{alltv} Dream run for 'McDreamy' comes to end at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Patrick Dempsey's bid to win the most prestigious road race in America came to a close early Sunday when his car went off the course while leading its class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Dempsey, the "Grey's Anatomy" star, brought two entries to the twice-around-the-clock endurance race at Daytona International Speedway, and drove the No. 40 Mazda into the lead of the Grand Touring class Sunday morning.

Tom Long was behind the wheel when he spun on his own with just under six hours remaining in the race. Long was unable to get the car restarted after a pit stop, and the Dempsey Racing team fell four laps down.

It was the first time Dempsey has ever led a race at this level.

The weekend wasn't a complete loss for "McDreamy," though. He attended the Sundance Film Festival on Friday for the premier of his new film "Flypaper" and said it got strong reviews. He also produced the film.

Dempsey said after Saturday's driving stint that the trip from Daytona to Park City, Utah, and back to the track had left him exhausted, but thought the effort to participate in both events was worth the energy.

"It went really well. The screening was phenomenal. The response was huge right from the beginning," Dempsey said. "So on that side of things, I couldn't ask for a better response to the movie. It's the first time I've produced a movie and for it to be received that strongly was a really good thing.

"We paid for it a little (Saturday) with some fatigue, but we'll be good."

Meanwhile, the Chip Ganassi Racing teams remained in control of the Daytona Prototype class and appeared poised to battle each other for the overall title.

Juan Pablo Montoya powered past teammate Memo Rojas on a restart to put the No. 02 BMW Riley out front, continuing a trend of the two Ganassi entries controlling the front of the field.

Early morning fog led to a nearly three-hour period under yellow—the most significant delay in the event since a red flag for heavy rain stretched almost three hours in 2004—and the Ganassi cars wasted no time jumping out front when racing resumed around 8 a.m.

Three-time Rolex winner Scott Pruett passed Buddy Rice to put Ganassi's No. 01 back into the lead with a little over seven hours remaining. Dario Franchitti then worked Ganassi's No. 02 into second place.

It was another comeback for the No. 02 entry, which suffered two blown right rear tires in the early stages of the twice around-the-clock endurance race.

Then while leading, Montoya struck debris entering the pits overnight and the car had to go to the garage to change the front end. The team lost two laps while completing the work.