Fichtner Wins... Ahem... Physical Celebrity/Pro Race • Long Beach Post Sports

Fichtner celebrates his victory after radio hosts Mark and Brian hand him the trophy. Photo by Daniel DeBoom

The racing-prepped Scion tC cars swapped paint, used each other like bumper lanes and yes, crashed quite a bit during the Celebrity/Pro race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday. But in between it all there was actually some impressive driving, and actor William Fichtner bested his fellow celebrities as well as professional drivers hot on his tail to capture the win.

Fichtner, best known for his work in movies like Armageddon, Crash and Batman: The Dark Knight, raced out to a good lead over other celebrities like actor Djimon Hounsou, performer Kevin Jonas and 2010 race winner Brian Austin Green.

But from the very back of the field, the professional drivers soon weaved their way through slower traffic to contend at the front. Former actor Frankie Muniz has been racing professionally for some time now, and he and 18-year old drifter Ken Gushi put the pressure on Fichtner through the last few laps.

But the actor stood his ground and brought his Scion home for the win. Gushi said that with one more lap, he would have had him. That drew smiles all around as the trash talk had clearly not been left on the track.

Drivers who had a rougher go of it included television host Jillian Barberie-Reynolds, who crashed into the Turn One tire barrier, UFC fighter Tito Ortiz and Jonas, who kissed the tire wall in Turn Six.

Despite the lack of blockbuster-sized names like Keanu Reeves and Adrian Brody in last year’s race, the Celebrity/Pro race again drew huge crowds of fans waiting to catch a glimpse or an autograph. The drivers typically spend a lot of time signing autographs and enjoying the experience of being out on the track. They spend about one month of off-and-on race training together, and Fichtner said this group had grown quite close.

That doesn’t mean he was going to let them win, though.