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.

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Ashley Force Hood knows when her crew is getting aggressive with the tune-up. They always cinch her belts a little tighter and give her the sly grin.

That’s her clue that she’s better hold the wheel tightly.

On a Saturday evening, the second-generation driver went to the top of the Funny Car charts with a 4.059 elapsed time, a run that equaled her father’s Friday evening personal best. A faster speed gave her the top seed headed into Sunday final eliminations.

Zak Elcock, NHRA Publicist, introduced Pro Stock driver Mike Edwards to the assembled media at the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Ca. As he said, “The 2009 NHRA Pro Stock champion Mr. Mike Edwards”, the newly crown champion smiled.

“Doesn’t that sound good?” Edwards said.

Edwards didn’t just clinch a championship; he did it with an exclamation point.

Nothing could erase the smile off of Hector Arana’s face on Saturday at the NHRA Auto Club Finals, not even his closest challenger seeking a long-shot way to successfully retain his title.

“Hopefully Hector goes out first round and I win the championship,” said Eddie Krawiec with a smile, glancing over at Arana. “Hector is deserving of this championship and he’s done a great job. I was fortunate when I raced for the title last year that I had a great five race series. Hector has had a great season.”

Tony Schumacher scored his second low qualifying effort of 2009 and the timing couldn’t have been better.

Schumacher heads into the final day of the season with a one point lead thanks to a low elapsed time effort on his final nitro qualifying run of 2009. He scored a back-up for a potential new world record with a 3.772 elapsed time at 320.58 miles per hour.

Dixon, the second quickest Top Fuel qualifier, also has a back-up for a new record. The current record is 3.771 seconds held by Schumacher.