DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --- Jimmie Johnson drives a stock car for a living. He drives a sports car for fun.

Johnson will make his third appearance in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January, a race he said will help him relax before getting ready for the Sprint Cup Series season.

Johnson likes the Grand American Racing Series so much that he tested a prototype at Daytona International Speedway four days before the stock car season finale in Homestead, Fla.

He will join Alex Gurney , Jon Fogarty and Jimmy Vasser in a Pontiac-powered Riley sports car in the 24-hour marathon that starts Jan. 26.

"This is going to be a lot of fun," Johnson said. "I think joining this team will give me the best shot (to win)."

Johnson said racing 24 hours in the sports car series is a good way to get ready for the 38-race stock car season. More importantly, it comes without any pressure because he's not racing for the Grand Am championship.

Others use the sports car race for the same reason. Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch , also former NASCAR champions, will compete, as will Indy-car champions Vasser and Helio Castroneves . Busch and Castroneves will be teammates in a Pontiac-Riley owned by Roger Penske and Wayne Taylor .

HORNISH PLANS RETURN: While former IRL Indy Car champion Sam Hornish Jr. will compete full-time in NASCAR this year, his heart always will be in Indy Cars. So much so that he hopes to make selective Indy starts -- especially at the Indianapolis 500.

Indianapolis changed the start of the 500 to 1 p.m. two years ago, making it impossible for anyone to compete at Indianapolis and at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Before the time change, Stewart, John Andretti and Robby Gordon all did double-duty.

"I hope they move the schedule so that somebody could do it," Hornish said. "That's my goal. If I never ran in the Indy 500 again or an Indy Car Series race, I would probably say I would be disappointed about that."

Hornish is the most-successful driver in IRL history with 19 wins and three championships. He will drive a Dodge at Penske Racing South next year in the Sprint Cup Series.

WHO NEEDS TICKETS? Race tracks are trying to stimulate ticket sales by offering a variety of interesting packages.

Daytona International Speedway, for example, has grouped tickets to the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. For $89, fans can get two tickets to the 24-hour race and a one-day pass to the PGA Tour golf tournament in Orlando, Fla., on March 13-16. Fans also will get hats from both events.

At Atlanta Motor Speedway, fans can buy special $39 tickets to the March 9 Kobalt Tools 500. Those tickets are in the Turn 3 Bill Elliott Grandstands, and they're $6 cheaper than tickets were when Bill Elliott won the championship in 1988.

Atlanta also is offering a $19 ticket for students in the same grandstands.

California Speedway is offering two grandstand seats for the Auto Club 500 on Feb. 24 for $175. Included in the package are two prerace pit passes and a calendar featuring the California Speedway Girls. The deal saves fans more than $100.

The track also is offering free admission to children 12 and younger to the corresponding Nationwide Series race.