Paul Newman’s story is one that you look back at and can’t help but be inspired by. The late legend had three careers. The first as an actor, the second as a race car driver, and the third as a philanthropist. What will make his name echo in the halls of history forever is the fact that he was exemplary in all three.
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This Oscar-winning hero was someone who finished runner-up in the highly prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans race and donated over $250 million to charities across the world. But what is it that binds him to NASCAR?
Newman’s name came across the tracks of NASCAR when he cofound a racing team within Hendrick Motorsports in the latter part of the 80s. Rick Hendrick and Newman joined hands to run the #18 car which was driven by Greg Sacks. This team was mainly an effort to promote the 1990 film ‘Days of Thunder’ that was put together by a meeting between Newman, Hendrick, and Tom Cruise, the film’s star.
One other important event to have happened during that period was a Hendrick Motorsports car test at the Daytona track in 1987 featuring Cruise and Newman.
January 3, 1987: Tom Cruise and Paul Newman tested a Busch Series car for Hendrick Motorsports at Daytona. Newman made laps over 190 mph while Cruise got up to 178 mph before engine troubles pic.twitter.com/p2qNoBHeuC
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) January 3, 2023
Newman’s connections with NASCAR aren’t limited to Hendrick Motorsports. He drove a car built by NASCAR icon Jack Roush in the 1995 Rolex 24 and finished 3rd in a field of 74. Notably, he was aged 70 during this race. Newman also narrated the 2007 documentary ‘Dale’ which paid an ode to the life and career of NASCAR’s best, Dale Earnhardt.
Despite being a big fan of NASCAR and open-wheel racing, Newman never got to compete professionally in the series. Perhaps, if he’d recognized his love for speed a bit earlier than at the age of 47, we would’ve seen yet another champion added to the list.
The career achievements of Paul Newman on screen and track
Newman starred in 60 movies throughout his career such as the 1967’s Hombre, Somebody Up There Likes Me 1956, and several more. He was nominated for the Academy Awards (Oscar) 10 times and ended up winning it once for his lead role in The Color of Money
He began his career as a driver in 1972 after starring in the hit film “Winning”. Between 1979 and 1986 he won 4 SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) championships. He also finished runner-up in the 1979 24 Hours Le Mans driving a Porsche 935.
Newman’s last start from behind the wheel of a car came at age 81 in the 2006 Rolex 24 in Daytona. He passed away in 2008 after a long battle with cancer. Newman once said, “The best gift you can give yourself is the gift of possibility”. That’s what the icon embodied throughout his life as well.
