Paul Newman Has Passed Away

[Will Parker]

(CNN) -- Paul Newman, the legendary actor whose steely blue eyes, good-humored charm and advocacy of worthy causes made him one of the most renowned figures in American arts, has died of cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut. He was 83.

Paul Newman dies at 83 - CNN.com

A truly great man

 

[Doug S.]

RIP, Paul.....well done, now you can enjoy riding those canyons and racing at that great race track in the sky.....you'll be missed!

Doug

 

[Simon]

What a sad day, RIP Mr Newman.

 

[Paolo-LoveGT40 Modelworks]

so sad....too great actor..

This now in tv here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_Up_There_Likes_Me_(film)

Rocco Graziano's movie,in the NY of the 50s, featuring also a very young Steeve Mc Queen....

 

[Rich E.]

A truely great american and one others could look up too. Mr. Newman, you will be missed.

R.I.P.

 

[Jack]

JPN will be missed by all in the auto enthuasiast community. A truly great man!

 

[Randy V]

This morning my phone rang and it was a local Sports-Talk radio station. The reporter of the station was calling me to ask for an interview to speak about Paul. I knew Paul was in tough shape and that the end was near. I did not know - until the reporter told me - that Paul had taken his last Checkered Flag.. Even though the news was not unexpected, I was still in shock. Hours later I am still not "quite right" about it....
I gave the man his interview. It was brief..

I met Paul just over 30 year ago for the first time. We were racing at Brainerd International Raceway here in Minnesota. We were paddocked next to each other. Of course there were gobs of movie fans everywhere but we had our ropes up and for the most part the fans stayed on their side. Paul had made several attempts to leave to go get lunch but was unable to get past the mob. We were grilling our own tube-steaks (hot dogs) and I asked if he would like one. He smiled and stepped over the ropes into our paddock and sat down on a stack of spare tires and had his hot-dog and a soda..
He was quite an interesting man. We never once talked about the movies. We were more in tuned to the cars and the track. We went over a couple of different ideas on how best to take a couple of corners in the rain (weather was threatening but it held off) or when passing.. He liked a couple of ideas and later on he shared with me that he was able to use the information. We spent a total of 3 days paddocked there and each day we became more familiar with each other (crews and drivers alike).. When in his element at the track - he wanted nothing more than to just be one of the boys. Just another racer. I never had the opportunity to paddock near him again but did see each other at races from time to time. Waved / Nodded...
In 1982 he took his first professional Trans-Am win at Brainerd - a track that he dearly loved.

In my book - he was a very gifted gentleman and racer that just happened to be one very great actor as well..

I have some photos of that day. I believe I'll take a few minutes to try and figure out my scanner and share them with you..

It's a sad day indeed... God Speed Paul....
The world is a lesser place without you, but so rich in the memories you have left behind..
My prayers go out to the family and also to the people who's lives have been touched by Paul..


In case anyone really wants to know - my evening will be spent watching one of my favorite films;

WINNING

 

[Jack]

It's a sad day indeed... God Speed Paul....
The world is a lesser place without you, but so rich in the memories you have left behind..
My prayers go out to the family and also to the people who's lives have been touched by Paul..
WELL STATED, THANKS RANDY!

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Absolutely, Paul will be missed by everyone in the entertainment and motorsport community. My Uncle Roland raced with Mr. Newman on several occasions and told me that he was indeed a very personable man who, as Randy put it, desperately seeking to just be "one of the guys" at the track. His gracious development of Newman foods and giving the procedes to charity, plus his continued charity work shows his true character as a giver. He will be missed, and I'm sorry I never got the chance to meet him personally.

Good bye Paul, we will all miss you.

Brian Hamilton

 

[Randy V]

(((BLAST))) I must have loaned out the TAPE!!!! I've searched through my stash of over 500 tapes and it's nowhere....

Well - I did manage to get the scanner working long enough to scan in these photos from the 1978 Un-Cola Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. The last one was after he had won in his class..
Pictures were taken with an old Kodak 110 format. I know - very amateur - but remember, I was a racer not a photographer...

 

[Gordo]

R I P Paul. You left such a wonderful footprint in so many diverse circles...they just aren't going to know where to slot you once you get through the Pearly Gates...

My fondest memory of PL Newman was from Road Atlanta about 10 years ago. Somehow I got shoved into Group 7 in a 911 Porsche. A moving chicane is what I was for about 5 laps - and then all hell broke loose. All the real muscle came barreling by. Going into turn 10, HARD on the brakes - I was passed by a Lola T70. Holy *^#@...WTF was that. He was still on the gas...and braked at about the 2 mark. Unbelievable. Well after making inquiries in the pits later I discovered it was "PL Newman"...in a friend's T70. I'll never forget it. He was 73!

Thank you Paul for being the Gentleman your were. We will miss you.
<!-- / message --> <!-- sig --> __________________
Gordo

Life is Hard. It's harder if you're stupid. - John Wayne

 

He will be missed for sure! I got to meet Paul at a few races in the '70's. I was in a few races with him when he was just starting out, but we were in different classes of cars. One race Paul was driving a Datsun 210 sedan and I was in my Lotus Europa and he just powered away in the first turn. He was one of the regular guys at the track, but at the driver's meetings those blue eyes couldn't be missed!

 

[Cliff Beer]

It seems like we're losing a whole generation of older racers (Frere, Hill, Newman) who valued sportsmanship and collegial interaction just as much as they did winning. These qualities seem to be so conspicuously absent in many, if not most, of the current top drivers. What has brought this about? I don't know but it seems like there is too much commercialization/sponsorship and crazy money in the sport now - thank you Bernie Ecclestone, for example. And, what happened to decency and modesty? Max Mosley is a complete disgrace (you've seen the video) and should go crawl off under a rock somewhere where he can play out his nazi sexual fantasies without ending up on YouTube. What are we thinking letting this kind of stuff happen?

 

[Fred/Belgium]

Cliff

I tend to agree with you.
Racing was a gentlemen sport albeith an expensive one that only a small bunch of people could afford.But fans were driven by these heros,cars and the passion arround it.

These days the 'driver' became the financial part and the the gentleman (if still arround) and the sport (if we still believe it) became the 'enabler'.

Lucky we are still passionned about our cars, GT40 enthusiasts!

Fred' personal opinion

 

[Duncan Potter]

At the NARRC run-offs at Lime Rock Park Saturday, the GT1 class (PLN's class) did an extra pace lap in a "missing man" formation with the pole position empty. There was subdued applause from the crowd. Pretty moving. It was announced that his last race had been the NARRC-offs in 2006, which he won.

Open, endless roads and a fast ride to you, PLN.

 

[Daryl Adams]

Paul Newman was known for not granting autographs, so I thought I would share a quick story. The lady who handles human resources for my firm has been active in SCCA racing for decades. During the time Paul was racing she would help stage race cars at Road America. The access to the false grid at Road America is on a grade, so when Newman would have to wait in line he would call out to Sandy to place a rock behind his rear wheel. In time this got to be fairly routine between them, and Sandy had a perfect size stone that she kept with her just for this purpose. One weekend she surprised Newman by showing him the rock, which she had painted in his race colors and car number. That put a big grin on his face. After the race he took the time to locate Sandy and inscribe the rock with a personal message of gratitude and his signature.

 

[Keith]

Always a Hustler....

See you Paul... :!blank: