Fairly often, we get into a discussion of the best racing movies of all time. NASCAR fans mention Days of Thunder and Talladega Nights. Endurance fans tout Le Mans. Road Race junkies though love Winning. Not winning like the action of being victorious, but the movie starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Robert Wagner.
The average movie-goer didn’t care much about the racing in this film, but SCCA members did. They cared because they were a part of it. Chicago Region SCCA members played a significant role in the filming of Winning during the shooting at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. For the most part, members did what they would do on any given race weekend at the track: flagging, grid, or any other specialized job that would be visible in the movie. Several additional members stepped in as pit crew during the filming of a last-minute pit stop just before Capua, portrayed by Paul Newman, won the race. Additional extras included hundreds of spectators from the surrounding areas, well-accustomed to visiting the track for a race weekend.
In the February 1969 SportsCar article by Suzanna Koerner about the experience, she says, “those who manned the corners really deserve a special mention for very often they were struck on corners far away from the film locations for hours at a time with very little going on. I spent some hours on corner 13 on Saturday which was an especially cold, damp day and I now have renewed appreciate for flagmen and corner workers.”
Historians attribute Winning to Newman’s future in SCCA racing. Despite being a rookie at the age of 47, PLN went on to four SCCA National Championships. He was a movie star at home at the racetrack.