Newmans ride for sale..

[breakaway500]

"The last car raced by late film icon and racing super-enthusiast Paul Newman is headed to auction in Florida on Saturday. While a Corvette in name only -- the 700 horsepower machine is a purpose-built racecar wearing a Vette-shaped body -- the 2002 Corvette Riley & Scott vehicle is estimated at $250,000 to $350,000, according to RM Auctions, and was raced by Newman up to a year before he died in 2008. Newman fell in love with the sport while training for the 1969 film "Winning." Ironically, the ultra-cool Newman called racing "the first thing that I ever found I had any grace in."





"The # on the car was his age, every year it changed." Guess that makes me 8..

[dradernh]

Didn't he last run that at Lime Rock? Somewhere (here?) I saw a video or some pics showing him at LRP doing a sort of farewell drive. IIRC, there was a woman filmmaker doing the media part.

As for being the only thing at which he had any grace, I suppose we can be our own worst critics, but he sure was a hell of an actor, graceful or not.

Anybody have any info on how good he was as a driver? I hesitate to bring it up, as I've heard more than one team owner/crew chief talk about how "the car started going backwards when the gentleman/owner got in it" during an enduro. Always said politely & without judgement - to their credit, I suppose - since those are the guys paying at least part of the bills, after all.

[brucesallen]

His last race was an SCCA New England Region race at which I also raced. He won the GT1 race and I timed him at 54 seconds. And with that horsepower he looked like he was doing 170 on the straight. I also talked to him at the driver's meeting about investing in Palmer Motorsport Park. He said to have my people call his people.

[6PAK72]

Paul bought a former Tullias-prepped Group44 TR6 in 1973, refreshed it and won SCCA E-production National with it in 1974. He also ran the early Mercury Capri 2.8L turbo and took FP National with it in 1977. After that, he moved PLN Racing to Nissan, and ran Z-cars and Fairlady's/510's for several years. The team was brutally competitive. I think he came in second at LeMans in a Porsche, somewhere around 1979 or 1980. So yea, he was a good driver.

The TR6 was restored 3 years ago, and a bunch of the PLN crew ran it in Vintage at Watkins for the TriumphFest. It was a phenomenal weekend, between the Grp44 and PLN gang.

When Paul was 76, he started racing that tube-frame Corvette, and ran it for 2 years in GT1. I should do so well.

[jlwhorf]

Post from David 962porsche

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1877&hilit=body

fyi about P.L. he went to L.R.P. for 3 reasons 1st. to show peaple hes not dead yet. the press is getting him all pist off about his health hes doing ok but cancer at any age takes its toll on a person and at 82 and now 83 years it makes it harder . he went thru it 20 years or so ago . the race shop is closed up now , kind of . he cant race this year becouse at his age the yearly physician exam the scca tells him he has to get he cant pass with cancer. 2nd reason he went to the track is we installed a new body on his car (the 2008 vett body) insted of the older 2004 body which was like a brick the new body has much lower drag .and he just wanted to drive the car . 3rd. marky and don from risi compeyizione alms ferrari team last years champ and this years well not so good . is building him a volvet that would be a volvo wagon with a 2008 ls7 vett motor . and P.L. wanted to take it out on the track . it was ok when he went out on the track there was only about 10 miles on the car .it has the ride hight of a 4 by 4 and was not ready for what was in store for it . but what P.L. wants P.L. gets . and he did when paul drove it it was ok then when mike drove it it was ok thay new it was a new biuld . then P.L. let some dick weed bush north driver drive it with paul and mike in the car . well thay told him to take it real ez and he didnt it thru the balance shaft pully across the track ,drive belt got balled up then he keep going around the track in to the pits by that time the motor was nice and hot which as you know is real good for a new motor . and thats a day at the track with newman.

[zchris]

I have a great pic of PLN behind me on the last lap of the last race of his life. I didn't want to go a lap down, so when I saw him coming up on me I put my head down and beat feet. Roz got a great pic on the back straight at LR with me, PLN and his honcho Brockman in a line. And thats how the race finished. As much fun as it was having a celebrity at the races, it at times was a pain. Like that 95 degree day when they left us sitting on the grid for a half hour waiting for him to show up. Or when he crashed at the Glen and they stopped the race to make sure the old dude was ok. Hell, if that was anyone else the race would have continued. But it was still cool having him there.
Chris

[breakaway500]

Sold for $250k..lucky bastage!

[962porsche]

my old boss ! if you read the specs on the car they were totaly wrong ! along with the photo is not what the car looked like with the last paint job . the car sold for 275 K not 250 . the last time we were there the car turned high 52's . but it was just a test day at LRP . we also took his volvett there just to see what it would do . the volvett is a volvo that we put a LS6 motor in . we got times of low 104's with that car . the only time he drove it was at LRP . he said it had bad turn in understeer . now the car just sits out side .