Dempsey Not Only Draw
By Sandra Johnson
Bridgeton News
MILLVILLE - Sept 1, 2008 - Dr. McDreamy brought a much more noticeable group of fans to the forefront at the New Jersey Motorsports Park Sunday - female race fans.
Actor Patrick Dempsey (Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy), who took turns racing the Team Hyper Sport No. 40 Mazda RX-8 with drivers Joe Foster and Scott Maxwell, started the race well in first place at lap 32.
Once his co-drivers took the wheel, though, everywhere that Dempsey went, a crowd followed.
Some ladies went for the race and got a surprise.
"It's exciting, because it's the first time I've been out to a race," said Valerie Martinelli, of Berlin. "Now, with (a racetrack) being so close, it'll be fun to come.
"We didn't know (Dempsey) was going to be here until we got here."
One visit, but not just because Dempsey was there, made Martinelli a fan.
"I'd say it's exciting," she said, sometimes talking against the roar of passing cars. "It's different from other sports because it's outside and there are a lot of things to do - the race cars, the drivers are good looking.
"It's better than football."
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Fans crowded around the fence behind Dempsey after his leg of the race was over, and he obliged fans by turning around and posing for pictures.
If you could get close enough to him in the garage while the Mazda was being worked on, you got smothered in a group picture before he left for the day.
Follow the crowd, and you'll find him, one woman said.
Sue Constantin, of Matawan (nearly 2 hours commute time), said she thought Dempsey's presence was a great draw for females.
"My husband came for the race, and I came for him," she said.
She admitted she was more an NJMP fan than a race fan.
"I like the colors, the different sponsors and the vendors," she said. "The guys like the race; I like all the other stuff."
She said she's definitely coming back.
Yet another fan was a local - Patty Simoni, of Vineland.
Simoni was photographing Dempsey, but she spoke the words of a true race fan.
"I like the speed," she said. "I like watching them go real fast.
"It's just the excitement and the entertainment of the race, and you hold your breath if there's an accident."
But she let a little slip: "I like it better because Patrick's here."
Hyper Sport and Dempsey's team finished 33rd, with only 89 laps completed.
Dawn Wilford, of Dividing Creek, was there for her kids sake, not for Dempsey.
"They wanted to see the big trucks and (hear the) loud noises," she said. "I grew up around racing.
"It's something we like to do; it's a lot better than going to Dover."
She's making a race fan out of her 13-yer-old daughter, Brittany Weir, already.
Weir said she "likes the noise the most."
Does she think racing could be a girl's sport?
"Yeah, definitely," she answered.
MORE MCDREAMY
See the Channel 6 ABC video and story that ran before his appearance here.