The quick and the fast unleashed jaw-dropping passes at the Battle of the Imports (BOTI) World Finals on November 22, 2009. Held at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, California, BOTI finished its 19th season in grand style. Nearly every class was full, as veteran and first-time racers came out to compete in the last drag racing event of the season.

Some high-profile racers from across the country faced off against Southern California locals on the 1,320. Spectators enjoyed quite a show as this BOTI Finals was highlighted by a number of upsets. Veteran Lisa Kubo looked as if she would meet little resistance in her domination of the Street Comp class. Qualifying number one, she won her first two rounds to face number-two qualifier Andres Sigverze in the finals. When problems surfaced in Lisa's Civic, Andres laid down a 10.012-second blast at 148.87 MPH for the win.

Ali Afshar and the Easy Street Subaru dominated the street tuner class securing the top spot with a 9.211 at 153 MPH. Ali battled all the way into the finals to face second-place qualifier Archie Concon. Archie's all-wheel drive Mitsubishi Mirage earned its spot in the finals only to fall short, as Ali broke into the 8's with an 8.972 at 156 MPH for the win.

Bisi Ezerioha looked to have an easy go as the only Pro Stock vehicle running a nine-second pass in qualifying. Mike Michelson almost dipped into the 9s on his way to the finals on the opposite side of the ladder. In the end, Michelson's 10.082-second run was enough to outpace Bisi's Insight when it lost second gear.

Kenny Tran and the Jotech Motorsports team traveled halfway across the country from Garland, Texas to campaign the Scion tC drag car. Qualifying first in the Pro Import class, Kenny set the bar high with a scorching 8.305 second pass at 168.9 MPH. He secured the lowest e.t. (8.287 seconds) as well as the top speed (171.66 MPH) before a breakdown at the line prevented his advance. The finals would be a battle of the Bugs with Eric Calabrese running 8.415@169.78 MPH for the win over Karl Koppenhaver.

DSPORT Magazine's publisher Michael Ferrara recommissioned the DSPORT RH9 GT-R in hopes of setting new records. Having already run a 9.98 (official) and 9.70 (unofficial) with 900 horsepower at the wheels, the goal was to run 9.30s or better with 1,100 whp. A new official best elapsed time pass of 9.86 at 145 MPH showed some promise. Unfortunately, the trap speed was far short of the 160 MPH it should have been. In addition to a slipping clutch and failing center differential, the mighty RB26 engine finally surrendered when the stock exhaust valves literally lost their heads. The result was catastophic engine damage. Despite this setback, DSPORT is now more determined than even to get its GT-R into the 8s in full-street trim. This is something that hasn't been done anywhere in the world. Look out as the DSPORT GT-R comes back stronger and faster than ever. It may just be visiting a dragstrip near you.

For more on this article, grab a copy of DSPORT Magazine on newsstands nationwide!