FULL THROTTLE

[Music] It often begins this way. A kid, a go-kart, and the corner of a farmer's field. Falling in love with the sport of automobile racing has little to do with thoughts of fame or money. When you're 8 years old, you don't think of those things. The first love of racing is a delight in the mastery of movement. is a control of something, a machine partly, but also of yourself. Faster is better. More decisions have to be forced into each moment, and you discover abilities you never knew you had. If your name is Jason, you drive a go-kart like this, or Paul Newman, and you drive a 900 horsepower, 200 mph turbocharged car like this, the job is still the same. To stretch your skill, to explore your limits, to race at full throttle. [Applause] [Music] Hi, I'm Sam Posey and like Jason here, I too am a racing driver. In fact, I got my start on a course that was very much like this, except that mine was laid out on the side of a hill, and every time it rained hard, the center of the straight just got washed down the hill. But I made about as many laps around that track, I think, as I ever did around Indianapolis. In those early years on the farm, my love of racing was pretty much subconscious. Really didn't know why I wanted to do it so badly, just that I did. But I've been driving for 16 years now. And in the course of my career, I have been fascinated to discover in others that same love. Take Paul Newman for instance. He didn't even start racing until he was in his late 40s, about the age I always thought I'd be headed for retirement. He was rich, famous. Looked at one way, racing seemed to offer him nothing but the potential for disaster. But Paul didn't see it that way. He started his driving career cautiously, avoiding mistakes. But within a few years, he had developed real speed and a restless need to win. Here he seizes the lead in the 1979 National Championship race at Road Atlanta and starts to pull away. To drive without mistakes under great pressure calls for total concentration, and Paul proved he had what it took. Turn after turn, he pushed his car to the limit as the opposition who couldn't match the pace faded in his mirrors. By the end of the race, he was all alone, sweeping under the checkered flag, the winner of his second national championship. On the victory stand, he was appropriately modest, giving credit to the car. But it was obvious that Paul Newman had become one of the country's best drivers. Like Paul, Midwesterner Frank Carney was also highly successful in another profession before he turned to racing. With his brother, he started the Pizza Hut chain and built it into a nationwide franchising corporation. Selling Pizza Hut in 1979, Frank realized that for the first time in his life, he had the chance to take up a sport. Wishing to be competitive on a national scale and reasoning that at 33 he was probably too old for conventional athletics, he chose racing. By contrast to Paul Newman and Frank Carney, Don Dondorf came to love racing very early in his life. In fact, he was already competing actively in motorsports during his college years. He became an aerospace scientist, a think tank whiz specializing in electronics. And he has used this expertise to build cars which are often superior to his rivals. Donniey's record proves the point. He's won over a 100 races and five national championships. This is the track at Riverside, California on the morning of a major world championship event run to the rules of the International Motorsports Association. The race distance is to be 6 hours. The event will start at noon and finish just before dusk. Like the races at Sebring and Lama, Riverside will stress endurance as much as pure speed. And each car will have at least two drivers to take turns behind the wheel. Paul Newman's co-driver will be the Japanese champion Mashiko Himi, while Frank Carney will team with Dick Davenport, an experienced road racer who was Frank's coach when he began racing. Sharing the driving with me will be my friend Fred Stiff, whose company owns the car we will drive. With the start just minutes away, cars are rolled into position. More than 60 are entered in the race, but they won't all be competing in the same class. There are three classes, and therefore, there will be three winners at the end. The class in which a car competes depends chiefly on how much it's changed from the way it is stock on the showroom floor. Paul's car here, my car, and Frank Carney all start out as Dodson 280 ZXs, but because they are modified to different extents, they will race in different classes. 