| Author | Message | ||
| chris cummings (Entelechy)
Junior Member Username: Entelechy Post Number: 191 Registered: 5-2001 |
Andy, those stories are hilarious - definitely in keeping with some of the "set stories" I've heard about Paul over the years. Thanks for sharing. | ||
| Andreas Forrer (Tifosi12)
Member Username: Tifosi12 Post Number: 767 Registered: 10-2002 |
This month's RACER magazine has an interesting article about the 73 season and all the horror and eventually safety changes it brought on both sides of the Atlantic. | ||
| Andy Falsetta (Tuttebenne)
Junior Member Username: Tuttebenne Post Number: 53 Registered: 3-2003 |
Another PL Newman story: He was racing against Bob Tullius in SCCA D Production. Tullius was running a triumph TR7 (I think) and PL was driving a Datsun 260Z for Bob Sharp Racing. The night before the race they ran into each other at a restaurant and Paul invited Bob to join him for dinner. Paul suggested they get a couple of bottles of wine and they did. Some two or three bottles each later, Bob was pretty snockered. Paul seemed to be too, but in actuality had paid the waitress to bring him bottles of red water! He beat a rather green looking Tullius the next day. They had a great running rivalry. I recall another time PL paid a local garbage carter to paint the number 44 (Tullius's car number) on the side of the garbage truck and then had it driven around the track until everyone had seen it. What PL accomplished in the second half of his life is more than most ever dream of in the first half of theirs. He brought a level of acceptance to motor racing in the late 70s and early 80s that was not there. I've got a couple of shots of him at Bridgehampton when he was driving SCCA I'll see if I can find them if anyone cares to see them. | ||
| Hubert Otlik (Hugh)
Member Username: Hugh Post Number: 704 Registered: 1-2002 |
Mr. Newman gets a nod in my book. Skips the Oscars (yawn anyway) for a days racing! | ||
| chris cummings (Entelechy)
Junior Member Username: Entelechy Post Number: 188 Registered: 5-2001 |
Rob, I first discovered and joined FerrariChat while working on Road to Perdition in Chicago. My Ferrari passion was ignited when I drove my first two 308's while I was there. It was only after Paul had wrapped, that I began to develop a real passion for driving and later racing. Now I wish I could have talked to him about it when I had the chance (although he is one of the most focused actors I've ever seen and the role was pretty demanding of him). We said a few casual hello's, but I'll never forget one night when I brought my yoga teacher to set. We had been friends, and I hoped it could be more. Suddenly, there she was on set with Tom Hanks standing a few feet away. Suddenly Paul appeared in front of us, looking like he wanted to say something, then deciding not to, then leaning in very conspiratorially and saying to us in a hushed, gruff voice, "verrrrrrrrrrrrry romantic...from the back...." He gave a slight nod and continued on to the set. I wasn't sure what to make of it - was he talking about my friend's lovely figure? was he going senile? After a moment, she suddenly figured it out - we had been standing in front of this giant white backdrop and had been backlit the whole time he was walking towards us. He must've seen our shadows leaning in close behind the director's chair watching the monitors. That night our relationship moved on to the next level, and somehow, I think I definitely owe Paul a bit of gratitude :-) ~Chris | ||
| arthur chambers (Art355)
Intermediate Member Username: Art355 Post Number: 1242 Registered: 6-2001 |
That story brings fond memories about some of the lunacy that occurred when I was racing. I'm sure everyone whose raced has done things that at the time seemed like pretty good practical jokes. From what I've seen, the early NASCAR guys held the all time record for lunacy, and a time or two I've gotten to either see some of it, or hear about it. Taking their cars out of the trucks for racing in the town of Riverside (80s) was one thing that I've seen (We were racing at Ontario, but staying in Riverside. The only thing I ever did (heheh) was when I was racing sidecars, was to glue my driver's face to a cushion on a couch, while he was passed out. He thought he'd had a stroke, when he woke up, with his head hurting, and he couldn't lift his head up. My understanding that the reason you can't land your plane on the straight at Willow Springs (we used to be able to do this in the 70s) is that Newman did it or tried to land, without clearing the track (maybe its wasn't Newman, but it was a big time sports racer, if not him). With the prevailing winds, it would have been against the traffic on the track. Art | ||
