Racers and car enthusiasts rolled over to the charity screening of “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.

The film — preceded by a red carpet and followed by an after-party, both held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel — celebrated actor Paul Newman’s passion for racing with archived footage of the late actor and his wife, Joanne Woodward, who remained married until Newman’s death in 2008.

Director and producer Adam Carolla started making the film about two years ago. “It was just a story that I knew people didn’t know, and I wanted people to know it,” he said. Carolla talked to Bob Sharp, whose racing team Newman drove for from the mid ’70s until the ’90s, and together the two took a trip to Newman’s home track, Lime Rock Park in Salisbury, Connecticut, where the concept for the documentary took form.

Patrick Dempsey, Jay Leno, Robert Redford, Robert Wagner and Tom Cruise (via archived footage) are among the celebrities who weigh in on Newman’s life and passion for racing. “To me, it’s just sort of a posthumous love letter,” Carolla said. “I don’t think (Newman would) want to see a documentary about his acting career. But I do think he would have loved to see this.”

Funds raised at the event were donated to Racing for Cancer, a nonprofit comprised of motor sports fans united to fight cancer, and the Indy Family Foundation, which aids members of the IndyCar racing community and their families who are affected by injury, illness or death.