6 hours is a particularly difficult distance. These cars are so highly stressed that to have any hope of finishing, the driver is forced to compromise between allout speed and a pace that will save the car. Paul is good at this. A couple of years ago, he took a second place in the famous 24-hour event at Le Man in France. But today, the race is barely an hour old when he has a bad break. A front tire shreds. Here, he pulls into the pits. The tire is changed. Simultaneously, the Dodson is refueled and then rejoins the race. Half a minute has been lost. After a setback like this, the driver must resist the impulse to regain that lost ground too quickly. If he pushes too hard, he could overstress the car. Here, Paul wisely resumes his early pace. Then, without warning, he's in the pits again, and this time, it's for good. Chief mechanic Jean Crow diagnoses engine problems. Earlier in the year, Frank Carney and Dick Davenport scored a brilliant second place in the 24-hour race at Daytona Beach. Today, they are again demonstrating a flare for endurance racing. After 90 minutes, they are running a solid third in their class. By contrast, my race is a study in frustration. Rules for the class in which we are running allow the use of a turbocharged engine, but ours is still under development and we're racing here without it. So, we have no chance to win and run the race as a sort of extended test for the chassis and the rest of the car. Frank Carney's pit stop. His cracked pit crew refuel the car as Dick Davenport replaces Frank behind the wheel. It's a fast stop, just 25 seconds. Meanwhile, further down the pit wall, my co-driver Fred Stiff awaits our stop. As I come down the pit lane, I unfasten my shoulder harness and seat belt as I'm breaking to a stop. Then I leap out and help Fred to get fastened in. As the afternoon wears on, the track becomes an oven. Inevitably, incidents occur which thin the field. Tires fail. A driver hits oil and spins. Through it all, Carney and Davenport continue their flawless drive. Four hours into the race, they're running a strong second, and an hour later, they move into the lead. For the race, I asked Frank if any of the lessons he had learned in business had carried over into racing. >> Uh the business lessons that I learned and the patience and the discipline involved uh have helped me in racing quite a bit. >> But do you enjoy racing? I mean, do you just get a kick out of it? Well, I get a kick out of it when I do well and I I I sense the challenge when I don't. So, uh I I haven't done anything in my life where I get a kick out of it 100% of the time. There are down times and up times. The up times of racings are phenomenal. As the end of the race approached, I had replaced Fred at the wheel of our car. The attrition rate had thinned the field, and to my surprise, we had moved up into fourth. A faster car was closing in behind us, but we knew if we could get by without another pit stop for fuel, I had a chance to stay ahead. It was a gamble and with my crew chief Jack McCormack warning me that we were critically low on gas, I sweated out the closing laps. Less than 5 minutes to go. And then there was the checkered flag. First it was Frank Carney winning his class. Then I followed, taking fourth by a narrow margin. Frank Carney, Dick Davenport, winners after six long hours. I'm just thirsty and happy we finished. Jack measures the gas left in the tank. There wouldn't have been enough for another lap. >> No gas. After Riverside, the racers traveled north up the California coastline to an entirely different form of topography. It's a place I've enjoyed coming for more than 20 years, the fabled Monterey Peninsula. There aren't many tracks where the racers take time away from their cars to go sightseeing, but Monterey and the adjacent town of Carmemell are exceptions. Practice and qualify in the morning, sightsee in the afternoon. It's a contrast that heightens the whole experience of racing at Laguna Secika. The track was originally named after the dry lake bed which it encircled, but now the lake and the track have become part of a county park. It seems appropriate that in this idyllic location, which is almost like a film set, that Paul Newman would have his race headquarters. Race Day saw a huge crowd show up. In recent years, sports car racing has been enjoying a remarkable growth in popularity. Although major corporations have become actively involved, both to publicize and to test their products, racing is still primarily a sport. Sitting up on a hill with your friends and your beer cooler, watching the racers sweat it out below. Well, it's pretty delightful. I know because I've been a spectator plenty of times myself. [Music] On this day, the action was to be thick and heavy. Paul had a fine drive, threading his way through dense traffic on the narrow course. The big turbo ran beautifully, but a stop for fuel late in the race dropped him to seventh. After the race, we talked about his car. >> It's a fascinating thing to try a car right from scratch. >> Well, that's a first for me. >> And going from 300 and some odd horsepower to 900 is that quantum leap that you keep talking about. >> Yeah. >> But very interesting. Car is very manageable. It has no bad habits and it's been great fun to drive. A car that didn't compete at Riverside or Laguna Secika was a radical and highly sophisticated racer the driver engineer Don Devondorf was building. I paid a visit to his shop in Elsagundo, California to see the car under construction. Why is the uh instrumentation so complete? Well, in the turbocharged engine, we cannot use the normal spark plugs as indicators of the performance of each cylinder. And so we've included these pyometers to monitor the exhaust gas temperature of each cylinder as well as the turbocharger to detect problems before they happen become serious. This is our six-cylinder turbocharged engine. We've selected two turbochargers