Almost every racing site on the net has some sort of note/tribute/obit on him. Even the NASCAR folks have a fine lead article and he was mentioned in the opening ceremonies at today's race in Kansas.

From the NASCAR article:

As he passed his 80th birthday, he remained in demand. He managed to combine acting with racing by providing the voice of a crusty 1951 car in the 2006 Disney-Pixar hit, Cars.

Johnson (Jimmie Johnson, two time and current NASCAR champ--Spaw) had the opportunity to interview him as part of a TV project he was working on. Johnson also took part in a day at a racetrack as part of the festivities leading to the premier of the animated feature.

He said they put the body of a Hudson Hornet -- the car that Newman portrayed as "Doc Hudson" in the movie -- on a stock-car frame and let him and others make laps in it.

"The only man on pit road with a stopwatch was Paul Newman," Johnson said. "He was timing the laps I was running, other guys were running. Then he got in that car that had no business, with that body especially, going around that track at speed, and he was trying to break the lap times that we were running out there with the school cars and stuff.

"You could see that spark in his eye. He had a true passion for motorsports in general. I would say more IndyCar and road racing, because that is what he came from. He was a great friend of Rick's (Rick Hendrick, Johnson's car owner--Spaw) and knew a lot more than people probably realize about NASCAR racing."

Racing folks know the passion he had and most knew he was a racer at heart and an actor by trade.

Spaw