(RacingWire) – I was fortunate enough to meet Paul Newman. He was at Lime Rock Park doing one of the things he loved to do.

Newman was a larger than life figure who, while at the race track, wanted nothing mor

e than to be a very good race car driver; and a very good race car driver he was.

Newman the race car driver is the focus of the book “Winning – The Racing Life of Paul Newman.” This beautifully designed book is a tribute to Newman's racing career. The book opens with a forward by Newman's good friend Mario Andretti and from the opening pages it is clear that authors Matt Stone and Preston Lerner did their homework.

The book does a wonderful job of mapping out the path Newman took from a car crazy Hollywood star to a National Champion and well respected road racer.

“Winning” wonderfully weaves the nuts and bolts of Newman's career accomplishments with anecdotes from those who knew him well and those who knew him in passing.

His record is solid; four SCCA National Championships, a class winner at the 24 Hours of LeMans and Daytona and plenty of amateur and professional race wins.

Even if the book weren't well written it would be worth the cover price just for the pictures. From shots of Newman being coached by Bob Bondurant at Ontario Motor Speedway prior to filming “Winning;” to photos of the car he won his final race in... a wonderfully prepared GT-1 Corvette.

It was fitting Newman won his final race. I was there. In fact, I didn't realize it until reading this book that I was the flag chief for Newman's final sanctioned race. He was interviewed that weekend by Barbara Walters for story about aging gracefully. I remember vividly that my mom and wife were there and they were ecstatic about seeing Newman.

That was Newman's draw. As much as he was Hollywood royalty, he was also racing nobility. “Winning” is a fantastic testament to a man who raced for the right reasons. Not only to go fast, but much like acting, to learn the craft. He then went on to use the craft to become a wonderfully skilled and proficient racer.

For those of us who had the pleasure of being at the track with him, he wasn't Paul Newman... he was simply PLN. “Winning – The Racing Life of Paul Newman” captures the essence of PLN, racer first... and everything else second.

Motorbooks, 176 pages, $30