HBO 'Entourage' cast and crew head to the California Speedway to track drive Ferrari cars for show

July 7, 10:27 PMExotic Car ExaminerKae Davis

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Entourage character has hot wheels: Ari's Ferrari sporting a custom license plate

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If you haven't starting watching the HBO series 'Entourage' and you are a Ferrari fan, you might want to start now. The cable television promo that is currently running live  has what appears to be outstanding exotic spotter footage of the cast and crew heading out to the California Speedway to track drive Ferrari cars for the show.

CONFIRMING THE AUTO NEWS RUMOR

The auto pop media chat rumor that the HBO series 'Entourage' recently filmed a race track scene that features a gorgeous assortment of Ferrari cars is true. According to a speedway statement, the show's cast -- Kevin Connolly (Eric), Adrian Grenier (Vince), Kevin Dillon (Drama) and Jerry Ferrara (Turtle) -- filmed an episode that included the new Ferrari California. HBO is now running televised clips of the scenes being filmed. [July 2009]

FERRARI CARS APPEARING IN CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT AS FEATURE AUTO NEWS

According to cast members being interviewed for the promo, getting approval to have the track for the day or loan of the cars was no easy task. The producers report they has to go all the way to the top of the Ferrari corporate food chain to make the scenes happen.

We're glad they did, as the show helps promote sales of exotic cars in the industry. Having the street legal cars featured on the track helps dealers across the country promote brand loyalty and product enthusiasm.

The series also helps promote boutique merchandise sales at Ferrari store locations across the globe and an interest in buying race fan merchandise at local North American exotic car dealerships, too.

"We always have clients who are interested in buying unusual gift items for themselves and their teenage and college age kids..." says Jack Davis, a representative from Ferrari of Washington and General Manager of Maserati of Baltimore. "Having a show like 'Entourage' promote exotic car products in conjunction with fashion trends helps give our hat, t-shirt jersey shirt, hoodie, and back pack sales a boost."

Davis reports that he regularly encourages celebrities living in our working on the East Coast to schedule appointments for private VIP after hours tours of the Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini stores he represents. "Making sure the people who have the greatest public outreach are familiar with exotic cars is more like a public service task than doing business... if they [the celebs] are comfortable and know about the specific features of high performance cars, they are more likely to share positive experiences with their friends and connections. That always is good for a brand -- to have that sort of positive good will in the community and to have stars who say nice things about the supercars and luxury vehicles for you."

ENTOURAGE -- THE SERIES

Here's the scoop about the series directly from HBO:

HBO presents Entourage, the hit comedy series executive produced by Mark Wahlberg that takes a look at the day-to-day life of Vincent (Vince) Chase, a hot young actor in modern-day Hollywood, and his entourage.

He's brought with him from their hometown in Queens, NY: manager Eric, half-brother Drama, and friend Turtle.

The series draws on the experiences of industry insiders to illustrate both the heady excesses of today's celebrity lifestyle, as well as the difficulty of finding love and success in the fast track of show biz. Now that the boys are getting used to the perks of stardom, Eric, along with superagent Ari, keep Vince's star rising while making sound decisions for a long-lasting career in a world of fleeting fame.

Adrian Grenier ('Drive Me Crazy,' 'Hart's War') stars as Vince.

Kevin Connolly ('Antwone Fisher,' 'John Q') plays Eric, Vince's closest confidant who's learning the rules of the business as he tries to help Vince make the right choices and keep his trajectory aimed high.

Kevin Dillon ('The Doors,' 'Platoon') plays Vince's half-brother Drama, whose own acting aspirations have been eclipsed by Vince's success.

Jerry Ferrara ('Grounded for Life,' 'Leap of Faith') plays Turtle, the house manager, who's always up for a good time.

Jeremy Piven ('Old School,' 'The Larry Sanders Show') plays Ari, Vince's aggressive, high-powered agent, who clashes with Eric over his client's decisions.

Also appearing in ENTOURAGE are Debi Mazar ('Goodfellas,' 'The Tuxedo') as Vince's publicist Shauna and Rex Lee as Lloyd, Ari Gold's much-maligned assistant.

FERRARI CONNECTIONS

With all these stars, the show's high ratings, and celebrity horsepower, it's no wonder the show writers and staff gained access to the track use and the cars. More information to follow, including a slideshow once HBO releases the photos.

The fifth season of Entourage premiered on September 7, 2008 and is currently airing. The show regularly showcases exotic and high line luxury cars driven by characters and shown as featured status symbols in Southern California street scene backgrounds.

For a full schedule of airings of the current and previous seasons of Entourage on HBO, visit the Online Schedule. We hope we won't be seeing any wrecked exotics on this shoot, or anything remniscent of Eddie Griffin (the celebrity most famous and hated in car culture for failing to take direction from professional drivers while on the track and tragicly wrecking a rare Ferrari Enzo).

Click the play button below to see a series clip featuring Ari in a Ferrari racing through the streets of Paris.

Parental discretion for strong language is advised.