Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman

by Matt Stone, Preston Lerner, Mario Andretti (Foreword)

Winner of International Automotive Media Gold Award 2010 For all his fame as one of Hollywood’s great actors, a world-class humanitarian, and the proprietor of a natural food empire, the late Paul Newman had another intriguing facet that was less known and perhaps closer to his heart than all the rest of his well-chronicled life. He was an avid, successful and well respected car racer and team owner. This book tells that story--from Newman’s racing career, begun in earnest at an age when many race car drivers contemplate retirement; to the partnership he formed in 1983 with Chicago racing entrepreneur and team owner Carl Haas; to the impressive stable of automobiles he owned, from the Porsches and Ferraris to quirkier modified VWs and Volvos. This is the tale of a life full of passion and skill, of someone who entered the 24 Hours of Daytona at the age of 70 and made his last professional race outing at 82; whose roster of drivers for Newman/Hass reads as a who’s who of open wheel racing; and whose interest in cars extended from the likely suspects to old trucks and new hybrids. And then there’s the charming pal who, when the incorrigible prankster Robert Redford had a miserably wrecked Ferrari dropped at his front door, returned the favor by having the car, crushed into a cube, delivered to Redford’s living room. The anecdotes, the races, the cars--all are here, adding up to what for many would be a full life, but for Paul Newman was simply another side of a man of talent, conviction, and enduring spirit. See Motorbooks author Matt Stone interviewed by Jay Leno on

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2009

Reviews

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was rather dry and boring, but I suppose if you are a fan of both Paul Newman and auto racing you might like it better. He was too old when I was young for me to find him good looking (ageist? Perhaps, but I wasn't attracted to men older than my father and still am not). There were many of those inserts with blurbs written by various people who said--and I know you'll be shocked--nothing but good things about Newman. However, I am quite willing to believe he was as affable, friendly and hard working as people say, because some actors are like that, even a few big stars (perhaps more than a few, but I don't rub shoulders with them, so how can I know?)

Newman started racing rather late, but did well--not at the superstar level of NASCAR (people can call some of those drivers bad, but only the best even qualify, so it's all relative)--but at a professional level and he even had some wins, which is no mean feat.

[Avery Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winning: The Racing Life Of Paul Newman is a biography about a man of many talents. It is written by Matt Stone and Preston Lerner. The book is about a man named Paul Newman. He was a philanthropist, actor and race car driver. This book focuses mostly on Paul Newman’s racing career through the accounts of others. He started racing when he was acting during a movie. The interesting thing was that he was very good at racing, he became a professional driver and was racing with some of the best drivers of the eighty’s. He went on to own teams and be big influencer in America’s open wheel scene. He won at Le mans all while acting for movies on the side. Anything with four wheels and an engine you can bet Paul Newman raced it.

The book overall is a very good read. The only real problem I have with it is the layout of the pages. You’ll have the book going on about Paul Newman. Then you will have a grey box that is someone's personal account on Paul Newman. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I would be reading a passage then I would turn the page and then read a personal account and be very confused. With that being said the writing, photography, and quotes from the book were top notch. I would honestly recommend buying a book just for the photos because they are just that good. My favorite part about this book was when I was reading about the height of Paul Newman’s racing career in the 70s and 80s. The writing was so descriptive I could almost smell burned rubber and the scream of the Bob Sharp Racing Datsun 280zx. All in all the only bad part about the book is how the authors interject personal stories onto the page. Everything else about this book was amazing.

This book was one of the best things I’ve read in a very long time. It told a great story of one of the greatest people to get behind the wheel of a race car. This book left me with a feeling of being able to accomplish anything. This is because Paul Newman wasn’t naturally gifted at racing, he worked his way up to the top and I really like that. I loved the whole zero to hero concept, starting from nothing and getting somewhere from hard work and dedication. If you are a fan of racing read this book. If you want to read about someone extraordinary life read this book. If you like photography by this book just for the pictures. This book will be one of my favorites for the foreseeable future and I hope it will be for other readers too.

[Patricia Bergman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had I not won this book from Goodreads I probably wouldn't have considered reading this particular book.

I m an avid racing fan who had no clue that Paul Newman was actually a racing champ. This book is interesting for those who follow the racing circuit. I found the details about some of the various cars interesting and the business of racing fascinating.

[Mark Bunch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about the racing life of Paul Newman. This was his second career and a constant in his life. Learn how Newman and David Letterman both had souped up Volvo Station wagons with Porsche engines to tool them back and forth to work. Newman was a Volvo and VW man.

[Ranette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about the racing life of Paul Newman, a truely great guy. I met him once when he was visiting Robert Redford. He came into a small old theater in Downtown Provo, UT. He was kind to all and very handsome. Great book and highly entertaining. he raced until he was 83.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent look at the major aspect of Paul Newman's life. Yews he was a major Hollywood Star but it was the car racing, at any level, that seemed to really float Paul's boat.
A latecomer to motor racing Newman took up racing after starring in 1970s Winning, by which time he was in his mid 40's. Not a natural talent Newman had was an extremely competitive person and worked very hard at improving his racing skills until he was good enough to race at a professional level.

This book is not a chronological listing of every event PLN raced in, but much more a look at the human side of Paul Newman, Racer. It looks at his careers as both a driver and Professional level Team Owner. The one thing that comes through it all is his desire to just be one of the boys, a facet of his life that he certainly acheived judging by the comments from all the people who contributed sidebar comments throughout the book.

[Gordon Sleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, though felt a little random in its organization. Stories of his racing were scattered all around the book with lots of repetition and timeline jumps backwards and forwards. They were always interesting, but you might be reading about a race he completed in the 2000s in one paragraph then jump back to the 80s the next. Its a little disorienting. Also its probably more a testament to Newman than the book but pretty much every single personal account said the same thing, he was a really great and humble but very competitive guy. Someone who was great to have a beer with on a Saturday night in the Paddock.

At the end of the book I know a lot more about his racing history but only a little about Newman himself. That's not a negative considering the intention of the book, but if you're looking for a more generalized biography look elsewhere.

[Mark Schuliger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about the "other" side of Paul Newman's life. Many books have been written about his life and acting, but this is the first I know of that focused on his life in racing.
As a fan of the man I found this book fascinating. How Newman could have become such an accomplished driver at such a late age can only be explained by his being "a natural". Many people are quoted in the book as wondering what he might have attained had he started at a young age like so many pros. They speculated that we'd know him as "Paul Newman the race car driver" and not the actor.
Highly recommended to both race fans and Newman fans alike. Paul Newman was a wonderful role model and fun to watch on the big screen. I love how humble he stayed through all of that fame.

[Chris Welbon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful rundown of what PLN (as his helmets and race cars referred to him) was able to accomplish in only 30+ years as a racing driver, team owner, benefactor and student of the game. It's full of anecdotes from legends (Andretti, Gurney, Rahal) and journeymen (Bourdais [but only because I don't like him]) alike who were initially star struck, but put at ease by Newman's being "a regular guy" in the pits. Likewise, they played down their reputations, and recognized in Newman a fellow competitor with uncommon skill.

Makes me wish I'd been paying more attention during the good old days of Trans-Am and IMSA. He won his last race, at Lime Rock, at age 82. Kind of amazing.

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, Excellent Read!

[Kathryn French · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of good information well written. Great archival photography.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story but the film is better.

[Vulcan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about Paul Newman racing career.