25 Years Ago, Paul Newman Tested a Richard Childress Racing Car at Daytona

Back in the day, you would often see sights of actors taking a Cup Series car for a spin, or they would be in attendance in some official capacity. While not everyone was lucky enough to get behind the wheels and do some laps on the tracks, Paul Newman did manage to do so.

While Newman is known for his hits like The Sting, The Hustler, and Hud, he perhaps cherished the day most when he was able to drive at the iconic Daytona International Speedway. It was on 7th January, 25 years ago, that Newman took Mike Skinner’s RCR car for a spin. Unlike other Hollywood actors, he was not unknown to the world of racing, as he did compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the 24 Hours at Daytona.

An impressive 49.15s run by Paul Newman

It was back in 1999 that Paul Newman was provided with an opportunity to test Richard Childres’s car at Daytona. The late actor certainly did make the most of this and surprised everyone when he hit speeds up to 184 mph; this was certainly not expected of him. This kind of speed was on par with several other seasoned drivers at the time in NASCAR.

Richard Childress was impressed by Newman; he said, “First time in a Winston Cup car, and this car’s got a race set-up on it. He ran 49.15, and we were running 49.05s today, so that’s impressive.” However, this was not the first time that Newman got his hands behind the wheel in a stock car.

During the 1987 Busch Series, Paul Newman, along with his movie sidekick Tom Cruise, tested Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet. Newman then ran laps and registered speeds of over 190 mph. So one thing is for sure: the late actor did not let his foot off the gas when he stepped inside of a race car, and this was evident from his cameos.

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Paul Newman is known for his voice from the movie Cars, but there is an air of mystery about his voice used in the second sequel released by the franchise in 2017.

Director Brian Lee clears the air about Newman’s voice in Cars 3

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Paul Newman died before the release of the third edition of the movie in 2017, so it left the fans confused about how the makers were able to get his voice. The first edition came in 2006, which was followed by the 2011 release. But the third edition was released in 2017, so it was confusing to hear Newman’s voice in the movie. It was then movie director Brian Lee who came out to explain how his team managed to channel the late actors’ voices in the movie.

Lee said, “Newman is in the movie because when John (Lasseter) was recording Paul Newman in Cars 1, John always kept the tape running… we were always recording and Paul would tell stories in between the takes and John just like kept going. We had 28 hours of Paul Newman stuff that we were able to listen and repurpose.”

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It was a touching tribute to the late actor, whose voice and his love for racing will always be cherished and celebrated.