CART: 'Driven' Star Cristian de la Fuente to Drive Actual 2000 Champ Car
11 January 2001
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
During PacWest Racing "Driving Experience" Event at Homestead
Chilean actor Cristian de la Fuente is heading to Florida to drive a nine-hundred horsepower Champ Car this weekend, participating in PacWest Racing Group's unique annual "Driving Experience" event. An experienced pilot and officer in the Chilean Air Force, de la Fuente plays a race driver in the upcoming Renny Harlin-directed film "Driven."
In 1995, PacWest Racing Group became the first and only professional Champ Car team to stage an event allowing team employees the opportunity to drive the actual race car. This year, PacWest will once again stage a two-day event in the parking lot of Homestead Motorsports Complex, providing driving opportunities to existing sponsors, prospective sponsors, and friends of the program. In anticipation of the April 27 release of "Driven," written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, PacWest has recruited the film's Christian de la Fuente to drive the very same 2000 Nextel PacWest Champ Car that he drives in the movie. Celebrity Stedman Graham will also participate in the event.
Each of the participants will be provided with a Nextel firesuit, boots, gloves and helmet, and will take the wheel of the actual 2000 car which was driven by Mauricio Gugelmin in the 2000 FedEx Championship Series. The car they will be using is capable of reaching speeds in excess of 240 mph. Each "test drive" will take place in a temporary road course marked by traffic cones on the vast open parking lot of the Homestead Motorsports Complex, and will last for approximately 20-30 minutes. PacWest driver Mauricio Gugelmin will be on hand for both days to provide instruction, guidance and motivation. Mauricio designed and inspected the course for safety purposes, declared it sound for driving, and estimated the potential top speed to be approximately 180 miles per hour.
The star of the CBS television series "Family Law," de la Fuente is no stranger to adventure and danger. Starting his career as a firefighter, de la Fuente then joined the Chilean Air Force and became an officer and a pilot. de la Feuente has starred in four prime-time Spanish-language dramas, and was recently named one of the world's "50 Most Beautiful" by People Magazine. "I enjoy the taste of adrenaline," says de la Fuente, and Mauricio Gugelmin and PacWest Racing plan to provide him with a "Big Gulp" of the precious substance this weekend.
Text Provided By Tom Hollett
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