<table> </table> Many fans say the NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway is the most exciting event in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Many drivers, meanwhile, refer to it as the most intense race in the Chase.</p><p>Beginning in the 2009 season, it could be even more exciting and intense.</p><p>NASCAR officials released their 2009 race schedules on Tuesday, and one of the key changes is the date of the fall Talladega event, which this season is the fourth race of the 10-race Chase.</p><p>That Talladega race &#8212; which tends to feature side-by-side action and where the threat of the big wreck is always present &#8212; will move to the No. 7 slot on Nov. 1, 2009.</p><p>&#8220;We believe that moving even deeper into the Chase makes Talladega even more significant to the championship,&#8221; Talladega president Rick Humphrey said. &#8220;Also, by moving to the end of October and coupled with Atlanta&#8217;s new date, that separates our two events, which is very beneficial for both parties.</p><p>&#8220;And then lastly, in 2009 our race weekend falls on Halloween, which is certainly something we feel is an asset and something we&#8217;ll be able to capitalize on.&#8221;</p><p>Talladega moves into the Chase slot being vacated by the race in Atlanta. The Atlanta race will move to Labor Day weekend and will be two races prior to the start of the Chase. The race in Fontana, Calif., which had been on Labor Day weekend, will move to the week after the Kansas Speedway race. In 2009, the race at Kansas is scheduled for Oct. 4 and the California race on Oct. 11. Talladega this season occupies the slot after the Kansas race.</p><p>That means that the California race, which is held in the nation&#8217;s second-largest TV market, becomes a Chase race.</p><p>&#8220;The Southern California market is huge to everybody &#8212; retail, wholesale, service, sports, entertainment &#8212; it doesn&#8217;t matter,&#8221; NASCAR president Mike Helton said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a huge influence in a lot of decision-making processes.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s equally huge to us, as we have all the different stakeholders that we have in the sport &#8212; car sponsors, teams, official status companies. And certainly the fan base in Southern California or in that whole Southwestern part of the United States is very significant to NASCAR and the growth of NASCAR.&#8221;</p><p>Changes made to the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series also were announced on Tuesday.</p><p>Iowa Speedway, the track in Newton designed by Rusty Wallace, has been issued a Nationwide race date. The Iowa race will be held on Aug. 1 in 2009.</p><p>Helton said he doubted that holding that race would siphon excitement from the Nationwide race at Kansas Speedway, which will be held on Oct. 3.</p><p>&#8220;We feel like there&#8217;s a marketplace for more in that area,&#8221; Helton said. &#8220;I think Kansas City is an incredible host of NASCAR events, one of the premiere marketplaces for any sport or entertainment to go into.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re certainly glad to be there. I think they will complement each other. I think it will actually build a better following for the Nationwide series in that very hard-core motor sports area of the United States.&#8221;</p><p>The Craftsman Truck series had one realigned date in 2009, with a night race added on Aug. 28 at Chicagoland Speedway.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong>All dates subject to change</strong></p><p><span style="line-height:0"><br clear="all" /></span><table border="0" class="story-table"> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Feb. 7</strong></td><td> xy- Daytona International Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Feb. 15</strong></td><td> Daytona International Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Feb. 22</strong></td><td> Auto Club Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>March 1</strong></td><td> Las Vegas Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>March 8</strong></td><td> Atlanta Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>March 22</strong></td><td> Bristol Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>March 29</strong></td><td> Martinsville Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>April 5</strong></td><td> Texas Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>April 18</strong></td><td> Phoenix International Raceway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>April 26</strong></td><td> Talladega Superspeedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong><strong>May 2</strong></strong></td><td> Richmond International Raceway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>May 9</strong></td><td> Darlington Raceway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>May 16</strong></td><td> xz- Lowe&#8217;s Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>May 24</strong></td><td> Lowe&#8217;s Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>May 31</strong></td><td> Dover International Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>June 7</strong></td><td> Pocono Raceway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>June 14</strong></td><td> Michigan International Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>June 21</strong></td><td> Infineon Raceway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>June 28</strong></td><td> New Hampshire Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>July 4</strong></td><td> Daytona International Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>July 11</strong></td><td> Chicagoland Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>July 26</strong></td><td> Indianapolis Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Aug. 2</strong></td><td> Pocono Raceway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Aug. 9</strong></td><td> Watkins Glen International</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Aug. 16</strong></td><td> Michigan International Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Aug. 22</strong></td><td> Bristol Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Sept. 6</strong></td><td> Atlanta Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Sept. 12</strong></td><td> Richmond International Raceway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Sept. 20</strong></td><td> New Hampshire Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Sept. 27</strong></td><td> Dover International Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Oct. 4</strong></td><td> Kansas Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Oct. 11</strong></td><td> Auto Club Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Oct. 17</strong></td><td> Lowe&#8217;s Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Oct. 25</strong></td><td> Martinsville Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Nov. 1</strong></td><td> Talladega Superspeedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Nov. 8</strong></td><td> Texas Motor Speedway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td><strong>Nov. 15</strong></td><td> Phoenix International Raceway</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td><strong>Nov. 22</strong></td><td> Homestead-Miami Speedway</td></tr> </table> x-non-points event. y- Budweiser Shootout at Daytona z- NASCAR Sprint All-Star race</p><p></div>