Scott Pruett goes for sixth, and final, victory in Rolex 24 race at Daytona

Numerous storylines — not the least of which is the farewell run of veteran Scott Pruett — weave through this weekend’s Rolex 24 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Daytona International Speedway.

The 24-hour sports car race is the IMSA opener and will mark the 56th time racers have challenged the DIS road course through the long day/night marathon. The race is scheduled to begin at 2:40 p.m. ET Saturday.

Pruett, 57, is scheduled to end a 50-year racing career (he started in go-carts at 8) as part of a Lexus team. He will team with fellow 3GT Racing drivers Dominik Farnbacher, Jack Hawksworth and David Heinemeier Hansson at Daytona.

Pruett picked the Rolex 24, one of his favorite races, to mark the end of a decorated career. He has won the race a record five times in a sports car career that includes 60 victories and also has raced in IndyCar and NASCAR. He scored two victories in the now-defunct International Race of Champions series, which matched drivers from various motorsports disciplines.

“What better place to end it than this revered racetrack where I have had all this great success and memories amongst my respected competitors and hard-core fans,” Pruett said. “It’s been an incredible career. If we could have great success this weekend, it would be ever so sweet.”

CASTRONEVES: Slides into sports cars to lead Penske team at Rolex 24

PENSKE: Returns to Rolex 24 with its own version of star cars

ALONSO: Formula One champ to race Rolex 24; is NASCAR next?

Pruett will share billing with an impressive list of teams and drivers, including a crowded field of 20 Prototypes, the event’s featured class.

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso will make his endurance-racing debut with the United Autosports Ligier team. IndyCar veteran Helio Castroneves moves into full-time sports car racing with the Penske Acura team and fellow drivers Ricky Taylor and Graham Rahal. Sebastien Bourdais, Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand will team in a Ganassi Ford GT.

AJ Allmendinger, the lone full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver who is competing this weekend, says Pruett has "done it all."

"What Scott Pruett has done for the sport of just auto racing, not NASCAR or IMSA or anything like that; it’s what he’s done in general for the world of racing has been pretty special," Allmedinger said. "He’s raced everything (including) IndyCar, he’s run sports cars, he’s run NASCAR, and he’s been fast in everything that he’s done. To see him go out on his own terms and to go out with the biggest race in their sport, I think we’d all like to be able to do that.”

Pruett said he picked this weekend for his finale “because I want to be the guy who goes out on his own terms. I don’t want to be that stinky pair of gym socks left in the locker room that everybody’s trying to get rid of. I’ve reached 50 years, something I never thought I would achieve.”

Pruett’s wide-ranging career has enabled him to race against an impressive list of drivers, including Mario Andretti, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Scott Dixon, Juan Pablo Montoya and even the great Ayrton Senna, who Pruett competed against in go-karts in Europe.

“When I look at those cherished things I’ve done over the years and the guys I’ve raced against, it’s filled with the greatest racers you can imagine,” Pruett said.

Follow Hembree on Twitter @mikehembree