Daytona 500 is the latest chapter in Amy Purdy's fairy tale 12 months

"This is another opportunity to try something new and be bold in my own life. I can’t wait to visit my fellow Toyota athletes and step into their world by getting behind the wheel of the Camry pace car.”

Whilst most of the world’s leading para-snowboarders gather in La Molina, Spain, this weekend ahead of the start of the World Championships, the USA’s Sochi 2014 bronze medallist Amy Purdy will be driving the honourary pace car for Sunday’s (21 February) Daytona 500.

The 35-year-old will pace “The Great American Race” in the new Toyota Camry less than 12 months after claiming third place at para-snowboard’s Paralympic Winter Games debut.

Since standing on the podium in Sochi, Purdy has enjoyed a fairy tale 12 months.

She finished second in the popular US TV show Dancing with the Stars, posed naked for ESPN’s Body Issue magazine, went on a speaking tour with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey and launched her autobiography “On my own two feet – from losing my legs to learning the dance of life.”

This year may only be two months old but Purdy has already starred in a Toyota television commercial during the 2015 Super Bowl that featured her snowboarding and dancing to a voiceover of Muhammad Ali’s ‘How Great I Am’ speech.

“As a race fan, I’m thrilled to be invited to be the Honorary Pace Car driver at the biggest race of the NASCAR season – the Daytona 500," said Purdy.

"This is another opportunity to try something new and be bold in my own life. I can’t wait to visit my fellow Toyota athletes and step into their world by getting behind the wheel of the Camry pace car.”

The La Molina 2015 IPC Para-Snowboard World Championships will feature around 40 riders from nearly 20 countries in the biggest gathering of snowboarders since Sochi 2014.

All competitions will be streamed live at LaMolina2015.com (viewers in the US can view at US Paralympics website) and live results will also be available.

Competitions start with snowboard cross on Tuesday (24 February) and continue on 28 February with banked slalom.