Watch Milo Ventimiglia race in the rain in a clip from 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' (exclusive)

At its heart, the upcoming film The Art of Racing in the Rain is, much like the 2008 Garth Stein source novel, about the relationship between a dog named Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner) and his friendly human family.

But there is, we promise, literal racing in the rain, as evidenced by the exclusive clip you can watch above.

In the scene, a racing coach played by Gary Cole (Office Space) marvels at the abilities of his star driver (and Enzo's owner) Denny Swift (Milo Ventimiglia), who's mastered the titular task.

"Denny was the first to make the call to switch to rain tires," Cole explains. "It reminds me what they used to say about Senna: 'When it rains, it doesn't rain on him.'"

Written for the screen by Mark Bomback and directed by Simon Curtis, The Art of Racing in the Rain also stars Amanda Seyfried, Kathy Baker and Martin Donovan. It opens in theaters Aug. 9.

Watch the trailer:

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