To be held at Laang Speedway on April 27, the Forumla 500 race will honour the contribution of Ken Willsher, who passed away in June last year.

Veal said he was excited about stepping back to drive in the race in Willsher's honour.

"I actually raced against Ken the last time I drove a Formula 500 back in 2004-05," Veal said.

"It is a great idea to name a race after Ken, he did a lot of work for the Formula 500 community and for Laang Speedway."

Since he last drove a Formula 500, Veal has established himself as one of the best sprintcar drivers in the world.

He said he was looking forward to the driving adjustment ahead of him.

"The size of the car will be the biggest difference," he said.

"I am hoping to get a couple of practice drives in, it would be nice.

"I have six or seven sprintcar shows to drive in before then so I will hopefully still have my eye in."

The idea of the Ken Willsher Classic has been driven by the Victorian Formula 500 Association, of which Willsher is a life member.

He is also a life member of the Australian Formula 500 Association.

During his career, Willsher won a series of big races, including five Victorian Formula 500 titles. He also won South Australian (two) and Tasmanian state titles.