Formula 1
What: Brazilian Grand Prix
Where: Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos, Brazil
When: Qualifying Saturday, race Sunday

The final race of the season promises to be a nail-biter as rookie Lewis Hamilton, two-time defending world champion Fernando Alonso, and nose-picking party boy Kimi Räikkönen all duke it out for the 2007 driver's championship. Ferrari was pretty much handed the constructor's championship on a silver platter earlier this season when McLaren Mercedes was disqualified after the espionage scandal with Ferrari, so there won't be any surprises there. This grand prix also marks the racing debut of Kazuki Nakajima for Williams; the test driver was put into the seat vacated by Alexander Wurz, who announced his retirement last week.

Champ Car World Series
What: Lexmark Indy 300
Where: Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
When: Qualifying Saturday, race Sunday

The Champ Car kids go to the land down under for their second-to-last race of the season. And since it's a day ahead in Australia, the starting grid is already set. Will Power (yes, we still snicker every time we write his name) sits on the pole (double snicker), perennial road-rager Paul Tracy will round out the front row, and season leader — and perhaps soon-to-be F1 driver — Sebastien Bourdais starts third.

American LeMans Series (ALMS)
What: Monterey Sports Car Championships
Where: Laguna Seca, Monterey Peninsula, CA
When: Qualifying Friday, race Saturday

The ALMS season finale is bound to be a fast one; thirteen cars across all four classes broke the track qualifying records on Friday. Sascha Maassen snagged pole in the P2 class in his Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder with a time of 1:10.528, a whopping 3.203 seconds quicker than the former track record set by Stefan Johansson last year in a factory Zytek. Allan McNish took pole in the P1 class in his Audi R10 TDI with a lap time of 1:11.175. Jan Magnussen drove his Corvette to pole in the GT1 class, and Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo will start first in the Ferrari F403 in the GT2 class. Despite the rumors to the contrary, we will be at this race with some great behind-the-scenes action, so stay tuned.

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
What: Subway 500
Where: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, VA
When: Qualifying Friday, race Saturday

Chevrolet claimed the top four spots during a rainy qualifying session Friday on NASCAR's shortest circuit. Jeff Gordon took pole with a top speed of 94.974 miles per hour. This marks Gordon's 63rd career pole, six of which have been at the Martinsville track. Martin Truex Jr. qualified second at 94.737 miles per hour, with Kevin Harvick behind him at 94.685 miles per hour. Points leader Jimmie Johnson qualified fourth at 94.618 miles per hour.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
What: Kroger 200
Where: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, VA
When: Qualifying Saturday morning, race Saturday afternoon

Toyota could clinch the manufacturer's championship this season if the team finishes ahead of Chevrolet and Ford on the 2.66-mile oval. The stats are in their favor, as Toyotas have won the last three truck races at Martinsville. Ron Hornaday Jr. currently leads the series with 3207 points, with Mike Skinner just 14 points behind.

Sports Car Club of America (SCCA)
What: 2007 National Championship Runoffs
Where: Heartland Park, Topeka, KS
When: Qualifying Oct. 8-11; race Oct. 12-14
http://www.scca.org

Nearly 700 drivers compete every year for National Championship medals in 25 different classes at the Pinnacle of American Motorsports. Pole positions were finalized on Thursday after three days of qualifying, with new pole sitters in nearly half of the categories. Some of the drivers who scored their maiden pole position include Jason Von Kluge in a Ford Mustang in the A sedan class, Andrew Aquilante in a Chevrolet Corvette in the Touring 1 class, Wayland Joe in a Porsche GT-3 in the GT-2 class, and John Black in a Nissan 350Z in the GT-3 class.

World Rally Championship (WRC)
What: Rallye de France - Tour de Corse
Where: Ajaccio, Corsica
October 12-14, 2007
http://www.rallyedefrance.com

Nicknamed "the rally of 10,000 corners," this course through the mountains on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica has been widened this year for improved safety and speed. But the road is still plenty rocky and dirty, which makes for very little grip. Only four non-French drivers have won this race over a span of 20 years. Tough price to pay for hanging out on a beautiful island in the middle of azure blue waters. We're so jealous.

NASCAR Nextel Cup
What: Bank of America 500
Where: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
When: Oct. 13
http://www.nascar.com/series/cup

A rare Saturday night race awaits NASCAR fans at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. And thankfully, LMS has a specially designated "non-alcohol family section" so fans can bring the kids without worrying about being hit in the head by flying beer cans. Ryan Newman took pole position during qualifying on Thursday with a top speed of 189.394 miles per hour. Jimmie Johnson, who was previously leading the series but dropped to second after Jeff Gordon's win last week, will fill out the front row.

NASCAR Busch Series
What: Dollar General 300
Where: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
When: Oct. 12
http://www.nascar.com/series/bg

More than 20 NEXTEL Cup drivers will drive in this series, although some of us still can't quite grasp the rationale behind the same drivers participating in two series.

