Paul Newman Won His Class at Daytona at 70

In February 1995, days after his 70th birthday, Paul Newman climbed into the No. 70 Ford Mustang at the 24 Hours of Daytona and helped it win its class. The movie star was not a celebrity guest in the paddock. He was one of four drivers who kept the car running through a full day and night.

A Late Start, A Real Career

Newman first got serious about racing while preparing for the 1969 film Winning, but his first professional race came in 1972, when he was 47. He joined Bob Sharp's team and kept going.

Over the years he won four national championships in Sports Car Club of America competition. Motor Sport magazine notes that the first of his four SCCA run-off wins came in 1976.

Second Overall at Le Mans

In 1979 Newman shared Dick Barbour's Porsche 935 with Barbour and Rolf Stommelen at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They finished second overall and won their class, behind the Porsche 935 of Klaus Ludwig and the Whittington brothers.

A jammed wheel during a tyre change cost Newman's car more than 20 minutes, according to Autosport. The winning car had its own scare: its fuel-injection drive belt failed and the spare broke when Don Whittington fitted it. Manfred Kremer suggested using the spare alternator V-belt and tank tape, and the repair held.

The Mustang at Daytona

The 1995 race ran February 4-5. Newman shared the No. 70 Roush Racing Ford Mustang with Tommy Kendall, Mike Brockman and NASCAR star Mark Martin.

The car won the GTS-1 class and finished third overall after 682 laps. It was a class win, not an overall victory, and it came when Newman was 70.

Paramount sponsored the car with graphics promoting Nobody's Fool, the film Newman had in theaters about a month earlier. The original body panels from the race were later refitted to the car, still carrying the dirt and scuffs from the 24 hours.

The Voice of Doc Hudson

In 2006 Newman voiced Doc Hudson, the retired racing champion in Pixar's Cars, his only animated film role. He was billed as Doc Hudson again in Cars 3 in 2017, using archival recordings.

The racer behind the voice had a record to match: four national titles, a Le Mans runner-up finish and a Daytona class win at 70.