By Robert Emslie
To be a Renaissance Man is to express expertise in multiple disciplines. The more formal title is Polymath. One of the most famous individuals to earn this designation was Leonardo Da Vinci, and Italian dude who just so happened to actually live during the Renaissance. We have perhaps devolved over the ensuing centuries because its been my observation that many of us are unable to do so much as walk and chew gum at the same time. I mean, have you seen all the fail videos on YouTube?
This present lack of cross-specialty discipline in the masses is especially frustrating in comparison to the rare present day polymath. They just make me so angry. One class of those are celebrity racers, folks who not only have made a name for themselves on TV or in motion pictures, but are also able to acquit themselves admirably on the track. Examples of these are Steve McQueen, Eric Bana, and Paul Newman above.
Consider Newman for a moment. He was not only an accomplished actor, a success in his marriage, and in possession of impossibly dreamy blue eyes. He was also not half bad on the track, having participated in both amateur and professional events, as well as being a team owner for years. His accomplishments made the rest of us look bad, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a role model, especially for his driving ability. What celebrity do you admire for their driving, as well as their day job?
Image source: ilpost.it
Jeff Glucker
Eddie Griffin
<img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7kp_2e9cj9o/USMswskE_-I/AAAAAAAATEE/Hu8GTup_YOA/s640/eddie+griffin+enzo+crash.jpg">
It's funny that there's a Pick-A-Part billboard behind him. He's gonna need them.
Just for $kaycog.
<img src="http://sprudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/patrick-dempsey-shirtless.jpg">
He led at LeMans, finished 4th in his class. Has a full ride in ALMS and is now backed by Porsche.
Oh, yeah, baby! I came here to post him. Nice picture! 😀
Plus he's modest and self-effacing, good qualities in anyone.
My Wife teases that have a man-crush on him since I follow his racing career.
I'm just jealous of his
lookssuccess inactingracing.1. Looks…………..check.
2. Success…………….check.
3. Acting…………….check.
4. Racing………….check.
5. Drove Ford GT for several days………..check. http://www.cntraveler.com/features/2005/09/Go-Spe…
Sebastien Loeb: explanation not needed!
<img src="http://static.autoblog.nl/images/wp2013/Sebastien-Loeb-Pikes-Peak-record.jpg">
James Garner
Came here to say that.
<img src="http://www.corvetterepair.org/images/44-1.jpg"width=500>
<img src="http://www.streetlegaltv.com/photos/data/500/garner1.jpeg"width=500>
And I want to learn about the 97hp Chevy tune-up, and the new carb breakthrough for VWs, too.
For the Chevy, just throw a K$N filter on it, or at least that is what the tests show….
/thread.
Seconded!!!
Mick Fleetwood
Brian Johnson:
[youtube 3n-LJDKHWic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n-LJDKHWic youtube]
Clay Regazzoni <img src="http://2.s01.flagcounter.com/count/8DD2/bg=FFFFFF/txt=FCFCFC/border=FFFFFF/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/";;;;; alt="Free counters!" width="1" height="1" border="0" /> <img src="http://2.s03.flagcounter.com/count/tcRC/bg=FFFFFF/txt=FCFCFC/border=FFFFFF/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=Visitors/labels=1/";;;;; width="1" height="1" border="0" />
Danny Zuko
<img src="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ4NTEwNzE5MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNjAwODM2._V1._SX420_SY285_.jpg">
Rowan Atkinson
I'm torn here. I love that he basically daily drives a McLaren F1 but he's crashed it a couple of times.
Am I being too harsh?
If you daily drive anything for a couple of years, of course you're going to have accidents but it's still a McLaren F1.
I used to be an electrician, and was once climbing into my wife's grandmother's attic to add a light when my brother in law jokingly asked how many times I'd fallen through a ceiling.
"Four," I said.
Suddenly Grandma gets all uppity about me being in the attic, doesn't want me falling out of hers. I asked how many times she'd fallen through a ceiling and how many times she'd been in an unfinished attic. Zero to both.
I told her I'd been in literally thousands of attics and, given that, my percentage was excellent. It took some talking but eventually she let me go. Couldn't believe how bright her hallway was afterwards, and wondered aloud why she'd put up with it dark for so long.
I love that Atkinson drives the crap out of his F1. He's proved on many occasions that he not a bad driver, and he's one of the few folks on earth who actually puts a lot of miles on one of the greatest driver's car's in history. I tend to think that his crashes are the result of pushing things close to the edge, rather than lack of skill. And I admire that a lot.
I've since fallen through another ceiling. Stepped on a joist that some idiot carpenter hadn't nailed properly.
But it wasn't at Grandma's house.
Noel Edmonds. Gets a lot of stick on the grounds of being an "annoying bearded twat", but his involvement with racing Panoz at Le Mans is to be celebrated. And he flies helicopters.
Billy Joel
Eric Bana, not so much for his skills but because he has stayed true to his friends and his car even after becoming famous. Someone I think you could enjoy racing with and not have to worry about being to full of himself out there.
Did some body say Steve McQueen?
Without a doubt, Paul Newman leads the list. Steve McQueen / James Gardner for both actively racing during their prime years. Patrick Dempsey for being an earnest driver with a passion for racing. David Letterman for putting his money and time to sponser racing.
As an aside, Tiff Needell and Jeremy Clarkson have to be on the list. Yes their respective careers are car centric, but Needell was a legitimate race driver and Clarkson also knows how to handle a car at speed
Dick Smothers anyone?
http://www.myf5000.com/drivers_dick_smothers.html
Wow, Jackie Gleason didn't even get mentioned here. Big +1 for Jackie Gleason!
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