“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” By Matt Stone and Preston Lerner Foreword by Mario Andretti Review by Gregg Leary “Winning” is a winner…not just a podium…numero uno…a first class racing photo- biography of a first class human being. From the Foreword by Mario Andretti to the back jacket copy, it is 176 pages of wonderful testimonials and recollections by Newman’s fellow competitors, team drivers and friends, accompanied by 190 photographs. The reader is invited behind the closed door of the Newman/Haas motorhome and into the cockpit with Paul. It’s almost a four decade journey…and a wonderful tribute to Newman. What a ride! The dustjacket says it best. “To millions of his fans around the world, Paul Newman was the movie icon with piercing blue eyes and the philanthropist who sold salad dressing and spaghetti sauce. But within the motorsports community, he was ‘PLN’-a race driver, team owner, and diehard fan who wanted nothing more than to be one of the guys. He wasn’t of course. Even as he shunned the spotlight, he became the most celebrated-and successful-celebrity ever to grace the world of racing. A passionate and dedicated actor, Newman applied these same qualities to auto racing, learning and experiencing as much as possible, and success soon followed. Newman began racing at an age when most guys contemplate retirement. But despite his late start, he graduated from the amateur ranks of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and made a career for himself in the professional Trans-Am series. Along the way he won four national championships, scored class wins in the 24-hour endurance races at Le Mans and Daytona, and took his final checkered flag only one year before his death, at age 83, in 2008. He was also the co-owner of Newman/Haas Racing, which won eight CART and Champ Car titles during a quarter-century of open-wheel excellence.” Mario’s Foreword is a heart-felt testimonial to a 40-year friendship: “What I saw in him was the wisdom of someone in love with life. We can do it all. We can act. We can race cars. We can create a foundation that raises millions of dollars for charity and a camp that is a wonderland for sick children. And we can lead by example. He was a symbol of selfless humanity, a brilliant actor, a devoted husband, and a terrific father, and, of course, he had a love affair with race cars.” That “love affair with race cars” is what “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” beautifully documents. “I’m not a very graceful person. I was a sloppy skier, a sloppy tennis player, a sloppy football player, and a sloppy dancer with anyone other than Joanne. The only thing I found grace in was racing a car.” Paul Newman “If I hadn’t been an actor, or a director of films, I guess I would have liked to become a racing driver more than anything else.” PLN Robert Wagner, Paul’s “teammate” and rival in “Winning” said: “We had to walk, talk and drive like racing drivers, and we did. The only difference was that he absolutely loved it and I was scared sh**less.” “Paul had not only the desire but also the talent. He listened well. He was very smooth, and he took the time to put things together step by step. If he had started in his twenties, he would have been fantastic.” Bob Bondurant Paul Newman actually drove a race car three years before he filmed “Winning.” He drove an Elva Formula Junior at Willow Springs in 1965 during an open track day. “There are a lot of ingredients that go into making a winning race car driver-eyesight, hand eye coordination-but the biggest one is the burn in the belly to be a winner. He came to it late. But I don’t know anybody who had his ability to concentrate, and I think the acting contributed to that.” Bob Sharp “He 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. Or maybe he was just a guy who was able to build on each lap incrementally. When you drive, you hold an image of the lap in your mind like a poem, and you say to yourself, ‘I’m going to go in a little deeper here, and I’m going to come out a little faster, and I’m going to take a later apex there.’” Sam Posey “From an actor’s point of view, he was always one to watch. As a human being, he’s one you want to role-model yourself after because he’s given so much back: to children, through his foundation.” Patrick Dempsey The book is anchored by the wonderful photographs-some published here for the first time- and the insightful sidebars by such luminaries as: Robert Wagner Bob Sharp Stan Barrett Elliott-Forbes-Robinson Dorsey Schroeder Skip Barber Dick Barbour Rob Dyson Sam Posey David Hobbs Wally Dallenbach Jr. Scott Sharp Tommy Kendall Lyn St. James Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Danny Sullivan Christian Fittipaldi Dan Gurney Nigel Mansell Cristiano da Matta Robin Miller Sebastien Bourdais Bobby Rahal David Letterman Stanton Barrett Patrick Dempsey The Appendix is one of my favorite parts of the book. It documents “PLN’s Racing Record.” Trans-Am IMSA Sprint Races SCCA Runoffs Endurance Races Can-Am Team Newman/Haas Racing Preston Lerner has the last word: “Of course, Newman wasn’t a racer to the exclusion of all else. He was also a consummate actor, a devoted family man, and a committed philanthropist, and to the world he was a Hollywood icon. But racing is what made him feel special.” “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” is a very special book. It rates five out of five lug nuts. Purchase yours at SPEED. (Keyword “Books.”)
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 17:45:18 +0000
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