5 Celebrities who had careers in Auto Racing

 5 Celebrities who had careers in Auto Racing

By Brian Cotnoir

Auto Racing is a sport driven (no pun intended) by two things: Passion and Money!   To make it in Auto Racing you have to have a passion for driving.  Many drivers like Tony Stewart, Lewis Hamilton, and Jeff Gordon started out as young kids racing go-karts and quarter midgets.   By the time they were 25-years-old, they had almost 2 decades of experience driving behind the wheel of various forms of racing, however, passion & talent alone unfortunately aren’t enough: in many cases your seat and team you drive for depend on how much money you bring in sponsorship.

Celebrities and Pro-Athletes have a lot of disposable income.   Michael Jordan recently teamed up with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin to launch 23XI Motorsports which will debut in the 2021 season.  Coach Joe Gibbs won 3 Super Bowls as head coach of the Washington Red Skins, and is now a 5-Time Cup Series Championship winning owner.   Most famously, Hollywood actors Paul Newman and James Dean were known to participate in auto races and were quite passionate about the sport.  However, their some other celebrities who decided to use their money and fame in an attempt to launch their own racing careers.   Here 5 Celebrities who also had careers in Auto Racing

1.)  Caitlyn Jenner

After winning Gold at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and long before becoming a Reality TV Star, Jenner decided to pursue a career in Auto Racing.  Jenner raced in the IMSA GT Series in the 1980's, and even won some of the biggest endurance races in the U.S. including winning GT class at the 1986 12 Hours of Sebring.   Jenner raced sports cars throughout the decade, and the Jenner name lives on in racing as Burt Jenner races today in the Stadium Super Truck Series.

Burt Jenner & Caitlyn Jenner

Jenner’s racing career is briefly talked about in the Willy T. Ribbs documentary “Uppity”.   If you get a chance to watch it check it out, and I provided a link below from thedrive.com that goes into more details about Caitlyn Jenner’s Racing Career.

The Fast and Racy Times of Caitlyn Jenner

2.)  Patrick Dempsey

Hollywood hunk, Patrick Dempsey has also been an passionate fan of motorsports and an active participant.  Dempsey raced his in the GT category at some of the most prestigious endurance races around the world.  He even ran his own team for the majority of his racing career.  His career highlights in over a decade of racing include coming in 2^nd Place in the GT Class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015, that same year he and his team won their first race ever in the GT Class when they won the 6 Hours at Fuji in Japan.

3.)  Vince Neil

The Motley Crue frontman decided to give speed a try in the early the 1990’s. Neil raced part-time in the Indy Lights in 1992.  His season (and career) only lasted 4 races with his best finish being a 10^th Place at the Milwaukee Mile.   Neil and his teammates at P.I.G. Racing weren’t factors at all during the season, and Neil finished in a 5-way tie for 23^rd position in the final drivers’ standings.

4.)  Marty Robbins

I’ve never listened to the music of Marty Robbins, but from what I can gather he was a country & western singer who also ran part-time in NASCAR for the better part of two decades.   Robbins raced mostly for his own team, in a brightly colored purple and yellow #42 Dodge.  He never ran a full season most of the time he just ran at the big tracks of the time (Talladega, Daytona, Charlotte, Michigan, Atlanta, etc.).  Robbins would score a couple of Top 10 finishes in the early 1970’s, and his best finish was a 5^th place at  Michigan International Speedway in 1974; not bad for a self-funded part-time racer.

5.)  Jason Priestly

Jason Priestly was one of the most popular and loved TV actors of the 1990’s.   The beloved actor on Beverly Hills 90210 decided to give auto racing a career.   Priestly entered the Indy Lights series.  He began racing full-time at the 2002 Indy Lights Season.    Unlike Vince Neil, Priestly showed potential.  In his first Indy Lights start ever, he finished in 2^nd place at Kansas (losing to A.J. Foyt IV).   He was really fast in qualifying never qualifying outside of the Top 5.  Sadly, Priestley’s racing career came to an end at Kentucky when he was involved in a near-tragic accident while practicing at Kentucky Speedway.  While Priestly does appear at races (sometimes in an ownership role) he has never entered another professionally sanctioned race since his accident at Kentucky.