CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- NASCAR driver and motorsports television personality Kenny Wallace of St. Louis, MO will compete with the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series in their season opener at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL on January 7-8 with the $2,500-to-win NeSmith Chevrolet 40 as a part of the 16th Annual Ice Bowl.

Wallace will drive a car out of the Jeff Smith racing stable in Villanow, GA. Wallace will also race his own open-wheel modified sponsored by the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team during the Ice Bowl weekend.

"I'm really excited about the Ice Bowl and running with the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series," Wallace said. "I'm also excited about how dirt late models powered by the crate engines are starting to catch on because it makes racing affordable for everyone."

The steel-head "602" engine sells for $2,800, and the aluminum-head "604" engine sells for $4,800. Race cars using the 602 engine weigh 2,200 pounds, and get a 150 pound weight break over the race cars using the 604 engine that must weigh 2,350 pounds. These engines are race-ready right out of the crate from the factory and can be used in any late model chassis.

Wallace likes to call his racing at Talladega Short Track "catching up with his career," after coming up through the motorsports ranks mainly on asphalt short tracks.

"We'd always come to the big track at Talladega when I was a kid, and we'd drive by the dirt track," Wallace said. "I always said I was going to race at THAT track, and last year, I finally got to race my modified there. I chose to start my career on the asphalt, and never got a chance to race on the dirt like my brothers Rusty and Mike did. So now, I'm just catching up."

Wallace said he really enjoys racing the dirt late models and he says his experience as a television commentator on SPEED Channel has helped him with his driving.

"I learned a lot about driving dirt late models from doing voice-overs on SPEED Channel," Wallace said. "They used in-car cameras, and I could see how they would work the throttle and the brakes to get around the race track with different track conditions."

For more information about Talladega Short Track visit the track web site at www.talladegashorttrack.com. For more information about the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series Powered By Crate Racin' USA visit the series web site at www.stormpayracing.com.