Keselowski is currently fifth in Nationwide points (-208).

Fifty-one teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Carquest Auto Parts 300. Hamlin is not competing in this year's race.

FORMULA ONE

Monaco Grand Prix - Circuit de Monaco - Monte Carlo, Monaco

The Monaco Grand Prix celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. Since 1929, the race has been considered as one of most prestigious and recognizable events in the world. Touted as "The Jewel in the Formula One Crown," a phrase coined by three-time race winner Jackie Stewart, the Monaco GP has garnered as much fame as the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Currently round six on the F1 calendar, the race is held on the streets in world-famous Monte Carlo. The 2.075-mile course winds its way through the narrow streets, starting with the first corner from Ste-Devote, then moves uphill to the steep hill of Beau Rivage and plunges back down to the Mirabeau Hotel before heading into the tunnel and chicane, located along the illustrious harborside, and wrapping up at the tricky Loews hairpin.

Monte Carlo is one of the most difficult circuits, where overtaking is virtually impossible. Therefore, track position for the Monaco GP is critical. Qualifying there is more important than any other course in F1, with the pole sitter taking four of the last five races.

Current world championship leader Jenson Button is considered the favorite for this year's Monaco GP. Button has won four of the first five grand prix in 2009. He has also captured the pole three times so far this season.

"To go to Monaco with the lead in both the drivers and constructors championship is fantastic, but we saw in Barcelona that the performance margins at the front are extremely close," Button said.

Button won the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago in Barcelona. His Brawn GP team opted for a two-stop pit strategy instead of three that helped the Briton claim his fifth career F1 victory. He started on the pole, but teammate Rubens Barrichello quickly passed him for the lead heading into turn one. Barrichello's three-stop strategy backfired, allowing Button to capture the lead for good with 11 laps to go.

Button's best finish in seven Monaco GP starts is second, which came in 2004 when he drove for the now-defunct British American Racing (BAR) team. He has finished 11th in the last three events at Monte Carlo.

Barrichello, who sits second in F1 points (-14), is expected to make his record extending 273rd grand prix start. He also has the most appearances in the Monaco GP among active drivers.

"This will be my 17th Monaco Grand Prix, but the weekend has lost none of its appeal and is always one of my favorite races on the calendar," Barrichello said.

Barrichello has yet to win this race, but has finished second in it three times (1997, 2000 and '01).

The late-Ayrton Senna holds the record for most Monaco GP wins with six, including five consecutive victories from 1989-93.

Four active drivers - Jarno Trulli, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton - have won this event.

Trulli's victory at Monte Carlo came in 2004, while Raikkonen took the checkered flag there the following year.

Alonso won the Monaco GP in 2006 and '07, becoming the first driver to score back-to-back victories in the event since Michael Schumacher did it from 1994-95.

Hamilton is the defending race champion.

"Monaco is my favorite circuit," Hamilton said. "The sensation you get from racing up the hill at 175 m.p.h., trying to make as straight a line as possible between the barriers while just shaving them with the walls of the tires is unbelievable - the best sensation you could ever have in a Formula One car."