Frisselle, meanwhile, was also sporting new colours, the bright blue of SunTrust Racing, as he shared time in the #10 Pontiac Dallara with Max Angelelli and Wayne Taylor.

"I really like the new team," Frisselle said, "Wayne Taylor Racing has obviously been established in the series, the SunTrust team has one of the best cars, and it's an honour to race with them and with Max Angelelli. I can't wait to get the season started."

Frisselle was one of the hottest drivers in the Rolex Series paddock at the end of the 2008 season, sharing victories in Mexico City and Watkins Glen with Mark Wilkins in the #61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley. While AIM dominated the August race at The Glen, SunTrust captured the next event at Infineon Raceway with Angelelli and Valiante at the wheel, and Frisselle hopes to combine that synergy in 2009.

"We both finished with a bang," he said, "I hope I can continue the momentum that I developed for myself to this team, and the team can continue with the momentum that they developed.

"When I heard they were interested in me, I kept my fingers crossed. I knew it would be the dream of a lifetime to drive for this team. I got the call eventually and, when Wayne said he wanted to go forward with me, my heart jumped. It was an amazing moment, a special moment in my career that I'll remember forever.

"There is a lot of good potential for the Toshiba SunTrust car, and I hope we are going for a championship. This is my first chance to really interact with Max and, so far, I can see why he was a champion. I look forward to learning from him.

Having been replaced at SunTrust by Frisselle, Valiante didn't need much time to get up to speed in his new ride, quickly posting competitive laps in the #6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley that he will share with John Pew next season.

"I had a really great year last season," said Valiante, who won one race and three poles for SunTrust in 2008, "Several teams approached me towards the end of the season and I wasn't sure what SunTrust was going to be doing, so I took the opportunity to join Michael Shank Racing and, so far, it's been great.

"We were quickest for the first half of the day, and I really enjoy the new team, the new environment and the people within the team. I'm looking forward to the start of the season, and we're going to try to keep the momentum going from last year."

Over among the GT runners, Eric Lux admitted that he was excited to be back at Daytona, where he will drive the #86 and #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3s during the two-day test.