Cindy McCain and Jay Leno joke about candidate's bad driving

In this photo provided by NBC, wife of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, Cindy McCain, left, speaks with Jay Leno during the taping of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in Burbank, Calif., Wednesday, April 30, 2008. (AP Photo/NBC,Paul Drinkwater)

BURBANK, Calif.—John McCain wants to take the helm of the country. Just don't let him take the wheel of the car.

His wife, Cindy McCain, confided to Jay Leno on Wednesday that the former Navy fighter pilot is a not exactly Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the freeways.

"He's not the best of drivers," she said on "The Tonight Show" on NBC. "I drive most of the time."

Even Leno joked about the Republican presidential candidate's command of the roads.

"If he was elected president, he would be the only president ever to do a burnout in my Corvette," Leno said.

McCain has faced questions about his age throughout the campaign -- if elected in November, he'd be 72 and the oldest man to become president. But his wife said the Arizona senator is so vigorous he plans to hike in the Grand Canyon with his sons this summer.

But it's not the first time age has been a touchy issue for McCain.

When the couple first met at a party -- she was a 25-year-old teacher, he was a 42-year-old Navy officer separated from his wife -- they fibbed about their ages. Cindy McCain added four years to her age, while McCain lopped four years off his.

"We found out when we applied for our marriage license -- they publish it in the newspaper," she told Leno.

And they didn't exactly hit it off at the party.

"He kind of chased me around ... an hors d'oeuvre table," she said. "I was trying to get something to eat and I thought, 'You know, this guy's kind of weird.'"