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The 2007 NHRA POWERade Countdown to the Championship proved conclusively one of the most frequently quoted axioms of competitive sports:

"It ain't over 'til it's over."

And the most compelling evidence of that truth could be found in the waning moments of the 2007 Pro Stock title chase when three drivers began the final race day of the season with a shot at the POWERade crown: three-time champion Greg Anderson, two-time champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., and young Dave Connolly.

As we know now, Anderson and Connolly both fell in the first round of the Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Calif., last November thanks to their starting-line slip-ups. Connolly fouled out to Mike Edwards while Anderson lost on a holeshot to Justin Humphreys. That left the door wide open for Coughlin to become a three-time POWERade Pro Stock champion, clinching the championship with his Round 2 victory over Richie Stevens.

That dramatic finale taught the Pro Stock class a collective lesson that will serve every team well in 2008. Simply stated: Don't throw your season away in crunch time. The closing stages of the Countdown will demand flawless performances and machine-like consistency. No time for excuses.

On Feb. 7, the 2008 campaign opens on the same quarter-mile at which the '07 season came to a close, and the players who will be renewing their chase for the POWERade Pro Stock crown at the Carquest Auto Parts Winternationals will be familiar faces -- joined by a handful of newcomers. Plus, two glaring omissions.

As of this writing, Connolly was awaiting a new sponsor, which would allow him to return to the driver's seat at Vic Cagnazzi Racing alongside his title-winning teammate, Coughlin. Until then, Connolly's professional career will be on hold. The same can be said for Richie Stevens Jr., who lost his ride with Don Schumacher's Mopar team at the end of 2007.

Anderson will be intensely motivated to bring the championship back to Ken Black Racing, where he and teammate Jason Line had held the high ground for four consecutive years. Line, the 2006 champion, suffered through a dismal '07, and with new Pontiac G6 GXP's trimmed out and ready to race, look for Anderson and Line to ride their battle-tested team to a strong rebound.

Former Funny Car veteran Johnny Gray has been added to the Pro Stock entry list for Pomona after a four-year hiatus from the NHRA. The likable drag racer has an extensive driving résumé, from open-wheel racing in the Southwest to both sportsman and professional racing experience on the quarter-mile.

Justin Humphreys advanced all the way to the Auto Club Finals money round in November and will be returning in '08 with team owner/engine builder Richard Maskin and his crew chief, 10-time NHRA champion Bob Glidden -- as formidable a Pro Stock braintrust as the category has ever seen. Glidden's son, Billy, is also fielding a Pro Stock effort in the NHRA this year after championship seasons in the National Mustang Racing Association, a popular street-legal racing series.

Elsewhere, Warren Johnson and son Kurt, Allen Johnson, Larry Morgan, V. Gaines, Mike Edwards, Jim Yates, Ron Krisher, Greg Stanfield, Kenny Koretsky, Tom Hammonds and Max Naylor are among the roster of hopefuls who will be heading an all-star assault on the 2008 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock championship.

And may this year's Countdown to the Championship provide as much drama, suspense and entertainment as last year's!

Bill Stephens covers NHRA for ESPN.com