| Sean F (Agracer)
Junior Member Username: Agracer Post Number: 79 Registered: 2-2003 |
Another funny story about the owner of Hallet (not the current owner). The SCCA was really after him about the condition of the track (makes Brazil look Indy smooth) and they kinda pissed him off. One hear, he sent in his SCCA sanctioning fee, like $500, in pennies! It cost more to ship the fee than the fee itself. The SCCA did not think it was very funny. The track is much better now. FC times have come down from 1:18's to mid 1:15's in only 2-seasons since Stephens took over and has repaved a lot of the track. "The •••••" however, is still a •••••. | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 4328 Registered: 12-2000 |
Quick funny story about Newman. He loved to race at Hallett, OK (a great lesser known track). He was drinking with the owner one night after a day of racing. They got to talking smack and said "let's go race right now!". Pitch dark (no lights at Hallett) and no lights on the cars they started racing around Hallett drunk. | ||
| Aaron Williams (Aawil)
Junior Member Username: Aawil Post Number: 123 Registered: 8-2002 |
Shumacher himself once said he and hakkinen could never be good friends because they were rivals. Although I'm sure there are exceptions especially in Nascar. | ||
| EFWUN (Efwun)
Member Username: Efwun Post Number: 475 Registered: 2-2003 |
Jon, watch that awful movie again, and listen to Peter Revson's statements about whether these guys hang out together. | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 569 Registered: 8-2001 |
Hey Rob, that one doesn't count as they are all team mates. What I was referring to was the comaraderie of competitors in the 60's and 70's that somewhat vanished in the 80's. It could be my inaccurate stereotype of the 60's and 70's but it seemed those drivers all hung out together and supported each other. In the 80's we saw some fierce fighting on and off the track between drivers, even team mates. Look at GV and Pironi. Look at Prost and Senna. Newman got Cruise interested in racing but it was very brief and Tom lost interest. I remember Bruce MacInnes head instructor at Skip Barber telling all of us students that Newman sent Cruise to get some personal coaching from Skip Barber himself. Bruce said Tom drove like a complete maniac, foot to the floor, and never giving up an inch. He said Cruise drove every lap like it was the last qualifying lap. There are several pictures on the wall at the food shop at Summit Point of Newman and Cruise together when they both drove for Nissan. | ||
| EFWUN (Efwun)
Member Username: Efwun Post Number: 474 Registered: 2-2003 |
Paul Newman was always a great, down to earth guy. The first night I met him, he was using a lovely cloth napkin at the Interlaken to snap iced butter pats onto the ceiling! He did tend to drink a bit (!) and often wandered into our motorhome at Can Ams, asking "what are you guys doin in my coach?" Guys, you've NEVER seen women flock around someone like they did around Newman!! I nearly drove for him when Stephen South lost his legs (literally, a ghastly accident) at Trois Rivieres, but my "sponsor" wouldn't let me go!! Mr. Newman once told us (in 1979, before half of his great movies!) that he got more than $15M in residual income every year!! Yet, he was a decent, funny, down to earth guy. The OPPOSITE of mario. | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 4319 Registered: 12-2000 |
Here you go Jon...  Tom Cruise raced sports cars? I knew he did a few NASCAR laps for Days of Thunder. I'm sure Paul brakes a little earlier these days. Even though he had the best car in the field, still impressive to pull the 6th fastest lap of the race. Even in my slow as heck SRX7 racing there are times that a little bigger balls would do me well. Then there are other times (more often) that smaller balls would of done me better... like that Tow truck that got in the way. | ||
| Aaron Williams (Aawil)
