Better race car driver

[Cajundaddy]

I like Dempsey but my money would be on Newman in identical cars. The guy was a phenom.

I read an interview with Newman shortly before he dies--I think in Car and Driver. s always, he was extremely modest. He said he never thought he was that good a driver, but that he won because he always had the best equipment. One of my all-time idols, along with Dan Gurney, who had equal modesty and class.

I saw Newman race at Summit Point in the 80s. There was a crowd outside his trailer, but they were respectful. At one point he swatted a fly against the window, noticed us out side, and kind of gave a wave. Friendly, but obviously focused on the racing. That was an interesting weekend. Newman won from the pole in his Nissan Z car, and some unknown phenom named Michael Andretti won the Formula Ford race in a walk.

Saw him at Indy in 2010--his last before he died, I think. It was a rain delay, and we were walking around the infield. He went by on a golf cart. I said hi, and again he gave that big smile and a wave. Very cool guy.

I like it when celebrities race. It's good for the sport.

[javadog]

If I recall correctly, Andretti's irritation with McQueen at Sebring had less to do with McQueen's abilities behind the wheel and more to do with the fact that Peter Revson, who Andretti respected as a driver, was getting far less attention than McQueen but was doing the better part of the driving. That race was one of Mario's best, in his last stint behind the wheel during the race.

I would give the nod to Paul Newman over Patrick Dempsey, because anybody that can pedal a 935 around Le Mans as well as Newman did has got more than a little talent. I was fortunate enough to spend a little time around those cars at the end of their racing life and they were quite a beast.