He was so famous as a movie star that it’s easy to forget his many achievements in motorsports. After starring in 1969’s Winning, Newman began to drive in SCCA events. He won his first race and captured four national championships between 1979 and 1986. He also won two SCCA Trans-Am events and came 2nd in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 935 with Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen. In 1977, he formed the Newman-Freeman Can-Am team with Bill Freeman, fielding winning cars for inductees Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Danny Sullivan. Later he formed Newman/Haas Racing with longtime friend Carl Haas, capturing more than 100 races and eight INDYCAR SERIES titles. At 70, Newman scored a class win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Mike Brockman and inductees Tommy Kendall and Mark Martin.
By Mario Andretti, Dick Barbour, Jack Roush and Bob Sharp
At the track, he was always P.L. Newman, racer. He started competing shortly after playing the lead in the 1969 film Winning.
“I lived about 65 miles from Lime Rock,” says 6-time SCCA national champion Bob Sharp. “I was up there on a Tuesday practicing, and he was up there with his son just watching the races. (Paul) was very down to earth, a regular, have-a-beer kind of guy.”
Soon they became friends, which led to Newman driving Bob Sharp Racing Datsuns and Nissans for many years, winning four SCCA National Championships and two SCCA Trans-Am races.
In 1983 Newman and Carl Haas formed Newman-Haas Racing, which would capture eight driver championships with Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Cristiano da Matta and Sebastian Bourdais. Mario remembers his passion for motorsports.
“For 12 years I drove for Paul Newman and Carl Haas,” says Andretti. “Being a movie star first, you might think he was disconnected from the team or not sure about what’s going on. Not Paul. He was involved. He loved being in on the game plan and loved being in the debrief. He showed passion and enthusiasm around the team week in and week out, and everyone saw his delight in winning. He simply loved being at the track, being in the garage, being just one of the guys. And everyone truly loved him.”
In 1995, Newman went to the Rolex 24 at Daytona driving a Mustang for Jack Roush. His car number, 70, was his age. Newman, Mike Brockman, Mark Martin and Tommy Kendall won the GTS-1 Class, finishing 3rdoverall.
Roush recalled to RACER how committed Newman was to winning after telling him, “I’m done” with four hours remaining.
“I said, ‘No Paul, this is your race car, you’ve got to be in it for the last hour when we finish,’” Roush remembered. “So, he reached down and did something that an American hero would do and got back in the car for the last hour.”
Perhaps the racing memory Newman cherished most was when he, Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen won the IMSA GTX class at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished a stunning second overall in Barbour’s Porsche 935. Newman and Barbour had become fast friends two years prior.
“I think the main thing that cemented our relationship before Le Mans was that he was extremely depressed about his son Scott's death. He didn't want to be around movie people. He wanted to be around racers. He told me that many times.”
At Le Mans every time Newman got in the car, paparazzi would block his exit from the pits.
Barbour remembers Stommelen telling Newman, "’When you get into the car, you just turn the key and go. If they're in the front of you, mow them down.’ When Paul got in the car next time, he turned the key, he actually hit — not fast — about four of them and knocked them out of the way.
They never got in front of the car again.
“Paul did a splendid job. He got on the podium there, and he was just so proud and so happy. He said, ‘Dick, thank you. This is the most exciting moment of my entire life.’"
Mario Andretti is an international legend. Bob Sharp was one of the most successful SCCA and IMSA drivers and entrants of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Who but Jack Roush has won titles in NHRA, IMSA and NASCAR? Dick Barbour fielded ferociously successful Porsches.