Friday, September 25, 2009

Paul Newman Week - sometimes things don't always work out as planned

Kyle Petty, Gunnar Jeannette, Paul Newman, Michael Brockman
2004 Daytona 24 Hours

We had custom driving suits made for all 4 drivers...
They were going to look real cool!
Newman loves his white "camp car" suit, so he had been wearing it during all of the practices, saving the new suit and a new pair of driving shoes for the race. So, now it was time to pose for photos. I tell Paul that he needs to put on his new gear. Paul came out of the trailer and his voice seemed a little higher than normal. Somehow, measurements must have gotten mixed up because I think Paul got Billy Barty's suit. There was no way Paul was zipping the suit past his manhood! So, now he puts his "camp car" suit back on and comes out with his new driving shoes. We noticed a stumble in his stride. He looked at me and said "how can I make these things fit?" (Now remember, we're about to start a 24 hour race).

I said "just cut the ends off"...and he did! Minutes later, the toes are chopped off and he says "they're still too tight"...so he went back to the old shoes and the old suit, but he was now in his comfort zone!

1 comment:

Markus N said...

Happy to read you again Kevin.
Is it a "normal thing" that you write as good about people as you do it about cars or...cats ?
Of course it is , and i really a pleasure once again. You were in the very small circle of people who shared cool moments with mr Newman , and i'm sure it was no lucky coincidence.
May i ask a bit help from you ? I'm in search of "good" pictures of Mr Newman's helmet back in late 70's. The one he weared at Le Mans 79 , a grey model ( open face ) with a kind of "rolling rooster" painted on it. I know that the 3 letters PLN were painted on the back , a logo or sponsor on the front , but that damn rooster is still a bit of mistery for me....
Thanks in advance , keep on that superb blog.