Junior Member Username: Aawil Post Number: 122 Registered: 8-2002 |
I actually ordered the dvd to put in my collection. Since this was before my time it gave me a little more insight into that era. | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 564 Registered: 8-2001 |
And now we have the talkative wonderboy Kimi Raikonnen who makes Mike Hakkinen look he was on Prozac. Somebody needs to lighten that boy up. Maybe put some beer in his drink bottle or something. | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 563 Registered: 8-2001 |
Rob, Saw Newman last year at the Mid Ohio Nationals. He was driving the Genilozzi Jaguar about a week or so after he totalled his GT1 Camaro at Watkins Glen and it was clear he had lost a step over the past few years but was still a fine racer. I did notice that he was trailbraking through the key hole where other's were flat out until the brake before the uphill. Course at his age I guess your balls shrink a bit. Hell when I that age mine will likely be gone. I remember back in the late 80's watching him run the Nissan 300ZX's at Summit Point with Tom Cruise. Newman lapped everyone and it was clear he had natural talent. Cruise wasn't slow either usually within a second or so but he crashed every single race. He didn't know how to dial things back to save the car or the tires. At one point in his career he totalled two cars in one race weekend. We are talking totaled beyond repair, complete writeoffs. Watching that movie last night was great. However the buring wreck with Williamson in the car and the totally distraught racer who stopped to get him out was horrible. I don't think I ever watched a race tradgedy before where I felt more upset. In today's race world there would have been 3 or 4 trained fire marshals on the spot and the fire would have been put out within seconds. The worst part about watching that scene was all the people just standing around doing nothing and the poor racer struggling to get his competitor out knowing there was nothing he could do but watch Williamson burn to death. I don't know why but for some reason that scene got to me. In today's F1 world I don't think any of the drivers would have been so emotionally affected. Back in the 70's the drivers fought hard against one another but at the end of the day they all went out and partied together and lead a playboy life. In today's F1 world the drivers are cold and boring. They are either testing, racing, or prmoting the corporate image. You never see pictures of today's F1 competitors standing around having a beer at some party. They all look so stonefaced! | ||
| Drew Altemara (Drewa)
Junior Member Username: Drewa Post Number: 126 Registered: 2-2002 |
One of the more interesting things to me which I never really thought about was how different the cars looked. I'm not talking about between now and then , but about the difference between each car in a particular Grand Prix during the 70's. The aero packages were completely different back then. If you look at the current F1 cars they look very similar. I guess with a wind tunnel and aerodynamicis they all converge on approximately the same solution. | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 4317 Registered: 12-2000 |
Here's the Vavoline Run Off results from last year in GT1... # Driver/Hometown/SCCA Division/SCCA Region Sponsor Pos. Comp Lap Time 1 75 Tim Cowen/Ashland/OH/CN/NeOh CowenTruckLine/BFGoodrich Ford Mustang 1 20 1:28.036 2 08 Cliff Ebben/Appleton/WI/CN/Milw Lamers Motor Racing/Hoosier Chevy Corvette 2 20 1:29.101 3 24 Philip Simms/St Cloud/FL/SE/CFla Goodyear Chevy Corvette 4 20 1:29.495 4 86 Jeff Ervin/Chesaning/MI/CN/SagV Mel Ervin Ford/Hoosier Tires Ford Mustang 3 20 1:29.298 5 05 Jack Busch/Torrington/CT/NE/NEng Spectro Oils Olds Cutlass 7 20 1:30.456 6 74 Ross Murray/Marina Del Rey/CA/SP/CSCC New Zealand Seafoods/Goodyear Ford Mustang 10 20 1:29.435 7 88 Rob Giorgi/Rocky River/OH/CN/NeOh WinnersCircle/Florida Properti Ford Mustang 12 20 1:30.221 8 41 William Hopwood/Camden/ME/NE/StCt SpringHouse/EnergySystems Chevy Corvette 9 20 1:30.384 9 77 Paul Newman/Milford/CT/NE/NEng Jaguar 11 20 1:29.925 10 44 Philip Lasco/Fenton/MI/CN/Det Hoosier Tire/Red Line/Lasco Fo Ford Mustang 13 20 1:31.560 11 30 Richard Grant/Germantown/TN/MW/MidS Chevy Camaro 14 20 1:32.244 12 29 Bryan Long/Peoria/IL/CN/Chi Chevy Corvette 16 20 1:32.297 13 