Better race car driver

[DWBOX2000]

Just for fun.

When I see Paul Newman cars on the auction block, they seem to go for a premium. I'm thinking Patrick Dempsey is a pretty accomplished guy in the race scene too.

Who would be the better driver if they went head to head in identical cars?

I have no idea, I watch Lemans and always see Dempsey there in some form or another.

[pwd72s]

I dunno. But while we're at it, who was the better heavyweight champ, Ali or Marciano?

[herr_oberst]

I'm going to say Newman. I think he worked extremely hard at getting better and better. He wasn't that great when he first started out, but he put his head down and learned how to win.
(Full disclosure - no matter how bad he was when he was first starting out, I'll bet he was miles better that I would be in a race car.)

He won at LeMans, in difficult conditions driving a 935, so there's that. Apparently, the only reason he didn't try and defend the next year is because the fans made it very difficult in the pits for everyone working on the team (and surrounding pit boxes).

[DWBOX2000]

Joe Louis.
Mario Andretti didn't say to many kind words about newman's driving ability. What a d&ck.
thanks guys.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by DWBOX2000

Mario Andretti didn't say to many kind words about newman's driving ability. What a d&ck. .

That’s the Danica Patrick effect. They are getting too much attention for reasons other than driving ability.

[Tobra]

Who would be the better driver or who would win? Not too sure about the former, but my money would be on Mr Newman to win.

[Sarc]

Originally Posted by DWBOX2000

Joe Louis.
Mario Andretti didn't say to many kind words about newman's driving ability. What a d&ck.
thanks guys.

On the contrary. In the book Winning, I seem to recall Andretti praising PLN and expressing reservations for McQueen's racing skills.

[berettafan]

I just looked for that as well. I found where Newman said if he had a hero it was Andretti. I read that Newman would only shoot movies outside of racing season. you gotta love a guy with that kind of passion. also read he was as a driver more of a road racing guy than the roundy round stuff. more to like!

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I'm going to say Newman. I think he worked extremely hard at getting better and better. He wasn't that great when he first started out, but he put his head down and learned how to win.
(Full disclosure - no matter how bad he was when he was first starting out, I'll bet he was miles better that I would be in a race car.)

He won at LeMans, in difficult conditions driving a 935, so there's that. Apparently, the only reason he didn't try and defend the next year is because the fans made it very difficult in the pits for everyone working on the team (and surrounding pit boxes).

I saw Newman at several SCCA races. He always registered as P.L. Newman so many people were not aware that Paul Newman was there.

[ted]

Newman had some racing success.
He also raced into his final years, maybe Dempsey will too?
Newman's racing record is impressive.

Newman's Wiki race history.

Newman's first professional event as a racer was in 1972 at Thompson International Speedway, quietly entered as "P.L. Newman", by which he continued to be known in the racing community.[59]

He was a frequent competitor in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) events for the rest of the decade, eventually winning four national championships. He later drove in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans in Dick Barbour's Porsche 935 and finished in second place.[60] Newman reunited with Barbour in 2000 to compete in the Petit Le Mans.[61]

24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years 1979
Teams Dick Barbour Racing
Best finish 2nd (1979)
Class wins 1 (1979)
From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, he drove for the Bob Sharp Racing team, racing mainly Datsuns (later rebranded as Nissans) in the Trans-Am Series. He became closely associated with the brand during the 1980s, even appearing in commercials for them in Japan and having a special edition of the Nissan Skyline named after him. At the age of 70 years and eight days, Newman became the oldest driver to date to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race,[62] winning in his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona.[63] Among his last major races were the Baja 1000 in 2004 and the 24 Hours of Daytona once again in 2005.[64]


Sharp/Newman Nissan
During the 1976 auto racing season, Newman became interested in forming a professional auto racing team and contacted Bill Freeman who introduced Newman to professional auto racing management, and their company specialized in Can-Am, Indy Cars, and other high-performance racing automobiles. The team was based in Santa Barbara, California and commuted to Willow Springs International Motorsports Park for much of its testing sessions.

Their "Newman Freeman Racing" team was very competitive in the North American Can-Am series in their Budweiser sponsored Chevrolet-powered Spyder NFs. Newman and Freeman began a long and successful partnership with the Newman Freeman Racing team in the Can-Am series which culminated in the Can-Am Team Championship trophy in 1979. Newman was associated with Freeman's established Porsche racing team which allowed both Newman and Freeman to compete in S.C.C.A. and I.M.S.A. racing events together, including the Sebring 12-hour endurance sports car race. This car was sponsored by Beverly Porsche/Audi. Freeman was Sports Car Club of America's Southern Pacific National Champion during the Newman Freeman Racing period. Later Newman co-founded Newman/Haas Racing with Carl Haas, a Champ Car team, in 1983, going on to win 8 drivers' championships under his ownership. The 1996 racing season was chronicled in the IMAX film Super Speedway, which Newman narrated. He was a partner in the Atlantic Championship team Newman Wachs Racing.[65]

Having said he would quit "when I embarrass myself", Newman competed into his 80s, winning at Lime Rock in what former co-driver Sam Posey called a "brutish Corvette" displaying his age as its number: 81.[59] He took the pole in his last professional race, in 2007 at Watkins Glen International, and in a 2008 run at Lime Rock, arranged by friends, he reportedly still did 9/10ths of his best time.[66]

Newman was posthumously inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame at the national convention in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 21, 2009.[67]

Newman's racing life was chronicled In the documentary Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman.

