DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kenny Wallace will come right out and tell you that he's not yet ready to gain his identity from his career in motorsports television -- he's still a racecar driver.

But right now, being signed up for only a limited number of racecar outings this season, he might be seeing more airtime than seat time.

"I'm getting more OK with it, but it's very hard on me to be known as a TV guy," Wallace said. "It insults me a little bit, because I grew up watching Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison. I don't like it when people consider me just a TV guy.

"Here's my perfect scenario: When the fans come up and go, 'Man, we love you on that racetrack and it's really good seeing you on TV.' Now, I don't like it when they say, 'You know, you're an OK driver, but we really like seeing you on that TV.'

"That's OK and I understand they mean well -- but that's not where I'm at right now. That's why I'm fighting so hard. I've got an age set, where I'll be OK with it -- but it's not right this second, you know?"

But following Speedweeks 2008 at Daytona International Speedway, Wallace might be a lot busier doing TV work on SPEED than he will be behind the wheel of a NASCAR racecar.

Make no mistake, as Wallace stood in Daytona's garage area Saturday as the second day of Preseason Thunder for the Nationwide Series came to an end, he was thrilled to have a couple of opportunities on his schedule for the near future.

Wallace said he began seriously bargaining for his NASCAR driving future near the end of last season, talking most seriously with a couple of Nationwide Series teams, the management of Baker Curb Racing and Fitz Motorsports owner Armando Fitz.

Two weeks ago Baker Curb called to ask Wallace if he'd like to test their No. 37 Ford Fusion at Daytona during Preseason Thunder and then later this month when the Nationwide Series tests at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

But sponsorship is the big holdup to Baker Curb running the 37, which is a locked-in starter for the season-opening Camping World 300 thanks to its top-30 position in the 2007 Busch Series owner standings.

So Wallace is sincerely hoping the bulk of his racing this season won't come behind the wheel of his beloved self-owned dirt-track cars.

"It's pretty rough out there right now," Wallace said. "I've worked my whole career and I've never struggled this hard to find sponsorship -- so I gotta tell ya, I'm humbled right now [because] it's rough out there.

"I'm confident that we'll get something, but I don't see any new sponsors in the sport right now -- I just see all the sponsors being recycled -- so from that standpoint I'm thrilled to death to be down here." (Continued)