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Our People | September 21 2015

Hespen Rally honors Patrick’s love of cars

It was a perfect day for a Sunday drive.

The skies were clear, with a chill in the air, as more than two dozen cars and 60 people gathered outside Pasteiner’s Auto Zone Hobbies in suburban Detroit. Our destination: Cleveland, about 170 miles away.

We rose with the sun to honor our colleague and good friend Patrick Hespen. Patrick, a lifelong car fan, passed away last December from bile duct cancer. Because the type of cancer Patrick had is rare, it doesn’t get much attention or funding.

We want to change that. So the Hespen Rally was born.

Rivalries were set aside for a day (in addition to FCA US, Patrick worked in public relations at Volkswagen, Audi and Ford). Some of our colleagues at Chevrolet, along with a number of automotive journalists, helped organize the rally.

Why Cleveland? That’s Patrick’s hometown and where his family still lives. Patrick’s father Dan sold Volkswagens. Working at the dealership fueled Patrick’s car passion – his wife Gina led the rally in Patrick’s prized yellow VW Corrado.

It was a powerful group that headed south on legendary Woodward Avenue after fueling up with some coffee and donuts – the collection included Dodge Hellcats and Scat Packs; vintage and modern Ford Mustangs; several Mazda MX-5 Miatas; a few trucks and some exotics, such as Dodge Viper and a BMW i8. Our own Kathy Graham made the run on her Harley-Davidson motorcycle. We and other automakers made test vehicles available to journalists who wanted to be part of the event.

Rally drivers made a $50 donation to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation for bile duct research and passengers kicked in $25. Each participant received an amazing Eastern European lunch at Sterles Country House, where the rally stopped to mingle with Patrick’s family and hold an impromptu car show. Each person also received a T-shirt and rally sticker.

The best part: more than $4,000 was raised for bile duct cancer research. Planning is already underway for next year’s rally.

With each engine rev and tire squeal, Patrick’s memory was kept alive.

Here are some photos. Thanks to our friends who were there for letting us share.

Dale Jewett
Do you know your blood type? Mine is 100 octane (not your standard blood bank classification). At any given moment, I’m thinking about cars – driving one, fixing one, buying one or (in my dreams) restoring one. So I love to tell stories that involve horsepower, brake and wheel diameters
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Do you know your blood type? Mine is 100 octane (not your standard blood bank classification). At any given moment, I’m thinking about cars – driving one, fixing one, buying one or (in my dreams) restoring one. So I love to tell stories that involve horsepower, brake and wheel diameters and 0-to-60 times – and the people who make it happen. Because behind every awesome vehicle are amazing people with vision and the desire to make it a reality. I cover Mopar, Dodge, SRT and motorsports for Stellantis Digital Media. I learned to drive on a 1973 Jeep CJ-5 with the rare Super Jeep option package and three-speed manual transmission. I still belong to the dwindling club of people who prefer to shift their own gears, and think the best way to drive is with the top down!