Paul Newman Still Very Much A Part of Racing

It has been more than two years since Paul Newman died, and though the world lost a thespian, racing lost one of its biggest supporters. He may have been an actor by trade, but he was a racer at heart.

And now, a 10-minute drive from Hollywood if Oriol Servia were allowed to put his IndyCar on a clear L.A. freeway—fat chance of that happening—the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach serves as another reminder of Newman’s absence.

And his presence.

“You’d be surprised how little it has changed since I joined the team in 2005,” said Servia, who joined Newman Haas Racing three races into the season and finished second in the championship. “Guys had been there 10, 15 years, and they’re still there.”

One of those is general manager Brian Lisles, who said Newman was a competitor at heart—a trait he shared with co-owner Carl Haas. “That spirit went through the team from top to bottom and carries on today,” he said. “This is still Paul Newman and Carl Haas’ team and always will be.”

Servia has been one of the drivers who suffered from the economy and disinterest that affected American open wheel racing. He clearly belongs in the IndyCar Series—which is the result of the 2008 merge between the Champ Car World Series and the Indy Racing League—but doesn’t bring the financial sponsorship to “buy a ride” that has pervaded the sport.  That was the case in 2007, and again in 2010.

He raced only five times last year, but four times were with Newman Haas and he finished fourth, sixth, seventh and 11th. Despite the rust of such little racing last year, Servia opened this season with a ninth on the airport/city course in St. Petersburg, FL, and fifth last week at Barber Motorsports Park outside Birmingham, AL.

The sport right now is dominated by teams owned by Chip Ganassi and Roger Penske but everyone knows that Servia will be formidable on road and street courses. In one of the defining moments of his career, he was unemployed at Long Beach in 2007. However, defending series champion Paul Tracy broke his back during practice. Servia got a desperate phone call. He practiced with the new team, Forsythe Racing, for 15 minutes before qualifying 14th and the next day finishing the race in second place.

Servia, 36, is from Catalonia, Spain. He splits time living in Miami and Santa Monica, but he is grateful to be back at Newman Haas with a new sponsor, Spanish language television broadcaster Telemundo, and the prospect of remaining at NHR for 2011 and beyond.

That will keep him close to the Newman legacy.

“Paul is missed in many ways, his connections, his presence,” Servia said. “Carl (Haas) and him were a great combination, but the way the team works is the same way. If he could come back, he wouldn’t be disappointed.”

Absent Newman, it has been tougher for the team to attract sponsorship. Typical of Newman’s pull, McDonald’s Restaurant wanted to use Newman’s Own Salad Dressing at its restaurant. Newman leveraged the partnership: Sponsor my race team.  Sebastien Bourdais won four consecutive championships from 2004-07, driving the red and yellow.

Newman’s impact on people was noticeable. Kevin Kalkhoven owns the KV Racing team, used to own the Champ Car World Series and co-owns the Grand Prix of Long Beach. He relates a story about Newman’s persuasive nature. Kalkhoven was asked by Newman to be on the board of the charity he founded, the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps for children with serious medical conditions.

Kalkhoven: “When Paul asked me to do it I said, ‘Sick kids? As much as I like you, no way am I going to do this.’ In the inimitable way that he had, he went along to my girlfriend, charmed the heck out of here, and it ended up with my being told I was going to be on the board of the Hole in the Wall Camps, and of course I fell in love with it once I got there.”

Newman definitely commanded respect throughout the paddock. He had raced at Long Beach in the TransAm Series—he became a racer after filming the 1969 movie Winning—as well as the Toyota Pro-Celebrity Race. Building one of the strongest teams in the sport didn’t hurt, either. NHR won eight championships since forming in 1983 with driver Mario Andretti. At its zenith, it won consecutive championships from 2004-07 with Sebastien Bourdais.

“As a result, his name and this event were very often linked, and it’s beneficial to us,” said Jim Michaelian, president of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “That (entertainment) community, which physically is part of this event, and his appeal to the Hollywood universe made him really unique. He could bridge that gap that very few others could.

“The name recognition he had, and his love for the sport, really was one of the keys to the success of the whole NHR enterprise, as well as creating interest among fans. The fact that he was a Hollywood hero and felt perfectly comfortable being a race car fanatic was a unique facet about Paul Newman.”

Many of the celebrities that attended the Long Beach race through the years—and other Champ Car races—are the result of Newman’s influence.

“He brought an atmosphere to the paddock and the event that was Newman,” Kalkhoven said. “That part of the paddock atmosphere and that part of the race will always be different because he’s not here.”