DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 19, 2006) -- The race to prepare for the 45th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 27-28, 2007 began on Tuesday at Daytona International Speedway, as CITGO Racing by SAMAX tested at the 3.56-mile, 14-turn road course.

Only a couple weeks after the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve season wrapped up, CITGO Racing By SAMAX were wrenching on their Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype in the first day of a two-day test session at "The World Center of Racing."

Venezuelan Milka Duno is testing along with open-wheel standout Patrick Carpentier.

"I raced for these guys at Sonoma," Carpentier said. "We had a good weekend and it went pretty well. It seems that me and Milka like the same cars and they asked me to come and test again."

Last year, Carpentier competed in the Rolex 24 with Cheever Racing. He shared the wheel with Eddie Cheever and Christian Fittipaldi in the twice-around-the-clock classic, finishing 11th.