14 Dennis Schneider/New Athens/IL/MW/StL 1KVEHZSheetmetal/SchneiderGrap Chevy Camaro 15 19 1:32.618 14 31 Michael Luftman/Rye/NY/NE/NY Leifert Motorsports Chevy Camaro 17 19 1:33.504 15 26 Brian Kubinski/Plainfield/IL/CN/Chi Hoosier/DiamondConstruction/AC Chevy Camaro 6 19 1:30.347 16 56 Tom Sloe/Newbury/OH/CN/NeOh Kidprintid.com/Russell Auto Chevy Corvette 8 19 1:30.572 17 06 Bob Hofmann/St Clair Shores/MI/CN/Det Barb & Hal Olds Cutlass 18 19 1:34.242 18 9 David Fershtand/Ft Worth/TX/SW/Tex Ford Mustang 20 19 1:35.771 19 68 Boris Tirpack/Enon/OH/MW/StL Valvoline Chevy Corvette 22 18 1:40.924 20 11 Don Noe/Arlington/TX/SW/Tex Chevy Camaro 21 17 1:38.778 21 21 Jeannette Udwary/Averill Park/NY/NE/MoHu SouthernTier Insulation/TACs Chevy Corvette 19 * 15 1:33.943 DNF 89 Bill Gray/Lowell/AR/MW/MidS Valvoline Chevy Camaro 5 * 3 1:54.301 | ||
| arthur chambers (Art355)
Intermediate Member Username: Art355 Post Number: 1233 Registered: 6-2001 |
Rob: He used to be based at Willow Springs. Had a chance to meet him at the Fontana Indy Car race in 2001, seemed like a good guy then, even if he almost ran me over with his scooter in the pits. Art | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 4314 Registered: 12-2000 |
Paul Newman is my idol, still fast has heck. | ||
| arthur chambers (Art355)
Intermediate Member Username: Art355 Post Number: 1232 Registered: 6-2001 |
Jon: The terrible thing about my experiene, is that I saw it happening to the generation before me, and I'd make comments about how those guys didn't have the sense to know when to quit. Watched a guy by the name of Gary Nixon (an all time motorcycle great) crash at Laguna one year, and commented to friends that he's stayed too long, and was going to get hurt). I turned around and did the same thing, and got hurt. It's easy to see, but not so easy to look at yourself and see it. Regards, Art | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 559 Registered: 8-2001 |
The problem with going racing, is that after you're done, nothing else has any impact I have to say that your statement hit the nail right on the head. Whether you are racing at the club level or at the professional level nothing ever comes close again. Racing is to me an addiction. I think most folks that get into the sport end up one of three ways... 1) Eventually leave the sport, though well past the sell by date with limbs intact and with some money left over. 2) Go completely broke from a financial standpoint and lose everything. 3) End up dead. Looks like you picked the right choice in #1 Art ! I think it was quite sad to see guys like Mario, AJ, and Richard Petty stay in racing way past their prime at the top level. It somehow dampened their extraordnary achievements. Regards, Jon P. Kofod 1995 F355 Challenge #23 | ||
| arthur chambers (Art355)
Intermediate Member Username: Art355 Post Number: 1226 Registered: 6-2001 |
The problem with going racing, is that after you're done, nothing else has any impact. Even when I knew I was done, no longer competitive, I have such terrible fits of anger, that I couldn't go to the reaces without crying. 10 years after I finally quit (Like a good many racers, long after I should have) I can now go to the races and watch without the trauma. I still remember the fun: the practical jokes the envy, all of the exaggerated emotions that occurred in the heat of battle. I've still got aches and pains from the crashes, I got a prolbem disk in my back, all a result of racing. I wouldn't change a thing, it was most certainly worth it. As to those others who've raced on the board, I suspect they all would say the same thing. Death is a consequence of racing, it's what happens when things go wrong, with no margin. Much worse is to end up a quad, or para. A friend of mine, Bruce Hammer had that result, and he is functioning, and wouldn't change a thing in his life. Just my thoughts on this. Art | ||
| EFWUN (Efwun)
Member Username: Efwun Post Number: 461 Registered: 2-2003 |
