Finish line

"His passion was racing."

If you didn't know any better, you'd never realize Paul Newman attended most of the races in which his Champ Car team participated. If you did, you kept an eye out for a tall, thin, older gentleman who wore a team polo,a baseball cap shielding his eyes. Shielding them not only from the sun, but from casual passers-by.

You see, one clear look at those bright blue eyes would give his identity away. And on race weekend, he wanted the focus to be on the racing, not on himself.

His partnership with Carl Haas began in the late 1980's, continuing to the present and producing championships with Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Christiano da Matta and Sebastien Bourdais (four years running).

While I often saw him at the races, I never did get to see him drive. The love affair he had with racing wasn't limited to being an owner; Newman was actively participating in sports car races into his eighties.

He will be sorely missed in many arenas.