Top 8 Celebrity Auto Racers of All Time

October 24, 2014
Story By
Curtis Cummings

There has always been a long line of actors and other pseudo-celebrities clawing at the cultural vacuum left open by the almighty Steve McQueen. Stepping into a fast car- with a publicity team making sure the photos are posted immediately- seems to lots of them to be the quickest way to conjure up the King of Cool. Whether it’s crashing their vintage Mustang on a Hollywood street at midnight or skulking around a racing paddock, posing for the paparazzi in a racing suit and making no actual impact out on the track - the list of true celebrity driving contenders is pretty sparse. Here are eight that were, and are, for real.

8. GENE HACKMAN

Ex- Marine Gene Hackman has never been one to mess with. His low tolerance for Hollywood BS is legendary. Get on his bad side, even now at 84, and you’re likely to get a quick fist to the teeth. And you’d better not cry. Winning a few celebrity races in the 70’s put the racing bug into Popeye Doyle’s head. Knowing that beating a few sitcom stars, Playmates of the Year and pop singers wasn’t going to cut it in a real competition, The Hack trained hard in driving school. Between a busy shooting schedule, the very much in-demand actor poured all of his spare time into racing. He competed regularly in the ultra-competitive SCCA Formula Ford series in the late 70’s, eventually stepping into the big leagues in a Dan Gurney /Team Toyota Celica for various races, including the 1983 Riverside 6 hour Race and the 24 Hours of Daytona.

7. JAMES DEAN

“Little Bastard” James Dean jumped into auto racing the same way he blitzed Hollywood, at terminal velocity. Easy to dismiss as a studio-generated Tinsel Town pretty boy, Dean was a true demon on the throttle of his Porsche 356. In his first race, the 1955 Palm Springs Road Races, Dean won the Saturday amateur race, which qualified him for the pro race the next day. Against a field of professionals, the film star took an impressive second place. Two months later in Bakersfield, he finished third overall and first in class with his little 356. A couple of weeks after that, at the Santa Barbara Road Races, he was running fourth overall when a piston let go in his Porsche. He was forced to stop racing by the studio until filming for Giant was completed, but ordered a new Porsche 550 Spyder for the upcoming Salinas Road Races. Originally set to trailer the car north to the race, he opted to drive it to get in some much-needed seat time in the new car before qualifying. This ride would be his last when he collided with a heavy Ford sedan in Paso Robles.

6. JAMES GARNER

Square-jawed Jim Garner caught the racing bug while training with Bob Bondurant for his role as Pete Arons in the great 1966 film, Grand Prix. He quickly formed American International Racing, fielding cars as an owner in a wide variety of classes. His AIR Lola T70 came close to winning the Daytona 24 Hour in 1967, finishing second to Team Penske. As a driver he kept to mostly off-road competition and will be remembered for the killer Oldsmobile 442 he had custom-built with a tube frame and 11” of travel to take on the Baja 1000. Garner drove it himself in the 1969 1000 where he took second place in his class. He drove it in several other off-road races, including Baja again, in 1970. James went on to drive Indy Pace cars and was a fixture at races everywhere for many years.

5. MARTY ROBBINS

Photo Courtesy of MoparDealer Marty Robbins sold millions of records, acted in movies, won too many awards to mention and has had parks and buildings named after him. He also loved NASCAR racing. His recording success allowed him to compete in the big leagues during the classic era from the 1966 Nashville 400 all the way to his last race in the Atlanta 500 in 1982. His busy touring schedule only allowed him to enter select races, but he made it a priority to get into Talledega and Daytona every year. In the end he made 35 races and earned 7 top-ten finishes.

4. JESSE JAMES

TV star and celebrity bike builder Jesse James is a character that can divide any room, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. His bad boy image can obscure his serious interest in professional off-road racing. Competing sporadically over the last ten years, driving Trophy Trucks, Jesse is known for his immaculately prepared machinery. Now driving a PRO 2WD Race Truck in selected events in the TORC Series, as well as his appearances in the Baja 1000, we’ll see if he can not just drive a good looking truck, but actually ascend the podium. Aww, who are we kidding, he married a drag racing billionaire tequila heiress. Jesse’s already at the top of the podium.

3. PATRICK DEMPSEY

Photo Courtesy of Dempsey Racing TV star Dempsey is the one to watch. The Grey’s Anatomy star speaks regularly about his dedication to sports car racing and the possibility of giving up acting in favor of a 100% racing life. Serious efforts and podium finishes in Porsche Super Cup, American LeMans, the Rolex Sports Car Series and competitive showings in the Daytona and Le Mans 24 hour races point to a great future in automotive competition.

2. STEVE McQUEEN

Photo Courtesy of Solar Productions Not much can be said about the King of Cool that hasn’t been said before - troubled kid, reform school, cinema icon, motorhead supreme and driving force behind the greatest motor racing movie ever made. McQueen’s first love was motorcycles, but fast cars were always in the mix. His exploits on the street and on the track are too numerous to mention, so to make his place on this list crystal clear, we’ll concentrate on one race. The Sebring 12 hour in 1970 was a meeting of the titans. Power was off the charts and leading the way was Porsche with their monstrous 5 litre 917. Ferrari had developed their 512 quickly as a challenger, but Porsche had the advantage. Sebring was going to be a factory showdown between the two most powerful factory teams in the world. McQueen wanting badly to be a part of the show, bought a Porsche 908 Spyder and hired world-class hotshoe Peter Revson to be his co-driver. The actor had broken his foot a couple of week’s prior, but it would not stop him from being in this race. He was in some pain and Revson knew that the majority of the driving would have to be his. For ten hours, the factory Ferrari of Mario Andretti/ Arturo Merzario led the Porsche 917 of Pedro Rodriguez/ Jo Siffert. McQueen/Revson, incredibly, were in third place and first in their 3.0 litre class. What happened next is almost seems written by a Hollywood writer. With two hours to go, the first place Ferrari drops out with a mechanical problem and the Porsche of Rodriguez/Siffert takes the lead, putting McQueen and Revson into second place! With 27 minutes on the clock, the lead Porsche suffers a suspension failure and the McQueen car is in first place and running strong. The Sebring stands, packed with college kids on break, went berserk. The Ferrari team manager, fearing humiliation at the hands of an amateur team, led by a movie star of all things, pulled in his second place 512, and replaced the driver with Andretti, giving him instructions to win at all costs. Andretti furiously drove his more powerful Ferrari at near pole position times to catch up to the McQueen car, finally passing into the lead with 23 seconds to go after 12 hours of racing. It was the greatest endurance race anyone had ever seen.

1. PAUL NEWMAN

The number one spot on this list can only be one man. No other celebrity can even come close to his accomplishments on a racetrack. Newman caught the fever while working on an Indy car movie, called Winning, in 1968. It was a few years before he could follow up on his new obsession, but once strapped into a racecar, his natural ability burned hard. His victories are too many to mention. He would eventually win four National SCCA Championships. In 1979, he would take second place overall, and first in class in a Porsche 935 at the 24 Hours of LeMans. In 1995, he would become the oldest winning driver in history when his team would capture the trophy in the GT-class at the 24 hours of Daytona. He was 70 years and 8 days old. As a team owner, he was even more dominant across a wide range of classes. Paul Newman stands alone, as the greatest celebrity racer, ever.