Great actor, driver and a good man. He will be missed.

 

May he race with all the greats that have passed before him.

 

 

He was a class act. They'll talk a lot about how he's a screen legend and will be missed. But he was a legend in the motorsports world too, and will be missed.

 

Now Paul and Steve can form their own team....

RIP Paul

 

RIP Paul.......an American Classic.

 

We were at Lime Rock a few months ago for a test day. Paul Newman was there in in his C6 Corvette Racer. It had the number 83 on the side. In recent years he would put his age on the car as his number.

He had a big entourage with him and the muffled discussion around the paddocks was that this would be his last drive. He looked pretty good . . . all things considered.

As always, he was amazingly fast. We were running the classic course that day with the new pavement and he was putting down sub one minute laps. It was damn impressive for any race car driver but particularly for an 83 year old.

Paul Newman was a class guy, a damn good racer, the best actor ever and a HUGE humanitarian. I read that his charitable gifts through his generosity and business ventures totaled over $200 million.

They threw the mold away after he came along. Condolences and best wishes to his wife of 50 years, Joanne Woodward and to his family.

Rest in peace.

 

Completey agree with the sentiments here, he'll be missed greatly in the motorsports world. His passion and support for CART/ChampCar during the split was unmatched by any other team owner in the paddock.

Huge loss for what’s left of American open wheel racing, and sad that he won’t be here to see what very well could be the final AOW race in Surfer’s Paradise, as N/H/L will surely be a favorite with all of the experience they have there. It'd be a fitting goodbye to Paul to see Wilson and Rahal on the podium down there.

 

 

As far as I'm concerned, that last bit says as much to me as all the rest combined.

_

 

Paul Newman frequented Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. I was always on the lookout for him, hanging around the pits and the Newman-Haas camp hoping to just get a glimpse of him.

Well, a few years ago I got REAL lucky! I was covering a race for a magazine, thus I had a press pass that gave me pretty much unlimited access to anywhere on the track and in the press box area. A Newman-Haas car won the race that day so I knew finding Mr. Newman would be easy. Sure enough, after the race ended, there he was on the cat walk or bridge overlooking the start-finish line taking in all the glory of his driver. He caught me taking a few photos of him on the bridge. As he looked at me he gave me a wink and smile. I knew when the finish celebration was over that he was going to exit through the press box and out the back door to escape.

One side note here, one of my lenses is a Canon 400mm that has the large white lens shade. On this shade I have several autographs from famous football players, coaches and other celebs I see on sidelines of NFL games.

So I ran around the press box hoping to find Mr. Newman as he would make his quiet exit through the press box. Sure enough, I timed it just right, and down the hallway he was walking with Mr. Haas. He stopped, shook my hand. I congradulated him on their win and asked if he would kindly autograph my "shade of fame." He chuckled and said, "I would love to." I thanked him and told him it was an honor to finally meet him as he shook my hand yet again.

When I heard Paul Newman died it was hard not to tear up of the news. I recalled that small moment I had with him that day at Road America. That day I felt like a kid that just got to meet a life long hero, which they say you're not supposed to do. But I was not disappointed.

Not only was he one of the best actors of all time, but he made and left the world a better place. I was truly amazed when I read his Newman's Own brand company had to date donated over $200 million to various charities. He will be greatly missed, but his work will continue for many years to come.