Filed under: Motorsports, Mazda, Celebrities, Event Alert, Racing

Actor Patrick Dempsey is no stranger to racetracks, nor to the pages of Autoblog. We've run into the Gray's Anatomy star at various races and automotive events over the past few years, most recently piloting a '90s Mazda RX-792 LeMans racer in the Historics at Laguna Seca. We've even seen him run at Long Beach, although that was in their annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity race that usually features as many crashes and spins as a roller-derby match.

This year, Dempsey is set to return to the streets of Long Beach, but not in a Scion tC, nor even his usual ride, the Mazda RX-8 he runs in the Rolex Grand-Am GT series. No, Patrick will instead be driving the wheels off a 2010 Mazda3 prepared by Tri-Point Motorsports for the World Challenge race during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend. So what was it like going from a push-me to a pull-me? Dempsey says he was impressed with the Mazda3, the first front-driver he's ever raced, though not surprised, as his daily driver is a Mazdaspeed3.

We'll be sure to keep an eye out for him when we head to Long Beach in a couple of weeks to cover the racing activities, which will include IndyCar, World Challenge and ALMS action. There's a longer press release from Mazda after the jump, with more details about the weekend of racing from Long Beach.

[Source: Mazda]Continue reading Patrick Dempsey to race at Long Beach... but not in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race

Patrick Dempsey to race at Long Beach... but not in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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