Quantcast
Channel: New and Used Car Reviews, Comparisons and News | Driving
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 21675

10 actors who got bit by the racing bug

$
0
0

It’s that time of the year when simultaneously the movie industry starts trotting out its Oscar-winning candidates and motor racing is chasing championships. What better time then to alphabetically take a look at 10 of the top actors who are or were fairly handy behind the wheel of a racecar:

Eric Bana

This film image released by Focus Features shows Eric Bana in a scene from "Closed Circuit."

This film image released by Focus Features shows Eric Bana in a scene from “Closed Circuit.”
AP Photo, Focus Features

Australian Bana’s big Hollywood break came playing Sergeant Norm “Hoot” Gibson in 2011’s Black Hawk Down, which catapulted him into leading man status. But the Aussie can drive, too. Making his racing career debut in the 1996 Targa Tasmania, by 2004 Bana was competing in the Australian Porsche Challenge in a 944. Bana combined both his passions by producing and starring in 2009’s Love the Beast, a documentary that told the story of the 1974 Ford Falcon XB he bought when he was 15 years old.

Patrick Dempsey

Actor Patrick Dempsey at Grand-Am race in Montreal Aug. 19-20, 2011.

Actor Patrick Dempsey at Grand-Am race in Montreal Aug. 19-20, 2011.
Patricia Cancilla, National Post

Best known for his long-running role as brain surgeon Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd in television’s Grey’s Anatomy, Dempsey began his acting career in the mid-1980s. However, the American actor’s biggest passion off-screen is motor racing. In 2004, he began driving in several amateurs racing series. Five years later he was racing at the 24 Hours of LeMans. With his Dempsey Racing team, this past season saw the actor/racer compete in the United SportsCar Championship and back at LeMans with Porsche where he finished fifth in the GTE Am class.

James Dean

James Dean in a Porsche Speedster 23F at Palm Springs Races March, 1955.

James Dean in a Porsche Speedster 23F at Palm Springs Races March, 1955.
Supplied, Wikimedia Commons

Due to his untimely death while driving his race-prepped Porsche 550 Spyder near Salinas, Calif., in 1955, the late actor James Dean’s well-known passion for cars and racing has become a part of American culture. In 1954, Dean’s first sports car was an MG, quickly followed by a Porsche 356 Speedster that he entered the next year in various California sports car races. During filming of Rebel Without a Cause, Dean traded the 356 in for the ill-fated Porsche 550 Spyder. Ironically, the Spyder was a fill-in for a more exotic Lotus Mk. X sports car that he was planning to race.

James Garner

James Garner in 1966's "Grand Prix".

James Garner in 1966’s “Grand Prix”.
Handout, Cherokee Productions

It’s no coincidence that a pair of the late American actor’s most famous roles involved cars: the iconic 1966 Formula One racing flick Grand Prix and TV’s mid-1970s Rockford Files, where he piloted his tire-squealing Pontiac Firebird Esprit. In real life, Garner’s “American International Racers” entered cars at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring between 1967 and 1969. He also cut a deal with American Motors Corporation and prepared 10 1969 SC/Ramblers for the Baja 500 race. After his competitive racing career stopped, Garner continued his high-performance driving career while driving the pace car at the Indy 500 in 1975, 1977, and 1985.

Bruce Jenner

You may know American Bruce Jenner as an Olympic gold medal winner at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics or the father of the Kardashian kids. But the former athlete-turned-actor also dabbled as a racer in the 1980s, racing in the IMSA sports car series driving cars like a Porsche 935 Turbo, BMW M1 March GX, Ford Probe GTP. Jenner’s first victory came in the 1986 12 Hours of Sebring, finishing fourth overall and wining the GTO class driving a Ford Mustang with co-driver (and “real” race driver) Scott Pruett. That year also saw him finishing second in the championship to teammate Pruett.

Steve McQueen

Pioneer Moon Ranch, Idaho - Steve McQueen's ranch

Hollywood actor Steve McQueen was an avid racer.
Handout photo, Mirisch Corporation

Before he passed away at the age of 50 in 1980, Steve McQueen was the epitome of the “actor/racer”. Whether it was on two wheels (see 1971’s On Any Given Sunday) or four (see McQueen perform the majority of the high-speed driving behind the wheel of the Mustang GT 390 in 1968’s Bullitt), McQueen was no racer wannabe. In preparation for the filming of 1971’s LeMans, along with racer Peter Revson, he raced a Porsche 908/02 in the 12 Hours of Sebring and won the 3-litre class, missing the overall win by only 23 seconds to Mario Andretti’s Ferrari 512S.

Frankie Muniz

Frankie Muniz puts on his helmet before a qualifying race in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship at the Steelback Grand Prix in Toronto, Friday July 6, 2007.

Frankie Muniz puts on his helmet before a qualifying race in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship at the Steelback Grand Prix in Toronto, Friday July 6, 2007.
Tyler Anderson, National Post

Best known for his starring role in TV’s Malcolm in the Middle between 2000 and 2006, Muniz’s racing career has superseded his previous job as an actor. In 2004, Muniz got the racing bug participating in the popular Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race held annually during the Long Beach Grand Prix. He followed that by racing in the 2006 Formula BMW USA series and was picked as one of the 36 drivers to compete in the annual Formula BMW World Final.

Craig T. Nelson

Best known for the starring role in TV’s Coach that ran for eight seasons starting in 1989, Nelson, like Muniz, got into racing while participating in the Toyota Long Beach celebrity races, this time in 1991. A third place finish encouraged him to seriously take up the sport. The next year, he founded Screaming Eagles Racing Enterprise and also drove the Toyota-engined Spice SE90 sports car in the International Motor Sports Association’s World Sports Car series. Nelson also raced in the Porsche Super Cup Series, entering the prestigious Monte Carlo, Monaco, event in 1994.

Paul Newman

Paul Newman

Paul Newman
Screen Shot, 20th Century Fox

During a life that spanned 83 years, the late Newman was an actor, film director, entrepreneur, and humanitarian. But he was also a helluva racer. After practicing for the 1969 film Winning, Newman entered his first professional race in 1972. He eventually went on to win several Sports Car Club of America championships, racing in Bob Sharp Racing Datsuns. In the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, he co-drove a Porsche 935 to second place. At the age of 70 years and eight days, Newman became the oldest driver to be part of a winning team in a major race, winning in his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona.

Jason Priestley

Canadian actor Jason Priestley poses for a photograph at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

Canadian actor Jason Priestley poses for a photograph at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.
Matthew Sherwood, National Post)

Canadian actor and director Jason Priestley is best known for his good guy Brandon Walsh character on the 1990s television series Beverly Hills 90210. But “racer” can also be found on his resume. Starting out in a Toyota Celica All-trac ST185 in the SCCA Pro Rally Series, Priestley graduated to open-wheel racing in 2002, competing in the IndyCar Series supporting Pro Series. Out of the cockpit, Priestley became a joint owner in the Rubicon Race team in the IndyCar Series team, then became a co-owner of the FAZZT Race Team, which competed full time in the 2010 IndyCar Series that also had Canadian Alex Tagliani as its driver.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 21675

Trending Articles