Following his sportscar debut at this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, which saw the fourth-generation driver finish a respectable 11th in class in a RWR-entered Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, Earnhardt is looking forward to mounting a full-season attack in one of the team’s new GT-class Ford Mustangs.

“I’ve always wanted to run for a championship,” Earnhardt said. “I thought we were going to be able to do it in the Truck Series but we had a sponsor pull out on us. It ended up being a bad deal there.

“Rick brought this to me and said, ‘Hey, let’s go run for a championship.’ I wanted to do something full [season] and not do it halfway. I definitely like the opportunity and I think our chances are good.”

Ware confirmed last month that they will build a pair of Prep 2 Mustangs, with technical assistance coming from Roush-Yates, for the 2012 season.

RWR's Mustangs are not considered a factory effort, but the NASCAR team owner is confident in having a strong package for next year, especially with Roush-Yates horsepower.

They’ll no doubt have fierce competition from the likes of Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, Audi, Chevrolet and Mazda in the highly competitive GT ranks, which appears to keep getting stronger by the week.