Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - It should be an exciting and wild weekend
of racing as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the
seventh race in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship. The Camping World
Truck Series also will be at Talladega, while Formula One will wrap up its
season with the inaugural running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
up there and be part of NASCAR history."
Mike Wallace has competed in the series since its inception in 1995, while
Chrissy Wallace made her truck debut in March at Martinsville.
"Racing against my dad, it's something that we've always wanted to do,"
Chrissy Wallace said. "It's something that means a lot to me, and I think it's
a good thing for me and him both. Hopefully I'll wind up beating him."
Thirty-eight teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Mountain Dew 250.
FORMULA ONE
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The 2009 Formula One calendar concludes this weekend with the first running of
the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
While the Abu Dhabi GP should be entertaining, the F1 driver championship and
constructors' title have already been wrapped up. Jenson Button won his first
world championship with a fifth-place finish two weeks ago in the Brazilian
Grand Prix. Brawn GP also clinched the constructors' title in Brazil.
Button began this season by winning six of the first seven races, but has not
finished better than fifth since his victory in the June 7 Turkish Grand Prix.
He will come to Abu Dhabi with an impassable 15-point lead over Red Bull's
Sebastian Vettel and a 17-point advantage over his Brawn teammate Rubens
Barrichello. A driver can score a maximum of 10 points only in each grand
prix.
"This season has been a roller coaster ride from the elation of the wins at
the start to the hard graft in the second half of the season which has seen us
grind out the results needed to take the [driver and constructors'] titles,"
Button said.
Drivers have yet to experience Abu Dhabi's newly-built Yas Marina Circuit, but
they've certainly read about it or perhaps sampled it on a simulator in
preparation for the 55-lap event.
Fernando Alonso won the most recent F1 inaugural event -- the 2008 Singapore
Grand Prix.
"I always enjoy the challenge of a new circuit, and the track in Abu Dhabi
looks very impressive," Alonso said. "It will be a new experience for
everyone, so it's important that we maximize all the sessions and learn as
much as we can quickly to try and find an advantage."
Alonso will make his final start for Renault before heading to Ferrari for
next season. Alonso is replacing Kimi Raikkonen, who is likely moving to
McLaren to team up with Lewis Hamilton.
"The race in Abu Dhabi will be my last grand prix with Ferrari, and as usual,
I will give it everything to gain the best possible result," Raikkonen said.
For the second straight grand prix, reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi will
substitute for the injured Timo Glock at Toyota. Glock suffered a cracked
vertebra during a crash in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this
month. He is expected to make a full recovery in time for next year's season-
opener in Bahrain.