Did movie star ever look cooler in a race overalls than Paul Newman? Okay, possibly Steve McQueen in Le Mans, but while McQueen dallied with competitive driving Newman segued his own early acting-as-a-driver role into a full-blown race career.
Newman en route to second place at Le Mans in '79
This is the trailer for a forthcoming documentary about what became Newman's greatest passion, its title Winning shared with the film in which he first played a racer and which triggered his love for competitive driving. It's also the story of how he took himself from being a keen but unpolished amateur to become a proper driving talent, through saloons and sportscars and into full-on endurance racing. You don't get to finish second at Le Mans - and to share a Porsche 935 with Rolf Stommelen and Dick Barbour - unless you're pretty good. He went onto be a successful motorsport boss, most associated with the Newman/Haas Indycar team, and continued to drive competitively into his 80s.
The film is being produced by US comedian and Newman obsessive Adam Carolla - who owns and regularly drives five former Newman cars, and its clearly a labour of love. The film is officially released on May 22 in the U.S., but there's a charity screening on Thursday and tickets are still available if you happen to be in LA and have $75 to spare...
Trailer here