This weekend, the 52-year-old, who lost both his legs in a horrific motor racing accident in 2001, will fulfill a lifetime ambition by racing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona -- one of the most glamorous endurance races in the sport.
For Zanardi, the race provides yet another chapter in a remarkable story that has seen him recover from life-threatening injuries to become a four-time Paralympic gold medalist and one of motorsport's most inspiring figures.
Along with three BMW teammates, Zanardi will compete in the 24-hour race at one of America's most iconic race tracks with a specially designed steering wheel, ensuring he can race without his prosthetic legs and the added pressure that is all too often placed on his body.
Zanardi will rely on his hands for activating the braking mechanism. He says the new technology will ease the pressure on his body, and has already yielded impressive results in testing.
"I've asked the engineers in Munich to spend some time investigating the possibility to drive the car without my legs," he told CNN Sport's Don Riddell.
"This means that I have to do everything with my hands but I think we identified a set of solutions which enables me to do this.
"I'm comfortable in the car. I could actually, if the rules would allow, probably drive the 24-hour race on my own because physically speaking I feel well. I'm in a condition that is probably the best I've ever had in my in my life."
The BMW team has worked tirelessly on ensuring Zanardi has all the tools he needs to reach top speed, including a brake he can use with his hand.
A specialist steering wheel, which can be attached and detached when required, has been designed for the Italian to use during his time in the car.
A video of the driver change over, filmed by BMW, shows just how Zanardi will enter the vehicle and get set up to race in the RLL M8 GTE, which he will share with teammates John Edwards, Jesse Krohn and Chaz Mostert.
For Zanardi, this race represents another opportunity to showcase his endless appetite for competition.
Since his accident, he has not only won four paralympic gold medals in hand cycling, he also claimed a number of world championship titles.
More recently he has taken to competing in Ironman challenges -- swimming for 2.6 miles, cycling for 120m and then a 26m run to cap it off.
Zanardi's recovery has been remarkable. Few gave the Italian a chance of living when he was pulled from the wreckage of his car after being hit by Canadian Alex Tagliani's Ford-Cosworth/Reynard with 13 laps remaining of the race at Germany's Lausitz circuit in September 2001.
A two-time CART championship winner for Chip Ganassi's team, Zanardi's accident shocked the racing world. Just 30% of his blood was left in his body and doctors feared the worst after the collision.
"When I woke up in my hospital bed with my wife telling me what happened I just remember thinking instead of asking myself 'how am I going to live without legs?' I asked myself, 'how the hell am I going to do all the things I have to do with no legs?'"
"People kept asking me would you ever step back into a race car," Zanardi added.
"I said yes but in reality we weren't interested because my main interest was to regain control of my life.
"I couldn't go even to the bathroom on my own. I had to be helped. So I wanted to change that first, but in my mind I clearly knew that and I found an efficient way to reconnect my brain to the rest of the car."
Just two months after his accident, Zanardi was walking once again thanks to custom made prosthetic legs. Two years later he returned to Lausitz to complete the remaining 13 laps in a specially modified touring car.
In 2004 he was back racing touring cars that had been equipped with a hand-operated brake and accelerator paddles.
Zanardi then returned once again to drive a modified BMW Formula One car in 2006 before moving onto compete in hand cycling and eventually, the Paralympics in London and Rio de Janeiro.
And while there is still the possibility of competing at Tokyo 2020, Zanardi is only focusing on the latest pit stop of his journey.
"I enjoy being in the middle of my journey much more than being close to the end," said Zanardi, who will be 54 at the next Paralympic Games.
"Right now I'm living this new adventure with BMW in Daytona with this new family and it's a very important and prestigious championship where I have a lot of friends.
"It's fantastic and maybe who knows if this will lead to the new project in the future. I'm a young boy, who knows?"
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