Dempsey Racing Breaks Out In Virginia

Patrick Dempsey knew he had no one to blame but himself for starting the Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway from the back of the grid due to a crash in the final practice session prior to qualifying.

Dempsey then went out and made amends, joining co-driver Andrew Davis in finishing third in the No. 27 Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 GT America at Virginia International Raceway, his best finish in TUDOR United SportsCar Championship competition.

“Patrick Dempsey drove like I’ve never seen him drive before,” Davis said. “He was on pace, ahead of the guys in front of him, moved up and gave me the car in the best spot he’s been all year. From there on, it was a real fight all the way to the end.”Now, the star of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy will be looking to carry that momentum into the two-hour, 45-minute Lone Star Le Mans on Saturday, Sept. 20. Dempsey finished third in last year’s event at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas, one of two podium finishes co-driving with Andy Lally in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.Saturday’s crash in morning practice at VIR resulted in long hours of work by his team repairing his Porsche. When the green flag waved on Sunday, Dempsey quickly went to work. After 60 minutes of racing, he was up to fifth. When the first caution of the race waved, Dempsey pitted running in third position.“To get up there and be competitive in this field felt great,” Dempsey said of his performance “This is one of my better ones. I made one mistake there that cost me a little bit of ground, but I stayed calm after that and it was pretty good. I think it was one of my best drives so far.”Prior to VIR, the team’s best outing in the TUDOR Championship was the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, where Joe Foster joined Dempsey and Davis in finishing fourth.Dempsey Racing fielded a pair of cars in the Oak Tree Grand Prix, with Madison Snow and Jan Heylen finishing ninth in the No. 58 Discount Tire/Universal Industrial Sales Porsche 911 GT America. Heylen and Snow dominated the first half of the race, each taking turns leading in GTD. However, the team had to make its final pit stop under green shortly after a restart – and could never make up the difference.“It’s unfortunate that the yellows came out when they did for them,” team manager John Wright said. “Otherwise, they would probably have been in contention for the win – if not the winners.”