The traditional 24 Hours of Le Mans race has always been attracted by some of the most accomplished and successful drivers from various racing championships including but it’s not very often that a NASCAR driver has tried also his chances. But for NASCAR veteran driver Michael Waltrip who has been twice the Daytona 500 winner, Le Mans is right where he wants to be in his racing career. 
Since retiring from full-time Sprint Cup Series competition at the end of 2009, Michael Waltrip and his motorsport team -Michael Waltrip Racing- co-owner Rob Kauffman have already competed in select endurance races, including Spa 24 Hours where they finished on the GT2 podium and Rolex American Le Man in Daytona.
But the greatest challenge for Waltrip, Kauffman and Portuguese ace Rui Aguas who completes the racing trio, will be the 24 Hours of Le Mans where they plan to race an AF Corse-run Ferrari F430 GT, with a possibility of upgrading to a new F458 Italia.
With three 24-hour races under his belt, including two appearances in the Dubai 24 Hours (not to mention the NASCAR breathtaking 4+ hours marathons), Waltrip isn't a complete stranger to sportscar endurance racing. However, it’s no doubt that 24H of LeMans will be Waltrip’s greatest race in his still young sportscar career, and he is already soaking up every moment during the rookie's test day on the famed Circuit de la Sarthe.
Waltrip told SPEED.com:
“There’s no cars on the track today and yet the pit lane is filled with people. But there’s this electricity in the air and I just love that, I went over to the museum this morning and walked around and looked at all of those cars. It meant the world to me to see those cars, but to see two or three busloads of school-aged children taking pictures of cars and looking at the history. That meant a lot to me to see that there’s that type of enthusiasm for the automobile and the history of this event. I’m right where I want to be... I’m just trying to appreciate and understand the history of the event and let it all soak in. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. There’s four major races in the world in my mind - Daytona, Indy, Le Mans and Monaco. Being able to compete in another one of those four is quite an honor.”
While both Waltrip and Kauffman are yet appreciated as LeMans race rookies, their initial crucial objective towards the race is to complete a minimum of 10 laps in order to qualify for the race in June, and to gain valuable experience of the 8.5-mile circuit.
“My goals are simple. First of all, to run 10 laps. Second, to leave here tomorrow night with a clear picture in my head of the track. I can sit here and tell you everything it takes to win at Daytona in my brain. I know it. I don’t have any idea of what it takes to run a lap here...I’m just so motivated to get on pace with this car. For example, the first time I went to Dubai, I was three or four seconds off. As a race car driver, that makes you really crazy because you think, ‘That’s not possible, I should be really good at this.’ Progressing to my last stint at Dubai, it was fair to say that my times were laying over everybody’s pretty well.”
In its 79th running, the famous 24-hour classic race has already attracted interest from the American stock-car racing community in the past. The most notable came in 1976 when the Automobile Club de l’Ouest created an invitational class for NASCAR cars, with stalwarts Hershel McGriff and Junie Donlavey each bringing a car over. While neither car finished that race, McGriff’s Dodge Charger sits in the Le Mans Museum.
