Valiante, the 28-year-old veteran of open-wheel and sports-prototype racing from Vancouver, B.C., is the newest member of the SunTrust Racing family of drivers, joining Max Angelelli as full-time co-driver in 2008. Valiante had 31 career Rolex Series starts under his belt entering the season, including a career-best second-place finish at Iowa Speedway in 2007 and six top-10 finishes in 13 events last year. Valiante rose through the open-wheel ranks as a perennial championship contender and multiple race-winner in Champ Car's Formula Atlantic and Barber Dodge development series. He made his Champ Car debut driving for Walker Racing at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City in 2004.