10 Actors Who Also Race Sports Cars
Actors have hobbies too. Some of them put their acting careers to go full time in racing cars. In fact, some go as far as owning a racing team and a collection of sports cars.
1. Paul Newman
The Oscar-winning actor and owner of Newman's Own, a line food products had both a passion and talent for race car driving. His first race as a pro racer was at the Thompson International speedway in 1972. In 1975, he finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the age of 70, he was the oldest driver to be a part of a first place team in 1995.
"I was never very good at sports almost clumsy. Racing was different; it's the one thing I could do well and be graceful at," Newman said according to Newmansownfoundation.org.
2. Patrick Dempsey
The Grey's Anatomy actor is a world-renowned race car driver and the manager of his own racing team, the Dempsey Racing team founded in 2002. He has been racing professionally for 10 years and in previous interviews, he admitted that if he could quit acting and go full time in racing, he would. The 48-year-old has driven various Porches and Ferraris in 86 races all over the world, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans in France and the Tudor United Sports Car Series.
3. James Dean
James Dean died in the name of sports car racing. He won a race in Palm Springs, finished third in Bakersfield. After filming his last movie, the Giant, he drove his Porsche 550 Spyder so he could compete in a race but while speeding up the coast, he collided head on with another car and died on the spot.
4. Jason Priestley
Jason Priestly raced cars and co-owned a racing team. In the 1990s he raced a Toyota Celica All-Trac and later moved to Indiana races like the Indy 500. In 2002, while on practice his open-wheel car crashed into a wall while going 180 mph but he only got minor injuries from the incident, which didn't stop him from joining the Rubicon Race Team.
5. Steve McQueen
"I don't know if I'm an Actor who Races or a racer who Acts," Steve McQueen once said.
Steve McQueen both lived his racing dreams on and off the screen. In 1961, finished third in a race at the British Touring Car Championship where he drove a BMC Mini. McQueen owned several sports cars including a Porsche 256 Speedster, Ferrari 250. He also loved off-road motorcycle racing.
6. Frankie Muniz
The child star he competed and won the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in 2005 and a few years afterwards he considered himself more of a professional car racer than an actor. He signed a contract with Jensen Motorsports as a driver and joined the Atlantic Championship Series races in 2007 to 2009. Although he didn't rank high in most of his race, he did win a couple of titles.
7. Paul Walker
The Fast and Furious star loved cars and car racing so much like James Dean, but he also died in a car crash. He raced at the Redline Time Attack racing series, using a high-performance BMW M3 E92. Although he wasn't behind the wheel, Walker died in a car accident in the passenger seat of a pro-racer Porsche.
8. Adam Corolla
Adam Corolla has an affinity for sports cars. In fact, he owns Newman's Nissan 300ZX and Datsun Camel GT, along with a 1967 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2 among others. Corolla won the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race in California in 2012 and last year came back to win the race again but this time in the professional category.
9. James Garner
James Garner owned the American International Racers team for a while and he appeared in the documentary, The Racing Scene. He competed in off-road races in 1975, 1977 and 1985 wherein he drove the pace car at the Indy 500.
10. Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green is not as avid racer as other celebrities but he bagged the 2010 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. In 2011, he competed at the same event as a pro but he didn't win. He beat out other celebrities like Frankie Muniz and Adrien Brody.