[Zeke]

As with F1 drivers older drivers coming back to race newer cars don't usually fare as well. 2 different times in racing to compare actors as drivers. Let's just say they were equal and call it a day.

One thing for sure is that actor from Beverly Hills 90210 was not a driver in his Indy Lights exploits. And he ended up getting hurt. I think both PL and PD were/are serious about racing. You could say, "Racing is life, anything before of after is just acting."

[TRE Cup]

Though McQueen really put his money where his mouth was (went next to broke with producing Le Mans) I think Newman was a better driver. The man's focus was incredible.
At a private closed track day at Willow Springs, several of us brought different race cars for a "to be revealed" experienced drivers for the day. We signed the agreements, they locked the gates behind us and the helicopters came in. Bruce Willis (who owned a 911SC at the time), Tom Cruise, Paul Newman and his daughter.

Bruce was not into racing. He enjoyed going for a ride in some of the cars, after he saw us testing a little. Cruise was being mentored by Paul (this is well before his Nissan sedan racing stint back east and Days of Thunder) in the school Toyota Celicas (ex LBGP celebrity prepped cars)
Paul was also mentoring his daughter. One of the guys brought a Formula Atlantic (FAST car that requires skill and concentration) and Paul rented it for the afternoon. No chit chat with the boys, no time for bench racing; just track track track.
Cruise and Willis were both very personable in this environment as us "racers" were not gob smacked with their stardom

Anyway- PLN's racing accomplishments are well noted, and had great sponsors to help him keep up there. Dempsey does not have that amount of pull and has had to spend his own money racing.
You gotta keep racing to get better at it

[URY914]

I have always thought PLN doing SCCA club racing with Bob Sharp Racing was a bit of a Goliath vs. David situation. PLN and Sharp's cars were fully factory supported and covered in sponsorship $$$. They go to Nationals and the Runoffs and win against club racers.

Nevertheless PLN was a very good driver. Much better than Dr. McDreamy.

[DWBOX2000]

Sorry My bad, it was McQueen he talked down about. "He was a decent amateur racer. I think he was a heluvalot better actor than racer". The article days heluvalot. I guess Dempsey has a long way to go. Thanks for the input.

[lonewolf]

Newman and Danny Sullivan were good friends. Story goes one picked up the other at the airport in LA and they were going for dinner. They decided to each rent a car and race to the restaurant...looser pays for dinner. They were literally neck and neck and close to the restaurant with Sullivan ahead when all of a sudden Newman jumps the boulevard does a 180 and parks right in front. The story was told by Sullivan on the Jonny Carson show. A real racer will figure a way to win. pass on the left, pass on the right ,go through the grass/dirt whatever or in that case jump the boulevard. It is in you and cannot be taught.

[smadsen]

Newman never suffered inferior equipment.

He came out to California many years in the mid-70's for the first SCCA National point race of the season. The cars were the Bob Sharp Datsuns, always immaculately prepared and tended to by a cadre of specialists. Most of the rest of the field were home grown owner/operators.

The Cal Club would usually have 50 paid spectators for a race, but when word got out PLN was going to be there, the gate would be more like 1000 paid. Too bad, it forced Newman to hide out most of the weekend.

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by URY914

I have always thought PLN doing SCCA club racing with Bob Sharp Racing was a bit of a Goliath vs. David situation. PLN and Sharp's cars were fully factory supported and covered in sponsorship $$$. They go to Nationals and the Runoffs and win against club racers.

Nevertheless PLN was a very good driver. Much better than Dr. McDreamy.

This is true. At the Road Atlanta, Champion Spark Plug Road Racing Classic they hauled in semis and the cars had Budweiser paint jobs. Cases and cases of Bud. the 260/280/300 Z race cars were nothing if not pro race cars. I will say PLN had the skills to compete though.

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by TRE Cup

Though McQueen really put his money where his mouth was (went next to broke with producing Le Mans) I think Newman was a better driver.

Keep in mind Steve did most of his racing on 2 wheels and that limits his record list of car races..
Despite that, he still won 2 races in the 908 and came second in 1 , on a broken foot.

He was more of a natural I think then Paul Newman..

Keep in mind, Newman only started racing at 50, Steve died at 50.
Had he not kicked the bucket, I'm sure he could have might have done more car racing as he got older and I think his record would/could have been equally impressive.

[sammyg2]

Newman didn't get famous from being in soap operas.

In my book that makes him a better driver

[ted]

Hard to compare as they drove entirely different types of race cars.
I'm sure Paul is faster in his car and maybe Patrick faster in his newer car.

Paul Newman's long driving history tops most in bench racing.
But his history was in old race cars with no nannies, H pattern manual, heal and toe downshift and a brake bias control.

Paul Newman

Patrick Dempsey has an impressive driving record too.
In newer cars with ABS, traction control and stability control software that have the ability to manipulate each wheel independently.

Patrick Dempsey

I just give more credit to racing with H pattern gear boxes (and 935 turbos/no nannies).