They are both world-renowned drag racers who have won races, fans and championships over the course of their storied careers, and yet, beyond those noteworthy achievements, they share very little else in common.

One grew up in the plains of western Texas while the other hails from upstate New York. One parleyed a successful restaurant business into the means for running a professional race team, which soon blossomed into one of the longest and most successful sponsorship pacts in professional motorsports. The other, meanwhile, frequently raced on tight budgets with minimal sponsorship -- sometimes relying on match race commitments to remain in the sport.

Oh, and then there's that other difference. One is a man and the other is a woman.

Kenny Bernstein, the "King of Speed," and Shirley Muldowney, the most famous woman driver in all of professional motorsports, will each be climbing out from behind the wheel of their Top Fuel dragsters for the last time this weekend following the 39th Automobile Club of Southern California Finals at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif.

Bernstein has won six NHRA championships while Muldowney has three NHRA titles and an AHRA championship. Muldowney is No. 5 on the NHRA's list of the top 50 drivers of all time and Bernstein is No. 6. Among his long list of career milestones, Bernstein was the first driver to break the 300 mph barrier and the first to win championships in both nitro classes.

Muldowney has also amassed breakthrough accomplishments in her legendary career, such as being the first woman to win a professional racing championship -- regardless of series -- and the first driver in NHRA history to win two Top Fuel championships, her first in 1977 and her second in 1980. Her third NHRA crown in 1982 made her only the fourth driver ever to win that many Top Fuel championships. This spring, she will be inducted with four other auto racing icons into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala.

It was to have been Bernstein's final season in 2002 as he embarked on his "Forever Red -- A Run To Remember" tour, but his son, Brandon, was injured in Englishtown last May in only his eighth race in the Budweiser King dragster, and Kenny was back in the cockpit at the next race in Topeka, Kan., to finish the season.

For Muldowney, 63, her "Last Pass" tour this season has given her countless fans the opportunity to express their thanks for her many thrilling victories and her unyielding determination to see women racing head-to-head with men.

Each will end their driving careers on a high note. Muldowney ran the quickest and fastest run of her career in Joliet, Ill., in September -- 4.57/327 mph -- while Bernstein has recently won three out of the last four national events and is only 11 points out of sixth place in the POWERade standings -- a remarkable statistic considering he has competed at only 14 races this year.

They are both NHRA icons and will long be remembered for their outstanding driving careers. It's not often that two legends say goodbye simultaneously in any sport, but this weekend, that's what will await the many fans expected to gather at drag racing's birthplace in Pomona.

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