Patrick Demsey Drives for Kids' Charity

29-June-2009

advertisement ^

Patrick Demsey seems to have taken Paul Newman’s place in the way of combining acting with the racetrack and a charity (for a Children’s Hospital in Seattle).

Patrick, who set up his own racing teem in 2005, regularly competes on the track and has even entered the Daytona 24-hour race driving a Ferrari F430 GT.

“For me, to be at Le Mans racing, and racing a Ferrari, it’s a dream come true. I have two co-drivers and we just need to go at a pace that we can stick to and control what we can control and deal with whatever comes up. Everybody has a chance. I’d love to be on the podium. We’ll see,” says Patrick.

An avid car fan since childhood, Patrick was encouraged to race by none other than his devoted wife who told him to “get off the couch, stop watching the Speed channel and go out and do it”.

Driving lessons ensued and after his licence was under his belt, he started racing formula cars, then sedans, then Mustangs. Eventually, Pat set up Dempsey Racing in 2005,
which now races in the Koni Sports Car Challenge and Rolex Sports Car Series in America.

“The great thing about being very fortunate in my late 30s and early 40s is that I had time to dream,” he says.

“I had my books of cars and my wish lists. You know, I’m very grateful.”

Patrick Dempsey’s cars

Along with his racing, Patrick also owns an extensive collection of classic cars including a 1963 Porsche 356 convertible (bought with his paycheque from Can’t Buy Me Love), a Jaguar E-type with a V12 engine, a 1950s Jaguar XK120, a 1954 race-tuned Mercedes SL 190, a Mercedes 280 SE convertible and a 1972 Ferrari Daytona. And for his everyday driving needs, Pat drives a Porsche GT3 RS. “It’s hard to go slow in that one,” he admits.