Legendary actor, championship car owner Newman dies at 83
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Paul Newman wanted to be a great athlete -- he just never found a sport in which he could excel. Then, while filming the movie Winning in 1969 at age 43, he discovered auto racing.
"I was never a very graceful person. The only time I ever really feel coordinated is when I dance with Joanne," he once told the Associated Press, referring to his wife, Joanne Woodward. "And that's not my doing. But when I'm behind the wheel of race car, I feel competent and in charge. It's something I really enjoy."
|
|
| After getting into racing while filming a movie about the sport, Paul Newman became a winner as a driver and an owner. (Getty Images) |
"Paul Newman, a real American hero," NASCAR team owner Jack Roush said.
Newman spoke of his passion for racing during a 1995 interview with the AP shortly after he was part of the winning team in the Daytona 24-Hours sports car endurance race. He was 70 years old at the time. No one remotely close to that age had ever won in that event.
Newman could be terse and distant in his rare interviews, but he would light up when he talked about his favorite sport.
"I don't like talking about acting because that's business and pretty boring," Newman told the AP another time. "And politics can get you in trouble. But I'll always talk about racing because the people are interesting and fun, the sport is a lot more exciting than anything else I do, and nobody cares that I'm an actor. I wish I could spend all my time at the racetrack."
When Newman decided to get into racing, it was more than just being in the cockpit that interested him. He became a car owner in the Can-Am Series, campaigning cars for a number of top drivers, including Indianapolis 500 winners Al Unser, Danny Sullivan and Bobby Rahal, as well as Formula One champion Keke Rosberg.
After competing against team owner Carl Haas in Can-Am, Newman formed a partnership with the Chicago businessman, starting Newman/Haas Racing in 1983 and joining the CART series.
With Mario Andretti hired as its first driver, the team was an instant success. Throughout the last 26 years, the team -- now known as Newman/Haas/Lanigan and part of the IndyCar Series -- has won 107 races and eight series championships with drivers like Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Cristiano da Matta, Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais.
"He was just a great guy and truly loved everything about racing," Michael Andretti said.
Despite a heavy schedule, Newman came to the track as often as possible. He tried without much success to keep a low profile as he roamed pit lane on his motor scooter or sat at the team's pit box, his baseball cap pulled low over those famous blue eyes, a pair of reading glasses -- used for reading the timing and scoring monitor -- dangling from a string around his neck.
"Paul and I have been partners for 26 years and I have come to know his passion, humor and, above all, his generosity," Haas said. "Not just economic generosity, but generosity of spirit. His support of the team's drivers, crew and the racing industry is legendary. His pure joy at winning a pole position or winning a race exemplified the spirit he brought to his life and to all those that knew him."
