Corner5
10-03-08, 11:24 AM
I think he's trying to get some cred back.
from his mailbag-
"Q: Just a quick thank you for the article regarding Paul Newman on SPEEDtv.com. I greatly admired Paul as an actor but felt a real connection to him in that he represented all of us who might have answered another calling but always dreamed of sitting behind the wheel of a really fast car competing with others. I saw Paul in person several times at Road America and Milwaukee. At RA one day while I was waiting at the front of the line for one of CART’s/FedEx Fast Laps, he pulled up on his scooter right beside me dressed just as you described. He was there to have his picture taken with a fan who apparently had won a contest to have her picture taken with Paul before her Fast Lap. I overheard Paul offer … “Do you want me to take her for the ride?” … the staff person called a “higher-up” and responded that Paul couldn’t do that in that he wasn’t covered by their insurance! Most celebrities would have considered the appearance for a photo enough but this man wanted to make it an even greater experience for the individual … or maybe he just wanted one more hot lap around that great race circuit??!! I’ll miss seeing him in NHL’s pit box … and never seeing him in that last movie with Redford that the two of them always promised us.
Greg Kent
RM: A buddy of mine told a similar story at Road America. At the height of the IRL/CART conflict, Newman saw the YFDS Compound (Your Favorite Driver Sucks) and stopped to have coffee and breakfast with the CART loyalists. It was totally impromptu and they were blown away. I always thought PLN was bashful, but never standoffish or boorish, and while he found his celebrity to be a pain at times, he usually posed for pictures and liked to talk about racing to race fans. He just wanted to blend in and, after a few years, he usually did at the race track."
:D
from his mailbag-
"Q: Just a quick thank you for the article regarding Paul Newman on SPEEDtv.com. I greatly admired Paul as an actor but felt a real connection to him in that he represented all of us who might have answered another calling but always dreamed of sitting behind the wheel of a really fast car competing with others. I saw Paul in person several times at Road America and Milwaukee. At RA one day while I was waiting at the front of the line for one of CART’s/FedEx Fast Laps, he pulled up on his scooter right beside me dressed just as you described. He was there to have his picture taken with a fan who apparently had won a contest to have her picture taken with Paul before her Fast Lap. I overheard Paul offer … “Do you want me to take her for the ride?” … the staff person called a “higher-up” and responded that Paul couldn’t do that in that he wasn’t covered by their insurance! Most celebrities would have considered the appearance for a photo enough but this man wanted to make it an even greater experience for the individual … or maybe he just wanted one more hot lap around that great race circuit??!! I’ll miss seeing him in NHL’s pit box … and never seeing him in that last movie with Redford that the two of them always promised us.
Greg Kent
RM: A buddy of mine told a similar story at Road America. At the height of the IRL/CART conflict, Newman saw the YFDS Compound (Your Favorite Driver Sucks) and stopped to have coffee and breakfast with the CART loyalists. It was totally impromptu and they were blown away. I always thought PLN was bashful, but never standoffish or boorish, and while he found his celebrity to be a pain at times, he usually posed for pictures and liked to talk about racing to race fans. He just wanted to blend in and, after a few years, he usually did at the race track."
:D