Thirty years ago, and continuing forward for many seasons, Newman-Haas Racing was second only to Team Penske as a power in the INDYCAR world. At various times, its drivers ranged from Mario Andretti to Nigel Mansell to Sebastian Bourdais. Sadly, both of the team’s main principals, Paul Newman and longtime Lola importer Carl Haas, have been passed on for some years. In an amazing public offering, the auction house RM Sotheby’s is planning to present a huge sale of Newman-Haas memorabilia, a notion that goes along way, given that the items being offered for sale will include no less than 40 cars that raced at the Indianapolis 500, in the CART series and in the then-Indy Racing League.
Besides Lola chassis, the race cars represent the products of fabricators ranging from Swift to Dallara. One of our favorites is the Lola-Chevrolet seen above from 1991, when the Andrettis, father and son, were Newman-Haas teammates and when Michael Andretti engaged Rick Mears in one of the most thrilling late-race duels in Indianapolis 500 history. This once-in-a-lifetime sale of gilt-edged racing goodies is set for October 29.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 