Team owner, driver, cultural icon

He was so famous as a movie star it’s easy to forget his many achievements in American motorsports. After starring in the 1969 film Winning, Newman began to drive in SCCA events. Already in his 40s, he won his first race and proceeded to capture four national championships between 1979 and 1986. He also won two SCCA Trans-Am events and came second in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, partnered in a twin-turbo Porsche 935 with Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen. In 1977, he entered team ownership by partnering with Bill Freeman to form the Newman-Freeman Can-Am team, fielding winning entries for inductees Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Danny Sullivan. Later he formed Newman/Haas Racing with longtime friend Carl Haas and saw his team triumph in more than 100 races and collect eight IndyCar titles. At age 70, Newman scored a class win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Mike Brockman and inductees Tommy Kendall and Mark Martin. Newman was inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame in 2009.