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."

Wallace said he plans to be part of an announcement on Monday for a Sprint Cup deal to attempt the 50th annual Daytona 500 -- the keystone event to Speedweeks -- as well as a limited number of other Cup races throughout the season.

But right now, Wallace is feeling the harsh reality of life on the outskirts of NASCAR's three national tours.

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"I'm not gonna paint a real pretty picture because, obviously, you can only go so far," Wallace said. "But I feel like, if we can get to the second quarter, and piece this deal together, and the government can get this economy back on track, I think corporate America will start loosening up some dollars.

"But I looked at all the Cup teams and I looked at all the [Nationwide] teams and it pains me that I can't bring a new sponsor in. I had a new sponsor on the line and it got all the way up to the CEO."

Wallace said the CEO was sold, but he said "NASCAR looks like a good buy, but let's put this NASCAR deal on ice right now until the economy cools off."

"By the time the economy's gonna cool off, we could be in the second or third quarter of the year," Wallace said. "But I'm very confident we can make this work."

Wallace missed the opening day of Nationwide testing because he had previously made a commitment to participate at an appearance at the "Motorsports 2008" racing trade show in Atlantic City, N.J.

Wallace said Baker Curb crew chief Newt Moore called him earlier this week to tell him the No. 37's test had been switched to come to Daytona with its sister car, the No. 27 that is being driven in a full schedule this season by newcomer Brad Coleman.

Wallace was torn, but had made the commitment to go to the show, plus it was a paying deal -- a definite consideration in this day and time.

"I'll tell you, I came in here [Friday] night and I never felt so grateful to be at Daytona," Wallace said. "What happens when you get comfortable and you know your career's looking good you come to Daytona and you're like, 'Man, let's just get to the race.'

"This year I come to Daytona feeling like a 26-year-older again -- grateful to be here because rides are hard to come by right now. The racecar always comes first, but that was a difficult circumstance, so I was grateful that Stanton Barrett was able to shake the car down."

Barrett spent time in both of Wallace's Fusions, in addition to testing his own Chevrolet. Looking ahead, Wallace is hopeful he can do some races with Baker Curb.

"My role is to come in here and be competitive and run up front," Wallace said. "It's a little bit different, but when your back's against the wall, you gotta take some chances, meaning you gotta run up front.

"So we'll be sticking the car up front. We'll be making some calculated moves, but it's good that the car's locked-in [to the starting field], because now we're working on handling, and sometimes you give up a little speed to handle."

Wallace still shakes his head when he looks at his television work, which has been a popular addition to SPEED's pre-race show before Cup races, and its Victory Lane post-race program.

Wallace said he was signed prior to the 2007 season to a three-year deal, with two option years.

"I guess an ideal situation for me, right now would probably be to run for the championship in the [Nationwide] Series and run a limited amount of Cup races," Wallace said. "The sad thing is this ... and I'm not sad, I'm very grateful for it -- and you notice I use grateful and humble a lot, because that's the way I feel right now.

"I get some of these rides because I'm a good driver. But I'm in the public eye, and some of these sponsors want me to drive because I'm a good driver, and yet I can push product.

"And SPEED TV doesn't want me out of a ride either, because it helps me report and it helps me talk [about the sport]. [SPEED president] Hunter Nickell told me the best scenario for them was for me to be in a racecar, and I'm grateful for that.

"And sponsors love it when you have a radio show or a TV show."

But Wallace said he's a couple of years away from doing media full time -- or even thinking about it.

"I feel real confident that this team is going to put together a sponsorship," Wallace said. "Gary Baker and Mike Curb have hired all the boys, built a brand-new shop and it would be hard for me to fathom that they're just going to shut [the 37] completely down.

"I could see them running maybe a limited schedule, but they just moved into a state-of-the-art, 75,000-square-foot building and have got new employees."