With NASCAR stock car racing in the middle of their championship chase, sports car racing enters it's final race this weekend.  

The ALMS auto sports racing heads west this weekend to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the final round of what has been a terrific season of racing. Although debate rages as to whether Penske is really competing in the spirit of the ACO's LMP2 rules, their ability to challenge what has been the dominant force in ALMS sports car racing for years is in little doubt.

Audi Motorsports got a measure of revenge at Petit Le Mans, once again proving their endurance pedigree, along with the pace of the R10 TDI, whilst it has been the Porsche RS Spyders of Penske Sports Car Racing that have ruled in the shorter races. This weekend's event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is scheduled for four hours - can Penske Sports Car Racing finally win a race that's longer than 165 minutes?

The entry list shows some notable changes and additions. The series will be glad to once again be augmented by some overseas entries, as Arena bring its Zytek Motorsports 07S and Creation its CA-07 to LMP1. In LMP2, the factory Zytek Motorsports effort will once again look to put the cat amongst the pigeons in an already crowded and competitive category.

The auto racing arena will have Tom Chilton and Hayanari Shimoda on board and will no doubt be conscious of the fact that this driver pairing took the overall victory at Laguna in 2005 in another Zytek Motorsports. The 2007 car is probably not quite developed enough to repeat the achievement but it will be nice to see them try. Creation will also be thinking of past successes, most recently in taking pole position in 2006 with Nic Minassian driving. Again, their 2007 car is a little underdeveloped, and "Quick Nic" is no longer behind the wheel, but regular driver Jamie Campbell-Walter, and Harald Primat (who co-drove with Minassian last year) will be looking for a strong result.

Going up against the visitors will be series staple Intersport Sports Car Racing who were quick straight out of the box at Petit in their recently-acquired ex-Dyson Lola P1 car. They are sure to be in the battle for "best non-Audi P1 car".

Speaking of Audi Motorsports, they'll welcome back sports car racing specialist Mike Rockenfeller who will be filling in for Emanuele Pirro in the No. 2 car. Rockenfeller has the dubious honor of being the one responsible for an Audi retirement at Le Mans this year, so he'll be looking to prove that he has stability as well as his obvious pace.

The P2 class will be no less of a battleground than it has been all year. With a championship in the bag for one of the Penskes Racing, no one is going to be playing it safe, and you can be sure that Acura would love to get a second P2 class win after a tough season developing their three cars.

The AGR Sports Car Racing Acura features another different driver this weekend as Tony Kanaan steps in to partner regular Bryan Herta. Herta will be hoping for a better run than he had at Road Atlanta where the car suffered race-ending damage early on.

Another non-Porsche car that's sure to be fast is the factory Zytek motorsports entry. This car has been quick whenever it has been on track this year, whether at Le Mans, Silverstone and Road Atlanta. The 07S/2 chassis seems well-suited to the smaller engine, and although probably not as fast as Penske, it could well end up battling for a class podium.

The only class that features a championship battle will be the GT2 division. Risi Competizione's sports car racing drivers Jaime Melo and Mika Salo, who had a terrible Petit Le Mans, go into the weekend 22 points ahead of Flying Lizard Motorsports Jorg Bergmeister and local boy Johannes Van Overbeek. With just 23 points available, the Lizards must win and hope for trouble for the Houston-based Ferrari team. Bolstering the GT2 ranks will be the Primetime Racing Dodge Viper. This outing should give the team some valuable data ahead of a full season in ALMS in 2008.

In past years the four-hour Laguna Seca race has produced some memorable moments, and given the depth of the field, 2007 should be no different. With three championships settled, teams will be "off the leash", at a track that everyone loves. And as if that weren't enough, rain is forecast for Friday, possibly hampering teams in setting up the cars, and certainly making for an entertaining qualifying session.