Rob, I too was drawn to the footage as a walk down a childhood memory lane. These were the guys I grew up watching; I won a formula ford festival in the U.K., and my prize was several laps with Jackie Stewart around Snetterton (of all places??). The scenes of him driving around the Nordschliefe resonated with me! No, I really don't know of any documentaries; perhaps the only decent films from that era are Grand Prix (1966) which I'm sure you know of, and LeMans, which I'm similarly sure you have seen as many times as I have!! "When you're racing, that's life . . . . everything else . . is just waiting." Laughed when I was a kid and saw McQueen deliver that line, and many years later, I realized that it was TRUE. | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 4295 Registered: 12-2000 |
It's on Speedvision right now until 9pm CST. I'm from Kansas and I'm watching this until it's over! | ||
| Jack (Gilles27)
Member Username: Gilles27 Post Number: 701 Registered: 3-2002 |
My favorite still has to be "Lap of the Gods". I have parts I & II, and never tire of watching them. The cars I love the most, with drivers actually driving them. | ||
| Jeff B. (Miltonian)
Junior Member Username: Miltonian Post Number: 212 Registered: 12-2002 |
One NOT to recommmend: I remember seeing, about 20 years ago, something called "The Accident", with footage of lots of wrecks (kind of like the "Havoc" series). But all of the information was wrong, the drivers names were wrong, it was like someone who spoke only English had taken the audio and video from foreign language sources and made up this stupid tape without knowing anything about racing. Total crap, but interesting cars. | ||
| Rob Schermerhorn (Rexrcr)
Member Username: Rexrcr Post Number: 465 Registered: 11-2002 |
Efwun, I agree that playing up the danger and some shots are unnecessary, but the history is hard to resist despite the "cheap shot" thrills. It's fascinating to me to see the history, as my professional involvement began in the eighties, childhood memories of Monaco on ABC's Wide World of Sports also attracted me to this film. I guess I see between the gore to appreciate the awesome achievements and drive of the men of the era. I also own "History of Motor Racing" from www.whitestarduke.com (very disappointed), "F1 Saga" (pretty good), and another covering 1908 to the '50's, and IMHO, the cinematography and some commentary is quite superior in "Champions Forever". Any other film documentary you'd recommend on F1 of this era (late '60's, early 70's)?  | ||
| EFWUN (Efwun)
Member Username: Efwun Post Number: 446 Registered: 2-2003 |
Pretty gruesome film. Seems calculated that the interviews they showed were all men who perished that season (Cevert), or the following season (Revson), or in a road accident like Hailwood. Considering that it was ostensibly about the '73 season, the gratuitous footage from '77 (I think) of poor Tom Pryce's death (and the unfortunate but stupid marshall who killed him) was really objectionable. Thank goodness they had no footage of Cevert's wreck. I was at the Ferrari Club of American tent that horrible morning, and the inconceivable violence of that wreck, as well as seeing a hard man like Jody Scheckter vomitting and Jackie Stewart crying, were something that haunted me during the years I raced, and afterwards to this day. Similarly, the footage of Roger Williamson's needless death at Zandvoort was gratuitous and horrifying. Rob, I appreciate your consummate erudition, but I have to disagree; I thought it a mindless salute to horror, and and to a horrifying era of racing. | ||
| Bob Campen (Bob308gts)
Member Username: Bob308gts Post Number: 485 Registered: 9-2001 |
Yes it is, they had lots of interview shots with him, thankfully they did not show his death shots at the Glen | ||
| Andreas Forrer (Tifosi12)
Member Username: Tifosi12 Post Number: 735 Registered: 10-2002 |
Sounds familiar, have to check, but I think that's already somewhere in my F collection. Isn't that the year when Francois Cevert died? | ||
| Bob Campen (Bob308gts)
Member Username: Bob308gts Post Number: 484 Registered: 9-2001 |
Watched it the other night, great film, it was great when Hobbs said that MS 30 mil. pay at that time would have funded 2 teams for 2 years. | ||
| Rob Schermerhorn (Rexrcr)
Member Username: Rexrcr Post Number: 458 Registered: 11-2002 |
I think it's excellent documentary of the 1973 F1 season. I rented it by chance in '87, and have been looking for it ever since. Now I find it renamed "Champions Forever" on Speed Channel two nights ago. I guess you can now order it on VHS and DVD. Anyone here seen this? It's narrated by Stacy Keach and has a gruesome opening. Great interviews and footage, a must see. |