship] because I had to race a group of guys that I knew how good they were and what they were capable of,” Schumacher admitted. “Larry is a two-time world champion and I know how good he was. He’s an amazing driver and they were an amazing crew. I knew the battle was going to be tough but I also know that we had the right people to pull it off. I knew that before my father or anybody.”

Schumacher was prepared to face Dixon in the final round in a head-to-head battle to determine the championship but rookie racer Spencer Massey beat him to the punch. A pair later Schumacher dropped his second round match opposite of Antron Brown to end the battle.

Note from Greg Anderson to the NHRA. Please fix your right lane at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

The three-time Pro Stock champion drove his Pontiac GXP to victory at the NHRA Auto Club Finals admittedly because lane choice worked in his favor. All four professional winners came out of the left lane, the lane of choice on race day.

Anderson remained in the left lane all day long, knocking off Kurt Johnson in the final round. Johnson fouled but one round earlier Anderson defeated newly crowned champion Mike Edwards, who made
anything but a straight run in the troubled lane.

Larry Dixon chose to accentuate the positives following a disheartening loss at the NHRA Auto Club Finals which cost him the 2009 championship by two points.

Dixon’s championship aspirations ended at the hands of the team he left last season and his replacement, the rookie Spencer Massey.

“I drove good,” said Dixon, a two-time champion when driving for Don Prudhomme. “I'm just kinda a victim of circumstances. Went out there and spun the tires. That was it. At the end of the day that was it, spun the tires.”

Eddie Krawiec has won a Pro Stock Motorcycle championship in the least likely scenario. This season he lost one in the least likely turn of event.

Last season, he won a title despite never having won a national event.

This year Krawiec won his fifth national event victory out of eleven final rounds. His NHRA Auto Club Nationals crown came at the expense of second-year Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Douglas Horne.

The third time was the charm for Mike Neff.

The sophomore driver raced to his third final of the 2009 season and at the final event of the season, the NHRA Auto Club Finals, the former tuner turned drag racer hit pay dirt. The victory marked the 191st win for John Force Racing with 185 coming in the Funny Car class.

“Things just kind of fell our way today. That is not normally how I would like to do it. I would rather go out there and dominate, be low ET every round but I’ll take it any way we can get it. It was a little hit and miss,” Neff said of his day, “mainly miss.  But it just goes to show you that when it’s your day, it’s your day.  We ran good when we needed to and we caught some lucky breaks. It turned out to be a pretty exciting final there with Ashley.  My car went up in smoke immediately and I saw her out there and just when I thought it was over, I started reeling her back in.”

Antron Brown sent a strong message Sunday evening at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Brown wants the competition to know that he’s got every intention of making the Matco Tool-sponsored dragster the one to beat in 2010. He had the car to beat in the regular season but the Countdown to 1 playoffs just didn’t work in his favor.

“We're definitely looking forward to next year,” said Brown, as he celebrated his sixth 2009 win. “This year was a career year out of all my years of NHRA drag racing. We just have to tackle this Countdown a little different way next year.”

In Auto Club Finals pre-race ceremonies, Budweiser capped their 30-year relationship with six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein by presenting him with a world famous Budweiser Clydesdale, the highest honor that Budweiser can bestow.

The presentation was made by Corey Christanell, Director of Sports and Entertainment Marketing at Anheuser-Busch, Inc.

“We are overwhelmed, “said an emotional Bernstein when accepting the Clydesdale.

Two of drag racing’s longest win streaks came to an abrupt end at the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Ca.