Retired Nextel Cup driver Rusty Wallace talks with IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick in a test for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Credit: Courtesy

Wallace may share ride with Patrick at Rolex 24

Drivers test for 24-hour, road course race at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Recently retired NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace returned to Daytona International Speedway on Thursday for the first day of Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series testing in preparation for the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 28-29.

Rusty Wallace and Danica Patrick address the media. Credit: Courtesy

The 1989 NASCAR champion was testing the No. 2 Howard-Boss Motorsports Pontiac Crawford and was joined at the test by 2005 Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Danica Patrick. On Thursday, Wallace officially announced his participation in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and has invited Patrick to join the team, which will also include American road racing stalwart Boris Said and Scottish sports car ace Allan McNish.

"We're running the Rolex 24 for sure," Wallace said. "We're going to get [Patrick] in the car and get her some time and see if she likes driving the car. It's kind of up to her if she wants to be the fourth driver in the car. She's got the invitation, there's no doubt about that, but we feel like we're going to have a good, winning team, and we feel like we're organized."

Patrick stopped short of announcing her own intentions to compete in the race, as she had not driven the car as of mid-afternoon on Thursday but was expected to turn laps later in the day. However, she admitted a strong interest in competing.

"It's always flattering when you can run with drivers like Rusty, Allan or Boris," Patrick said. "Providing I can go out there and be fast and everything, I'll do it. I don't want to drag the team down. Let's make sure it goes all right. If it goes the way it normally does, it should be just fine."

Neither Wallace nor Patrick has ever competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but both drivers have had a long-standing interest in participating on the 3.56-mile road course that incorporates much of the Daytona International Speedway oval.

Rusty Wallace talks with Danica Patrick about the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Credit: Courtesy

This year's race is once again expected to include stars from NASCAR, Champ Car, IndyCar and sports car racing, including two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, 2003 Champ Car champion Paul Tracy, 2005 Indy Car Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon and defending Rolex 24 at Daytona champions Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli and Emmanuel Collard, among many others.

"I've never run a race like this," Wallace said. "I've told everybody I'm retired full time. I've been 25 years in NASCAR Cup racing and 33 years of racing totally. I'm done now, but I've told everybody going in that the one race that I've always wanted to run was the 24 Hours of Daytona. It was the race that the likes of Andretti and Foyt and the late Dale [Earnhardt] Sr. ran, and it's just a race I'd like to run."

"Any kind of track that people come back to time and time again means it's pretty good," Patrick added. "I have to imagine it's going to be a lot of fun going racing on the road course and the oval at the same time. Just the prestige of this race is enough. I'm looking forward to it.

"I've seen the [brake] discs glowing at night. It sounds good and looks good, and it's always one of those races that you hope to do someday."

For his part, Wallace has enjoyed the challenge of adapting to the Rolex Series Daytona Prototype, which he admits is a completely different animal than what he was used to in NASCAR competition. He is also adapting to the notion of competing in a 24-hour race.

"I've been talking to a lot of people about how to run the race," Wallace said. "The only fear I've got is if it starts raining. That's the thing that gets me a little bit nervous. I got to test here and struggled some with my downshifting and struggled with some entries into the corners.

"I called Tony Stewart at home and got him out of a poker game. He was saying, 'when those cars do this, you need to do this, or you need to do that. That's the biggest thing. You can't compare them to a Cup car at all. Those cars get five-and-a-half, six inches of body roll in the back, and these cars are half-an-inch or something like that.'

"Our car drove completely different. These things brake incredibly. You can go out there and put some big numbers on the board and run some fast laps, but the race is all about staying on the course, running 24 hours, not tearing a gearbox up and not doing anything stupid. That's my goal right now."

Wallace and Patrick are expected to continue testing at Daytona on Friday. The Rolex Series test sessions run through Saturday afternoon.