[3] The Poole Pirates finished top of the league table, with the Lakeside Hammers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches occupying the other championship playoff places.
They had since recruited Chris Holder, Davey Watt, Adam Skórnicki and Freddie Eriksson, who all made significant contributions for the Poole team.
[6] Jason Crump had left Poole for Belle Vue at the beginning of the season and missed out on a league title.
Crump and fellow Australian Leigh Adams were victims of their own success, the pair had been the stand out riders for several seasons but they were so good that the league averages created problems for teams when assembling a side to adhere to the league's points limit allowance.
Consequently, teams had to decide whether to retain the rider or move them on, in the case of Adams, Swindon kept him but found it hard to bring in new signings to support him.
Wolverhampton will face the Premier League playoff winners, the Edinburgh Monarchs, over two legs.
It took place on 8 October 2008, at the Premier League track at Birmingham after the original staging of the event on 20 August was abandoned due to bad weather.