For at least the previous two NHRA POWERade Drag Racing seasons, the Pro Stock category consistently lived up to its billing as the most competitive class in the sport.

What's happened in 2003?

After the first 12 races, the class which had more than a dozen national event winners in both 2001 and 2002 has become a horse race of a different color. Only four drivers have grabbed event trophies this year, making for a lopsided points race.

Greg Anderson, in his sophomore year as the top dog of his team (owned by Las Vegas businessman Ken Black), has won in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Englishtown, Topeka, and Columbus. He has run record-smashing elapsed times and top speeds routinely, having reset both ends of the national marks in E-town, and outside of some untimely slip-ups at the starting line, has been the dominant driver in the dominant car.

Anderson currently holds a 70-point lead over Kurt Johnson in the POWERade standings; that lead would be significantly more had Anderson not suffered two first-round losses, back-to-back, in Houston and Bristol.

	Johnson

	Anderson

KJ is enjoying a career year and his four wins -- in Gainesville, Houston, Bristol, and Chicago -- would ordinarily be more than sufficient to lock up the points lead, especially the past two seasons when repeat winners were virtually nonexistent. Johnson won six races in 2000 -- his winningest season -- and he's on pace to surpass that mark in 2003. But can he surpass Anderson for the championship?

Kurt Johnson's dad, Warren, the six-time champion, appeared to be gearing toward title No. 7 after opening the year with a convincing win in Pomona. But since then, he has gone the distance only one other time, in Atlanta, and a frustrating DNQ in Chicago followed by two first-round losses have now made it doubtful he can jump back into contention.

The smart money would favor the 2003 POWERade Pro Stock title run remaining a two-car battle. The gap between the top two and everyone else is wide and getting ever wider. In 12 races, Anderson or KJ have been to almost every final round. Anderson has won five, KJ, four; Anderson has won 30 rounds, KJ, 29. Statistically, they are the front-runners in every respect and the only drivers with even remote possibilities of catching them are WJ and Jeg Coughlin Jr.

But remote is the key word. And with 11 races remaining, the odds are anything but favorable.

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