to minimize throttle lag. We also have incorporated a new electronic injection system. This is one of the injectors. There will be six across here when it's completed. >> How much do you suppose it'll put out for horsepower? We hope that on its maiden voyage that we'll have somewhere between 5 and 600 horsepower. >> Well, Donnie, it's a terrific car, obviously. But I've got to ask you, isn't it maybe a little too complicated, a little too advanced? I mean, you got dozens of unproven parts in this thing, and you're still trying to build it here in the shop. Meanwhile, other guys are out there racing. >> This is the program that we've chosen, and if we made the right decision, we'll see at the end of the year. The first time Donny's car was to run well was 3 months after my visit to his shop. The track was Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon, a two-mile long circuit on the banks of the Columbia River. The car had been tested before, but the team had encountered a series of technical problems. On the one hand, this was to be expected. On the other, with a group of men as competitive and as ambitious as Steven Dorf and his team, it was frustrating. By Portland, Donnie estimated the team had spent more than 9,000 hours on the project. Then all of a sudden, everything started to work. During the closing minutes of qualifying, Donnie at the wheel, the stopwatches along pit lane showed that he was making a run at pole position. Still unfamiliar with his car, he pulled out all the stops as John Nep and the rest of the crew watched and time from the last turn. And he did it. By less than a tenth of a second, Donnie took the pole. Donnie, congratulations. Thank you. >> Fantastic. This was your first uh pole position with a new car. How does it feel? >> Feels great. You know, it's uh we're finally seeing some of the potential that we've always hoped for in the car. >> How is it uh running? I mean, the straightaway speed and so on. >> Straightaway was fine and uh we uh only had a couple laps, but uh it ended up working out well for us and it was very very close at the end, but we ended up with a pole and we're extremely happy. Let me tell you something about having race driving as a profession. It isn't a sport like baseball, football, where most people have tried it for themselves at one time or another. Oh, sure, people have driven cars on the highway. But a magnificent machine like this one that Paul Newman drives, very few of us will ever be lucky enough to try one. But I'm about to take it out for a test drive. Come with me now and see a little bit what it's like. One of the first things you notice when you get into a racing car is how comfortable it is inside. I mean, it may look crowded, but in fact, everything is sized perfectly to fit the driver. From the molded seat back to the way the belts fit to the distance the steering wheel it is away from me. There's something almost ritualistic about the moments just before going out onto the track. First, I put in my earplugs. Then, I pull on the fireproof balaclava. I feel as if I'm in another world almost. I can no longer hear the mechanic's voices. And like a deep sea diver, I become conscious of the sound of my own breathing in the helmet. The technique of high-speed driving demands that you use the whole width of the road. You take the turns fastest, not by using the shortest route through them, but the longest. First wide to the outside, then into the apex, then out wide again. What makes a good driver? There are certain physical necessities. Sharp eyes, good reflexes, good balance. But in the end, these mean nothing more to a great driver than brushes and paint would to an artist. What separates one good driver from another is all in the mind. Concentration, judgment, the will to win. Technique can be taught, but what really counts cannot. From the west coast, the racers headed east to Limerock, Connecticut. I live in a nearby town, so for me it was a return home. When I outgrew my dirt track on the farm, I was able to get permission to practice at Limerock, and I drove here long before I was old enough to have a license to drive on the street. Limerock also happens to be the place where Paul Newman did much of his early racing, and as a result, both of us had high expectations for the weekend. The race was held on a particularly hot afternoon in late May. Its 2 and 1/2 hour length prompted some teams to use two drivers per car, but Paul and I decided we'd each go it alone. From the moment of the start, it was obvious that the careful pacing and strategy that is used for endurance races like Riverside was out the window. This was to be a sprint all the way. Lime Rock is a track with a hometown advantage really pays off. The pavement is rough, the track twisty, and it just seems that the more miles you have under your belt here, the quicker you go. All at once, Paul was competitive with cars that had been faster in earlier races, and so was I. My team was still without our turbo engine, but on this track, where the cornering ability of the car counted for so much, our Dodson moved quickly from sixth in our class to fifth, then fourth. Meanwhile, Paul was running fifth overall, and his rivals couldn't seem to stay on the road. David Hobs