Patrick Dempsey and Joe Foster Coming Off of Duo’s Career Best Sixth at Mid-Ohio
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 3, 2009) – Riding a hot streak that has seen the duo score five straight top-10 showings and back-to-back career-best finishes in the last two races, Dempsey Racing and lead drivers Patrick Dempsey and Joe Foster will be looking for their first top-10 finish at Daytona International Speedway this Fourth of July Saturday in the Brumos Porsche 250 At Daytona. Round 7 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, the Brumos Porsche 250 marks the beginning of the second half of the 2009 season. The race can be seen live tomorrow on SPEED at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).
Dempsey and Foster will share the No. 40 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8 that will be racing with lead sponsorship from El Grado Tequila once again this weekend. The duo drove the Mazda to a career-best sixth-place finish one race ago in the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and a top-five result is the goal at Daytona.
A challenge will be a hot and possibly even wet race track in the Fourth of July afternoon heat. January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona is run in usually cooler temperatures and partly at night.
“The track will be completely different than the January race and the sprint-race set up and mentality are different as well,” Foster said. “Instead of preserving the equipment it will be ‘kill or be killed’ for 70 laps.”
One Rolex Series race before Mid-Ohio, Dempsey, Foster and the team’s third driver Charles Espenlaub matched their then career-best result of seventh in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen. They also finished seventh in the Verizon Wireless 250 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in May to start the current streak, which includes 10th place in the Verizon Festival of Speed at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca later in May.
The solid run of results also saw a top-10 finish in last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans that fell between the Sahlen’s Six Hours and the EMCO Gears Classic. Dempsey and Foster combined to drive more than 20 hours of the race and, along with teammate Don Kitch Jr., finished ninth in the GT2 class in the No. 81 Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle Ferrari F430 GT. Dempsey has also raced twice in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“Both events are so unique,” Dempsey said. “More dense traffic and yet better lighting make Daytona mentally more challenging yet easier at the same time. The ultra high speed, incredible speed differential between classes and ‘public road’ aspects of Le Mans generate their own unique challenges.”
A challenge in tomorrow’s race could be the heavy rain that has plagued the Daytona area recently, but the No. 40 Mazda team may find a wet track advantageous.
“We like the rain,” said Foster who also joined Espenlaub in the No. 40 to finish seventh in April’s race at Virginia International Raceway. “Patrick and I had a great run in the rain in New Jersey and the wet practice session at Mid-Ohio also indicates some progress in this area.”
Racing on the Fourth of July also means that Dempsey and Foster will spend another holiday away from their families, but they do have some built in support at the track.
“Our wives and children have been so supportive during this season, which has been our busiest and yet most successful in the Rolex Series,” Dempsey said. “We are going to miss them tomorrow but our extended family at El Grado is certainly making it all possible, and we are glad to share this holiday with them as well.”
Support for Dempsey Racing comes from Mazda, El Grado Spirits and Specialized Bicycles.
DR-PR09-08
