Dale Earnhardt, middle, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., right, will team up with Andy Pilgrim to run a Corvette in February's Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Corvette Racing officials announced Tuesday that Earnhardt Jr. will team up with his father, seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, and sports car racing icon Andy Pilgrim to drive the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Corvette in the Rolex 24 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway.

Rest assured, Earnhardt Jr. will be the night owl of the trio.

"I'm gonna let Dale Jr. drive at night since he's always up all night anyway," the elder Earnhardt joked. "Those are the hours he's usually wide awake, so we'll let him take care of the night part of the race."

The prospect of stepping outside the stock car ranks with Pilgrim's assistance excites both Earnhardts. Neither has ever run an endurance-type of race, so the Feb. 3-4, 2001 event will mark a new chapter in the legendary annals of one of NASCAR's most celebrated families.

"I've had a lot of success with (Chevrolet) Monte Carlo throughout my career and I hope to have a lot more," said Earnhardt, who after winning Sunday's Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway moved into second place in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series standings. He now trails by just 210 points with four races remaining.

"This is something I've thought about and talked about for a long time. I wanted to do it last year, but I had to have my neck operated on, so to be able to get in here and do it this year with Andy Pilgrim as the anchor driver and help Dale Jr. and myself out is going to be great. I think our chances to be competitive and maybe win is very good. That's what makes me so excited, is having a chance to win that thing."

Winning at Daytona is nothing new to Earnhardt. In fact, the 24 Hours of Daytona is just about the only thing he hasn't won at the World Center of Racing. His 34 career victories in NASCAR Winston Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division and IROC are by far a record.

Unlike the old man, Earnhardt Jr. has never won a race at Daytona, but is well aware that his chances of winning the Rolex 24 are quite good. During Tuesday's news conference, the two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion couldn't keep his eyes off the yellow and white Corvette.

"I'm pretty excited for this deal," said Earnhardt Jr., who has notched three victories, including The Winston all-star race, in NASCAR 2000. "It looks like a barrel of fun to drive. It just looks like you could have all kinds of fun in that thing. It's got a lot of power, good grip. It's a beautiful car. I just can't wait to get behind the wheel of that thing.

"We're gonna go do some testing, so we'll see if that car's as much fun as it looks like it is. It's gonna be kind of difficult because Andy's expecting to be competitive and expecting to win. He always runs well. My father is always very competitive as well, so he's gonna be on his game without any trouble. So, I'll be the guy without any experience. Hopefully, I can be competitive enough to have some fun. I'm serious about it. I wanna win the race."

Several NASCAR Winston Cup Series stars have tried their hand at the Rolex 24. Current NASCAR team owner Jack Roush experienced much success in sports car racing before he moved to the NASCAR ranks. Mark Martin, Wally Dallenbach, Bill Elliott and Robby Gordon each scored multiple class victories in the Rolex 24 with Roush.

Kyle Petty and Ricky Rudd also drove Roush sports cars at Daytona. John Andretti scored an overall victory in the Rolex 24 in 1989 driving a Porsche 962. Scott Pruett has also scored overall and class victories in the 24-hour test.