In the Edelbrock Hot Street class, the naturally aspirated title was down to two racers – class rookie Don Bowles and defending class champion Robbie Blankenship. At the end of the day on Saturday, it was former champion Charlie Booze who was sitting in the top spot, with an 8.59-second qualifying effort.

In eliminations Booze eclipsed the standing record en route to the final round, while the championship was decided in the second round, when Blankenship lost to Max Gross and Bowles defeated Bangin’ Bob Hanlon, giving him the bye into the final and the 2009 Hot Street Championship.

While the war may have ended, the battle was not yet over as Booze was waiting in the final. Bowles uncorked a stout 8.65-second pass, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Booze’s record-breaking 8.56-second blast.

Coming into Bowling Green, Tim Matherly already had the 2009 5.0 Magazine Real Street championship locked up mathematically. However, that didn’t mean he was content to sit out the World Finals as he still hadn’t beaten Bruce Hemminger yet this season. After qualifying number one, Matherly was on a mission to end the season the same way he started it, with a win. He worked his way to the finals, where he faced Paul Wiley, who really got his combination running strong for this last race.