 Winning – The Racing Life of Paul Newman. Click image to enlarge |
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“If I hadn’t been an actor, or a director of film, I guess I would have liked to become a racing driver more than anything else.” – Paul Leonard Newman
A book about Paul Newman seems like an odd choice for author Matt Stone to tackle, as the acclaimed writer usually scribbles about four-wheeled subject matter. But in a sense, that’s what makes this book stand apart from the others dedicated to the life of the Academy Award winning actor and unparalleled philanthropist.
Winning – The Racing Life of Paul Newman derives its title from the 1968 movie Winning in which Paul portrayed Frank Capua, a struggling racing driver looking for victory at the Indianapolis 500. It was Paul’s involvement with this film that supercharged his interest in motor sports; during production Paul learned how to race and got to sample three different disciplines of the sport: road racing behind the wheel of a Can-Am monster; stock car racing in a cumbersome NASCAR sedan; and of course, Indy Cars at Indianapolis.
The book’s Forward was written by his friend of over 40 years and business partner, American racing legend Mario Andretti. Mario was the man responsible for putting Paul and Chicago-based businessman Carl Haas together to form what would become one of the best run and most successful top-tier Indy Car operations to ever grace a paddock.
The reader gains great insight into the “real” Paul Newman through Mario’s heartfelt writing. “He was a really colourful character, bigger than life but also trying to be extraordinarily ordinary; wanting to be just one of the guys.” Mario proclaims that Paul “took to racing like cream cheese on a bagel, and that he “was always impressed by his depth of technical comprehension.” “He had a love affair with race cars.”
Paul quickly rose from the ranks of amateur sports car competition to establish an impressive professional racing resume which includes everything from top-speed runs at Bonneville and play-dates in sprint cars, to glory on the world stage at Le Mans and Daytona. After reading this book you will no doubt be amazed at the breadth of Newman’s racing experience and surprised at how many victories he amassed during his secondary career.
Racing and tinkering with automobiles allowed the esteemed actor “to keep his feet on the ground,” and Paul once said that “Racing is the best way I know to get away from the rubbish of Hollywood.”
Legendary race instructor Bob Bondurant says that Paul had “not only the desire, but also the talent.” Unfortunately Paul had to put off serious involvement due to “studio disappointment” and a respect for the fact that he started honing his skills rather late in life (45).
A lot of rich guys race, but most carry their talent in their wallets. Paul Newman, on the other hand, was the real deal behind the wheel, and was a much more accomplished racing driver than people give him credit for. In fact, Paul competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona (1979 – Porsche 935), 12 Hours of Sebring, and even the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1979). In the latter event the Dick Barbour-run 935 took an unexpected second place at the storied French classic, which represented a class win, but the team’s phenomenal success was not enough to entice Newman to return for another attempt, due to the excessive pressure put upon him by both fans and media.
Paul found most of his success behind the wheel of Nissan-based (Datsun) race cars as part of the Bob Sharp Racing stable. In 1978 Paul stood atop the podium in 12 of 15 races (behind the wheel of a 280Z and a 200SX) and started from the pole position at eight of those events. The following year he won 14 of 16 events!
Advertisements for sponsors like Budweiser, Pioneer Car Stereo and Maxwell House Coffee would reveal Paul’s racing sideline to consumers all over the world.
It is said that Newman was more than willing to race anything with wheels. Racing driver and motor sport commentator Sam Posey put it best when he said that Paul “acted his way into being a racing driver. He used his powers of concentration and his image of himself succeeding, and he played it like a role.”
Noteworthy milestones in Paul’s racing career:
- 1983-1986: Paul competed in the fabled Trans-Am road racing series.
- 1987: While filming The Color of Money Paul became close friends with co-star Tom Cruise. Tom got his SCCA license and teamed with Paul at Newman-Sharp Racing for a limited SCCA schedule. Interestingly we learn that “Cruise was crash prone and lacked the ultimate commitment of his teammate.”
