About 40 miles west of Pomona, Calif., lies Hollywood, the entertainment capital of the world where fantasy has been a vital raw material for the steady stream of motion pictures and television shows which have been born there for the past century.

But there's not a Hollywood script in existence that could provide more drama, suspense or exhilaration than the real-life melodrama which has unfolded before Kenny Bernstein over the past two years. From his farewell tour in 2002 to his unplanned return to the cockpit of the Budweiser dragster following his son Brandon's serious accident in May to his remarkable hot streak to end the 2003 season, few could have predicted the almost surreal series of events which have steered the final moments of his legendary racing career.

On Sunday, he won the 39th Automobile Club of Southern California Finals at the Fairplex in Pomona, the last event of the 2003 NHRA POWERade season. In doing so, it gave him four Top Fuel wins out of the last five races and helped to catapult him to a sixth-place finish in the POWERade top ten despite making only 15 starts. The "King of Speed" beat two-time NHRA champion Scott Kalitta in the final round as they both smoked the tires, 6.03/194.41 to 14.65/58.68.

"This has just been a fantastic way to end the season", said Bernstein, who lost in Round 1 of the same event last year, not knowing his retirement was to be short-lived. "Obviously I have my sponsors and my team to thank, especially Tim and Kim (Richards), but I really want to thank the fans who have stood by us and helped us get through some tough times this year. The good news is that Brandon has recovered completely and will be back in the car next year."

	Kenny Bernstein, left, will again hand over his Top Fuel ride to son Brandon next year.

Brandon's recuperation was plainly evident this weekend as he jumped into the Budweiser dragster to handle warm-up duties throughout qualifying and eliminations. On Monday evening, at the NHRA POWERade Awards Ceremonies at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, the Rookie of the Year award will be announced and this year it will go to either Brandon or another Top Fuel driver, David Baca. Baca was dropped from sixth to seventh in the final 2003 standings by the elder Bernstein by virtue of Kenny's victory on Sunday.

What has made Kenny Bernstein's four victories so impressive is that his final round opponents in each win have been some of the most formidable challengers in the category. He beat newly-crowned two-time champion Larry Dixon in Joliet, Scott Kalitta -- the fastest driver in Top Fuel history -- in Dallas and Pomona, and Tony Schumacher in Las Vegas. Until Sunday's final, Bernstein's round wins in his four victories had almost all come with strong, trouble-free passes. But the 58-year-old veteran proved he could still work the throttle pedal and get to the finish line first in the Auto Club final.

"It's just been a great day", he exhaled. "I was very fortunate to get a second chance. They don't come along very often."

Bill Stephens covers the NHRA for ESPN and ESPN.com.