After graduating from high school, Paul Jr. started working for his father's team, JLP Racing, learning the ins and outs of what a racing organization was. He became some kind of jack-of-all-trades within the team. As Paul Jr. started to learn about engines, his father decided his son needed to go to a racing school. He was enrolled at the Skip Barber Racing School, but Paul Jr. was deemed to be hopeless. Despite this setback, Paul Sr. bought his son a new Van Diemen Formula Ford. In 1979, he took part in SCCA National Formula Ford races, and made the SCCA National Championship Runoffs.
Paul’s career launched in 1980 when he became part of JLP Racing's driver line-up. His first race was at Coca-Cola 400 at Lime Rock. Co-driving alongside his father in a Porsche 935, they won the second heat, and subsequently the race overall. Junior had won the first IMSA race he entered. He repeated this feat by winning the Road America Pabst 500 three months later. With three second places, he would finish fourth in the final IMSA GTP standings.
During the 1981 season, the Porsche team faced a new challenge from the Lola T600. The Chevrolet-powered prototype with its better handling, driven by Englishman Brian Redman, quickly dominated the IMSA Championship. During the season, it became clear that only Junior could challenge for race victories, so Senior became JLP Racing's team manager, while Junior did the driving. Senior then only co-drove in the endurance races. Despite having the Lola, the Pauls won a rain-shortened race at Pocono in their Porsche 935 JLP-3. Using the same 935, Junior would go on to win the Daytona finale.
The Pauls started the 1982 season with back-to-back wins in the US classic endurance races, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. For the Daytona race, they were partnered by the 1977 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Champion, Rolf Stommelen. At Sebring, they overcame a gearbox failure in their 935 to win over the March 82G, led by the hard charging Bobby Rahal. The Pauls' second team car was also on the podium. More importantly, Paul's win at Road Atlanta attracted Miller Brewing Company sponsorship for the remainder of the season. He then switched to the Lola to win at Laguna Seca. He teamed up again with his father in the 935 JLP-3 to win the Charlotte 500 km.
In 1983, Paul Jr. won the Michigan 500 in only his fourth Indycar start, leading 66 of 250 laps in a VDS Associates' Penske PC10 and passing Rick Mears on the last lap. He also won the Trois-Rivières Trans-Am race for DeAtley Motorsports. At the beginning of 1983 Paul Sr. shot federal witness Stephen Caron, who would testify about Paul's illegal activities.
In 1984, Paul finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jean Rondeau in a Preston Henn’s T-Bird Swap Shop Porsche 956, and second at the Six Hours of Watkins Glen with Bruce Leven in a Bayside Disposal Racing Porsche 962. He entered nine CART races for four different teams, achieving a third-place finish at Caesars Palace for Provimi Veal Racing.
Paul Sr. was convicted of multiple crimes in 1985. Paul Jr. experienced a difficult 1985 season, with 11 DNFs in 11 IMSA starts with Conte Racing, and only finishing one race – the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix – in 17th place.
In May 1986, Paul Jr. received a five-year sentence for racketeering, with the drug charges dropped, stemming from his involvement in a drug smuggling operation with his father. He served 30 months and was released in October 1988.
Following his release, Paul returned to racing in 1989, and competed in the Indianapolis 500 from 1990 to 1994. He achieved a seventh-place finish in the 1998 Indianapolis 500, his best result in the event. He also won the 1998 Lone Star 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing eleventh in the IRL points that year.
In 1997, Paul won the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Sportscar Grand Prix, and the VISA Sports Car Championship, all with Dyson Racing. In 1999, he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona and Sebring with Corvette Racing in the debut race for the Corvette C5-R.
Paul retired from professional racing in 2001 after being diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder, after noticing discrepancies between his physical sensations and the car’s telemetry. Author Sylvia Wilkinson published a book about his life and battle with the disease, titled 50/50, in 2018.
Gallery · 1 related image
