John Francis wrote:
In the mid-80s he had a kick-ass Datsun Maxima. It was a project car for
one of the car mags, and they fitted the engine from a 280Z, and added a
turbocharger (or supercharger). I know this because at the time we had
an '83 Maxima wagon. It was quite capable off the showroom floor - it
basically used the engine from a 240Z. I can only imagine what it would
be like with a whole lot more power (and better suspenson & brakes).
I did a quick internet search and found:
From 1973 to 2002, entered as "PL Newman" he made 14 appearances at the
SCCA Runoffs (the annual national championships for amateur road racers).
He won four amateur national championships at the Runoffs:
D Production in 1976
C Production in 1979
GT-1 in 1985 and 1986
He started his pro racing career in 1974 in the Trans-Am series at Lime
Rock. After an 8 year hiatus, he came back to pro racing and won his
first outing in a Newman-Sharp Nissan 280Z Turbo at Brainerd. Career
best finish in the Trans-Am Championship standings was eighth in 1985.
As a pro, he also was on the winning team at one Rolex 24 at Daytona and
on the second place team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans once.
His final race as a driver was an SCCA (amateur) GT-1 race at Watkins
Glen in 2007 at the age of 82. He qualified on the pole but his cool
suit malfunctioned and he ended up fourth by the end of the race on a
hot day. From an article on carracing.com, "After the race, he told an
Elmira [NY] Star-Gazette reporter, 'I wish I was 81 again.'"
He made his final laps in a race car Aug 13, 2008, at Lime Rock in an
SCCA GT-1 car. The laps were taken in private and were his chosen
"goodbye" to the sport.
---
I've worked corners at several races at Road Atlanta in which PLN
competed, and I've heard many stories about him from other amateur race
volunteers (grid workers, corner marshals, etc.) that worked "his"
events. By my own experience and all accounts, he was a very private
person, an extraordinarily polite competitor, and an overall nice guy.
He was also a top-notch race driver, even into his 70s, though he
obviously slowed down a bit as he got older.
As a side note, at least for the last few years, he always ran his age
as his car number. The last one I worked he was running number 81 or 82.
This week and weekend is the annual Petit le Mans race at Road Atlanta.
Tuesday, while working corners, we noticed that they replaced one of
the trackside billboards with a sign simply saying "PLN" in black on a
white background. Though nothing has been announced yet, I expect some
tribute to him come race day this Saturday. He was highly respected
within the racing community.
--
Thanks,
DougF (KG4LMZ)
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