No one I knew was into that stuff,” Carolla said.Carolla’s garage is not open to the public, and the Newman cars have never been displayed together. "When I met [Adam], he was digging ditches, literally, in the San Fernando Valley, but now he's racing Paul Newman's actual race car. He started racing professionally at age 46, and became a legend, winning four national championships, owning some very successful racing teams and eventually became the oldest driver to win at Daytona — at 70 years old.After sizing up some of the cars that led to those wins, Leno and Carolla took Newman's Nissan 300ZX to California's Sonoma Raceway to try to match the time Newman clocked there. “I knew the next time it came up for auction, it would be $10 million. So far in 2018 Adam has raced at Road Atlanta, in the Walter Mitty race, at the UK’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in the 935, in the 935 again for the Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca, and he’ll return to Laguna Seca in September for the Rennsport Reunion in the Porsche 935. I figured I could always pay for it by selling a bunch of other cars.”Carolla won the auction with a $4-million bid, bringing the acquisition price, with fees, to about $4.4 million. As Leno put it, 'We blew it up." I was never going to have $10 million. Besides, I kept an eye on the Steve McQueen stuff, which was going through the roof.”Soon Carolla had a stable and had spent $1 million or more buying Newman cars and at least that much again restoring them.Then he heard that Newman’s 1979 Porsche 935, which the actor and his team had driven to win their class and to place second overall at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, was going to be auctioned by Gooding & Co. during the 2016 car week at Pebble Beach.Carolla knew the car was going to cost a lot. Carolla also owns two of BRE's original Datsun 2000 roadster race cars, as well as the Hino transporter that hauled the cars to the track. For seven years, comedian Adam Carolla has obsessively acquired--and personally rebuilt--the largest collection of Paul Newman race cars, including Newman's own beloved Datsuns and Nissans. He restores them to competition level, and then races them.This year, he’ll take Newman cars to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England in July, the vintage races at Laguna Seca during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion in August and to the same track for the Rennsport Reunion in September.Carolla, to his regret, never got to see Newman drive any of the cars he has since acquired, though the actor was still active on the track into his early 80s.“I’m from North Hollywood. It doesn't have a happy ending. He's taken a deep dive into the actor's racing career, going so far as buying some of his old race cars.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. He also owns more cars raced by the late actor-driver Paul Newman than anyone else.That part was an accident. Chinese media portray the venture as a bust.Tesla Inc. is splitting its elevated shares in a 5-for-1 exchange, a move timed to make the stock less expensive for individual investors.Arch Motorcycle outfits its bikes with all kinds of high-end features and custom components. Most people know that in addition to being a television and podcast host (among other career projects), Adam Carolla has a pretty serious love for cars. "Got a confidential news tip? Carolla, who calls that purchase the biggest he’ll ever make, “not counting whenever I get divorced,” brought the car home and began selling off some of his collection of vintage Lamborghinis to fund the deal.Unlike some collectors, Carolla, who is also the force behind the 2015 documentary film “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,” doesn’t keep the cars in pristine condition and store them in a museum. A former staff writer for Newsweek, Variety and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, he is the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller “High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess,” the New York Times bestseller “My Lobotomy,” and “Secret Stairs, A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles” and its sequel, “Secret Walks: A Walking Guide to the Hidden Trails of Los Angeles.”Supercar designer Steve Saleen says Chinese shareholders seized his company and stole trade secrets. You may remember him from The Man Show (1999-2004) or Loveline on MTV (1996-2000) with Dr. Drew. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. "I started tracking down Newman's cars, restoring his cars, and then going out and racing them," Carolla told Leno. Car nuts will be pleased to discover that Carolla doesn't just let these cars sit in his garage. But unfortunately, their excitement was short-lived. Jay Leno and Adam Carolla take one of Paul Newman's race cars out to Sonoma Raceway to see if they can beat his time.