RacingNation.com

“Patrick Dempsey – Racing Le Mans” Review

Last night Patrick Dempsey’s new racing documentary mini series premiered on the Velocity Network.

The first installment was an interesting mix of behind the scenes interviews with Dempsey and key members of his race team, details about their trials and tribulations in getting their race team geared up for the 2012 season, plus race footage from 2012 along with excellent archival footage of fellow actor/racers Steve McQueen, James Garner and Paul Newman. The program also featured some excellent and eloquent (as usual) commentary from the great Sam Posey.

Patrick’s opening line in the show really sets the tone for the series, when he states that his life really started once he began racing, that he never felt comfortable acting, never felt like he belonged.

It is obvious watching the first episode that Patrick Dempsey is dead serious about his racing. He built a team with Joe Foster, he didn’t just write checks and go racing. He has been and continues to pay his dues. For those who don’t know the whole story of his quest to race at Le Mans in 2013, I won’t spoil the story here. You can look it up if you would like. Better yet, watch the remaining three episodes of the mini series and go along for the ride.

What is fascinating about Dempsey, the driver, is his appreciation of the history of the sport. In whatever he does on the track, he wants to make sure that he is paying homage to the drivers who have gone before him. He doesn’t want to just race, he wants to win and is willing to pay his dues to make that possible.

It is very refreshing today to see a driver, any driver, who has a true appreciation of those who have come before him. Many of the young modern drivers have no sense of the history of the sport at all, and many don’t seem to care. Dempsey not only has an appreciation of the history, but also feels that it is all part of the total package that makes a good driver.

Another interesting aspect of the first episode was seeing how Dempsey has to balance his acting and his celebrity status with his goal of being a professional race driver. Doing sponsor events, posing for countless photos and constantly chasing money to do more racing is enough to put a strain on anybody, yet as evidenced by the first episode, Dempsey seems to be able to handle it all very well.

I have read a couple of other reviews of the first episode by so called “show biz” writers, who have no sense of what racing is or what it takes to race at the professional level. Perhaps they should just continue to just write drivel like they normally do, churning out rehashed press releases for crap like “Duck Dynasty” and “Honey Boo Boo” and leave the racing to the real racers.

Myself, I am looking forward to the remaining episodes of “Patrick Dempsey – Racing Le Mans”, which will air over the next three weeks on the Velocity Network. If they are anything like the first one, the experience will be fascinating.

Share Button