- 1990s: Paul slowed down to focus on his Indy Car team, but campaigned occasional cars in Trans-Am, IMSA Supercar, and SCCA World Challenge competition.
- 1995: Paul won the 24 Hours of Daytona in a GTS-1 class Ford Mustang. Paramount Studios financed the effort as a present for Paul’s 70th birthday, so the car’s livery promoted his latest film, Nobody’s Fool.
- 1999: Paul piloted a F355 Ferrari Challenge car at Lime Rock
Not afraid to get a little dirt under his nails, Paul occasionally liked to try his hand at Sprint cars - 2000: Paul competes in the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche 911 sponsored by another film project, Where the Money Is.
- 2001: Paul returned to Daytona equipped with a potent Porsche GT1, but the car retired before his driving stint.
- 2002: Newman returned to the SCCA Run-offs in a Jaguar XKR under the banner of Newman Racing.
- 2004: One last visit to Daytona saw Paul partnered with the likes of Kyle Petty, but this time in a Porsche-powered Fabcar Daytona Prototype sporting graphics for the Pixar movie Cars.
- 2007: Paul’s last victory came in a GT-1 race at Lime Rock in his ex-Tom Gloy Corvette.
As a team owner, Paul and his partners campaigned cars in Can-Am for the likes of Danny Sullivan, Keke Rosberg, and Al Unser Sr., and his long-running partnership with Carl Haas in the Indy Car realm (as Newman-Haas Racing) was dynamic. I recall being present for the team’s 100th victory in the Champ Car World Series which was quite the accomplishment for a venture that started as a hobby.
Stone has littered this chapter with a wonderful blend of rousing tales, memorable moments, and significant revelations (all delivered with heartfelt emotion) from a catalogue of world-class drivers and associates who worked with Paul during his time as a team principal. Some of these include international shoes like Nigel Mansell, Sebastien Bourdais, and Cristiano da Matta, but American talents who benefited from Paul’s patronage include Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti and his father Mario.
A short chapter on Paul’s involvement with the Disney Pixar film Cars is of interest, as Paul’s voiceover work as Doc Hudson, the 1951 Hudson Hornet Coupe, stands as his final big-screen role. Of course, the big appeal to Paul was the “car aspect” of the project.
We learn of an odd infatuation for hot-rodded VW Beetles that Paul carried throughout a large portion of his adult life, as well as his personal quest to make the ultimate sleeper Volvo station wagon.
The first effort in that quest saw a turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 from the awesome Buick Grand National land under the hood of a 1988 Volvo 740 GLE. A Volvo 960 housed a supercharged Ford Racing V8 (a similar one was gifted to David Letterman, who reveals his gear-headed self with his flame-filled story of the Volvo “atomic furnace.” The last one was referred to as the Volvette, as this mild-mannered 960 featured the 6.0-litre V8 LS2 from a 2005 C6 Corvette. Due to his illness (cancer, from which he passed away in 2008 at the age of 83) Paul never got to drive the Volvette, but a family friend did take him for some fast laps as a passenger in the car at his home track of Lime Rock in Connecticut.
Paul Newman was a man of many talents. His successes on the big screen are cherished by millions, but personally, Paul was more proud of his victories on the racetrack. Trans-Am legend Tommy Kendall surmises that “Paul felt that a big part of his career in acting was dumb-ass luck.” He knows that Paul appreciated the craft and was committed to it, but believes that Paul felt that his good looks played a big part for his success in that arena. Racing on the other hand, “gives nothing to anyone,” and “your only measure is your achievement.”
On another note, if an accurate accounting of Paul’s many charitable endeavours is ever tabulated I think it would be safe to reserve the top step of the philanthropy podium for Mr. Newman, as few will ever match his competitive nature when it came to helping the less fortunate. Now that is the true mark of a winner!
Winning – The Racing Life of Paul Newman
ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-3706-6
MSRP: CAN$37.50
Motorbooks Publishing
