by Lynne Huntting


Actor PATRICK DEMPSEY is also a race car driver and team owner in his other life. He has a racing-themed movie in the works and he hopes to get it off the ground. He's doing some scoping this weekend at the Indianapolis 500, where he's slated to be the Pace Car driver on Sunday.

Dempsey said: “I'm definitely working on a movie right now. We're working on something that's set in the American Le Mans Series (a sports car series which just happens to be a competing series to the one in which Dempsey races - Grand American Road Racing Series). The movie would start at the Petit (Le Mans) and end at Sebring.

(Ed Note: ALMS starts its series in March with Sebring and PLM is the penultimate round at season's end.)

“The goal with that is you make to make an entertaining movie, but at the same time you want to be credible. Racing movies in the past have certainly let the fans of racing down. And the more we can stay around the world of racing and really bring that nuance to that, capture that, and also entertain the people who don't like racing, that's the real struggle. It's been a three-year project for us, trying to get it finely tuned. We're hoping to get it done next year.”

When asked about who wins with celebrity drivers through the years, Dempsey was quick to name actor PAUL NEWMAN. The veteran actor co-owns a two-car Champ Car team, Newman Haas Lanigan Racing, with CARL HAAS and MIKE LANIGAN, which runs drivers SEBASTIAN BOURDAIS of France and Rookie GRAHAM RAHAL of Ohio, son of 1985 Indy 500 winner BOBBY RAHAL-who now co-owns an IRL team with TV talk show host, DAVID LETTERMAN. Newman also co-owns a Champ Car Atlantic Series team with EDDIE WACHS, Newman Wachs Racing, with Rookie driver J.R. HILDEBRAND.

Dempsey said: “You have to look at his (PLN's) results as a driver, as an owner, as a humanitarian and as a man. He's a perfect role model. It's a shame he's not here.”