NHRA
What: NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion
Where: Auto Club Famoso Raceway, Bakersfield, CA
When: Oct. 12-14
http://museum.nhra.com/chrr.asp?Year=2007

This massive gathering of NHRA members and fans will feature exhibition runs and elimination rounds in eleven categories including Nostalgia Top Fuel, Nostalgia Funny Car, and NE1. Exhibition cars must be in a style that is at least 30 years old; newer cars such as Super Gas with old-style bodies ("T", Bantam, Willys, etc.) are, according to the NHRA, "not considered to be in the spirit of the reunion." We'll be at the event to bring you the latest updates.

Formula 1
What: Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai International Circuit
When: Qualifying Saturday, race Sunday

The second-to-last F1 race of the season will be another nail-biter for Fernando Alonso fans. The returning world champion has 95 points in the driver's championship, while rookie Lewis Hamilton leads with 107. Kimi Räikkönen is in third with 90 points, but it's doubtful he'll become a serious contender at this stage in the game. Kimi will, however, win the FIA After-Party and Nose-Picking Championship once again this year. At least in our book.

NASCAR Nextel Cup
What: UAW-Ford 500
Where: Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama
When: Qualifying Saturday, race Sunday

Move over Ricky Bobby! Them NASCAR drivers are coming to kick yer butt. Last year, Brian Vickers won his first race at this track after doing a little Shake 'n' Bake with teammate Jimmie Johnson. Vickers bumped Johnson into race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr., then went around the ensuing wreck for the win. This year, Johnson is in first place with 5506 points; Jeff Gordon follows close behind with 5500. Am I the only one who still wonders how crashing into other cars is legal in this series? I suppose you've gotta do what you can to keep things interesting when you can't turn right.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
What: Mountain Dew 250
Where: Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama
When: Qualifying Friday, race Saturday

What could be more fun than watching stock cars drive in ovals? Watching pickup trucks drive on the same track. Woo hoo! At the last race, the Smith's Las Vegas 350, former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve debuted in the series, placing 21 out of 35. If his NASCAR career is anything like his last few seasons in F1, we should be seeing Jacques hit a wall any day now.

NHRA
What: Torco Racing Fuels Nationals
Where: Virginia Motorsports Park, Richmond, VA
When: Qualifying Friday and Saturday; eliminations Sunday

The eliminations this weekend for the NHRA POWERade Countdown to One will set the fields for the Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock categories. According to the NHRA website, after the race, only the top four competitors in each pro category will be eligible to win world championships during a two-race shootout in Las Vegas and Pomona, CA.

Brandon Bernstein currently leads the Top Fuel category with 21 points ahead of Bob Vandergriff Jr. The Funny Car division will be a battle between Jack Beckman, Ron Capps, Gary Scelzi and Mike Ashley for the final two spots in the top four. In Pro Stock, Allen Johnson and Jeg Coughlin hold the third and fourth place spots, but could be challenged by Kurt Johnson and Jason Line.

So, here's a little about me: I'm a California native. I live in the Los Angeles area, but don't hold that against me. I started out covering technology and eventually shifted into automotive journalism because, well, who wouldn't want to get paid to talk about cars? Other sites I write for include CNET.com (where I have a blog called "Girl on Cars") and Forbes Autos.

I tend to gravitate toward high-end, European performance cars. My favorite (soon-to-be) production car is the new Aston Martin DBS. I also dig the Spyker C8 spyder, the Ferrari F430, and that car's precursor, the 360 Modena. Older cars I like include some of the European racecars from the 1950s like the Aston DBR1, the Maserati OSCA, and the Lotus 7.

I'm a big F1 fan, despite the numerous sanctions and moratoriums the FIA has imposed in recent seasons. I'm rooting for Lewis Hamilton to win this year, although I still like Alonso, despite his recent whininess. And Super Aguri rocks. I saw Takuma Sato pass Alonso at this year's Grand Prix du Canada. It was awesome. And for the record, Kimi sucks. He's always drunk, or falling off a boat, or picking his nose at a press conference. Go ahead, send me hate mail.

Outside of my passion for cars, I'm a pretty typical girl. Hobbies include staying at five-star hotels, eating at restaurants that are Zagat-rated 28 and higher, and wearing $1600 Christian Louboutin boots. You know, the usual stuff.

My ride is a BMW e46 coupe with a manual transmission. I get to the track when I can, and have driven Laguna Seca, Infineon Raceway (still Sears Point to most of us), California Speedway, and will soon add Willow Springs to the list. My helmet has a pink Hello Kitty decal on the back.

Southern California is home to some of the world's best design studios and a plethora of automakers' offices, as well as an endless supply of morons who spend lots of money on cars but don't know how to drive. So I'm sure I'll have lots to share. I'm looking forward to it.

xoxo

LB