Kenny Bernstein earned accolades one last time as a driver with his 69th career victory, his 39th in Top Fuel, and his fourth in the last five events. The $40,000 payoff made up for his unattractive, tire-smoking final-round contest with Scott Kalitta in which the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Dragster driver mashed on the throttle seven times. He said he "got sideways so many times and thought I was going to go upside down. I finally just gave up. There was one point in time that I thought I was definitely going to crash."

Cory McClenathan will make it into the trivia books as the answer to the question: Who was the racer to defeat Shirley Muldowney in her final round of drag racing? (Zak Hawthorne photo)

Much to his surprise, Del Worsham got his third FC victory of the season. (Ron Lewis photo)

The Worsham family team got attention, and an extra $40,000, by landing Del Worsham and his Cinderella teammate Cory Lee in the freaky Funny Car finals. Worsham, who jumped the gun on the tree, was declared the winner and took his second Finals victory in three years after Lee's Pontiac crossed the center line.

Cory Lee was one of several drivers who had trouble with
the track surface. (Zak Hawthorne photo)

CAPTION: It isn't neon, but the glow underneath Dale Creasy's Funny Car may start a new trend in show cars. (Gil Rebilas photo)

Craig Treble benefited from fellow Suzuki rider Angelle Savoie's final-round red light to post his fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle victory of the year and second in a row, and cash in for $7,500. He expressed his respect for the Hines family, which has resurrected his career more than once.

Anderson, the Pro Stock champion whose Vegas General Construction Pontiac Grand Am made hardly a bobble all season long, earned another $25,000 and a victory that brought even more respect. With his 12th victory of 2003, capped by a final-round defeat of nemesis Kurt Johnson by .0221 of a second (about seven feet), Anderson rewrote the single-season record for most Pro Stock victories. It broke the tie he had with Darrell Alderman, who won 11 times in 1991. Anderson's 67 round-wins also passed John Force's 65 (from 1996) for most in a season by a professional driver.