Jeff Gordon isn’t the only NASCAR star coming out of retirement to race at Daytona. So is Rusty Wallace.
The 1989 Cup champion will end a decade-long drought after running his final Cup race in 2005, as part of this weekend’s Ferrari World Final at the Daytona International Speedway road course.
Wallace, now 60, is getting stoked for the opportunity.
“I’m really excited to be a part of the first Ferrari Finali Mondiali in North America,” Wallace said, via Ferrari North America. “I’ve always been a big Ferrari fan and Daytona is a special place for everyone in NASCAR, so when Daytona and Ferrari asked me to participate, I couldn’t resist.
“I haven’t driven a car in race conditions for a few years, but I tested with Risi Competizione last week at Circuit of the Americas and felt really comfortable. The Ferrari 458 Challenge really impressed me a lot. It was not only fast, but also very stable and a lot of fun to drive.
“I still do a lot of broadcasting work with NASCAR, but I also really enjoy leaving that world, meeting new people and doing something different like Ferrari Challenge. It’s never easy to get into a new type of race car and compete with guys that race them a lot, but I’m excited about the challenge. Risi Competizione is a great team and think we can put together some strong runs this week.
“Aside from the actual racing though, for a “car guy” and a racer like me, there’s so much incredible stuff to see and do at Finali Mondiali. It’ll be the first time that the public can see a F1 car run at Daytona—which is something really special—and it’ll be great to see the F333SP back on track at Daytona too. If that’s not enough, there’s also the new FXX K with over 1,000 HP and every kind of Ferrari you can imagine. I can’t wait to check it all out.”