went off in the BMW. Chris Cord spun in his Monza. And here the Italian ace Jean Pero Moretti slides off the downhill in his turbo Porsche. In the midst of the action, Paul shot into the pits. Shades of Riverside, he cut another tire. Moments later, I too rushed into the pits, but this was just a routine stop to clean the oil street windshield and refuel. I was back on the track in less than 20 seconds. I found it was fairly easy to catch cars, but without the horsepower I needed to pass them on the straights, I often had to wait several laps for an opening. I was exhausted from the heat, but things were going incredibly well. As the race drew to a close, I found myself in second place. For a few moments, I was dazed with the heat and dehydration. But it was great to realize I'd done well in front of the home crowd. For Paul, however, there was no happy ending. His car's experimental throttle linkage had failed with less than a quarter of the race to go. >> The season was almost over when the racers came to Road Atlanta in the Georgia Hills. My team and Paul's were both finished for the year, but for Don Devonorf, road Atlanta was to be a critical event. His pole position at Portland had proved that the car was capable of a burst of speed. Now the team had to show that they could sustain that speed. In Atlanta, Donnie qualified second behind a BMW designed specially for competition. As the race starts, both Donnie and the BMW are obscured by cars running in a different class. Here comes the pack toward the first turn. 60 laps, 150 miles to go. There's Donnie. He's made a good start through the first turn. It's the BMW. Ben Donnie right behind as they head up the hill. Here they come into the Essence. Donnie, this is great. He's staying with the BMW on a part of the track I wouldn't have thought favored the Dodson. There he goes. The back straight. All that counts here is horsepower. Dividendorf. He's pulling out around the BMW. They're neck and neck and Donniey's taking the lead. No question about it. To make a pass like that, you need significantly superior horsepower. Now coming up to the bridge, Donnie is able to hold his advantage down the hill to the finish line. And there's a spin. A Porsche BMW are off. I wouldn't say either car looks damaged. Okay, end of the first lap and it's Steven Dorf leading. This is really the first direct confrontation between the Dodson and the BMW here. They head through the S's. Donnie still maintaining his advantage. Here's the straight. Look at the gap Donnie has opened up in just one lap and now he's going to pull even further ahead. You know, you think back to all the calculations made when the car was still in the design stage, and now we're seeing all that stuff come true. I must say, I'm amazed at the power. Look at Donnie rip past that Corvette. Now, it's just a question of whether the car can last. They're crashing the bridge. That thing has really been torn apart. Well, this partially blocks the track. That's Brian Redmond squeezing through there in the Lola. Good. The driver's getting out. Okay. But but look at that gas leaking out of fire. Oh my god. It's burst into flames. This is going to block the track completely. They have to stop the race. No question about it. Yep. That's what they're doing. It's the only choice. You obviously can't have cars trying to race through that fire. Come on. Just look at those flames. I'm glad we saw the driver get out. All the cars stopped safely, but it took an hour to clean up the track. When the race resumed, Donnie continued to run well, although tire troubles kept him from staying in the lead. Nevertheless, for Donnie and for the team, Road Atlanta was the moment all their work paid off. How did it go for you? You led early on, you had tire trouble. >> Yes. And uh we had a little bit of a long pit stop, but uh you know, taking all things into account, we led, the car went well, and the exhaust system held together, and uh we really met our goal. >> Listen, we saw this car, of course, a few months ago when it was only parts and pieces on the floor, and it's fantastic. You've just finished a really grueling 150 mi event. How does it look for you for next year? >> It looks great. Uh the car finishing this way, this race, uh really is encouraging, and I'm really looking forward to next year. >> Next year, it was still many months away, but already the planning and the work had begun. For Paul Newman, next year would mean a brand new car, which would utilize much of the technology developed in the turbo car this season. So, the coming year was very much on his mind. But there was just one small problem. >> Every year I keep saying that I'm going to, you know, stop all this. And so now it looks like I got a couple of really good scripts that will go during the spring and the summer. So all I have to do is burn all those scripts, you see, so I get back in the car again. Any racing season will have its good moments and its bad. But in the long run, winning or losing matters less to those of us who race than you might think. What does matter are those few fleeting moments behind the wheel in full control when the rest of the world is forgotten. Jason, you ready? >> Yeah. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause]