Paul Edward Goldsmith (October 2, 1925 – September 6, 2024) was an American racing driver. During his career he raced motorcycles, stock cars, and Indianapolis cars, achieving success in each discipline.
Goldsmith won the USAC Stock Car national championship in 1961 and 1962, driving a Pontiac for Ray Nichels. Earlier in his career, he was a successful motorcycle racer within the AMA circuit, capturing the Daytona 200 for Harley-Davidson in 1953. In 1958, driving a Pontiac for Smokey Yunick, Goldsmith won the final NASCAR stock car race on the Daytona Beach road course.
At the time of his death, Goldsmith was the oldest living former driver to have competed in the FIA World Drivers' Championship, as well as the oldest living veteran of the Indianapolis 500; he and A. J. Foyt were the last living competitors from the 1958 Indianapolis 500.
Early life
Born on October 2, 1925, in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Goldsmith relocated to Detroit, Michigan, with his family at an early age.
During the Second World War, Goldsmith served in the Merchant Marine. After the war, he worked full-time at a Chrysler plant in Detroit. He co-owned a service-station in Royal Oak, Michigan, until 1952.
Motorcycle career
Goldsmith began riding motorcycles soon after the end of the Second World War. His racing career began by accident in 1946, while spectating an event at Partington Pastures in Sterling Heights, Michigan. A lower number of riders appeared than had been expected, and Goldsmith was invited to participate, finishing third. He soon began competing locally every weekend.
Goldsmith would race Harley-Davidsons throughout his cycling career, possibly inspired by Leo Anthony, a Michigan-born rider at the peak of his career in 1946. During 1947, Goldsmith earned the backing of leading Detroit Harley-Davidson dealer Earl Robinson. Teaming up with Robinson's chief mechanic, Boots Carnegie, Goldsmith campaigned throughout the county fair circuit of the Midwest.
Harley–Davidson relationship, and AMA success
In 1952, Goldsmith competed until midway though the season before scoring his first podium of the year, a third place in the Class C National Championship event, a 25-mile race held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The following week, Goldsmith scored the first victory of his career, winning at the Milwaukee Mile, close to the headquarters of Harley-Davidson. Two weeks later, he finished second in a 5-mile event at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
For the opening race of the 1953 season, the Daytona 200 on the Daytona Beach road course, Goldsmith entered riding the newly developed Harley-Davidson KR-TT road-racing variant of the KR model introduced the season before. While in Daytona Beach, Goldsmith would work on his cycles at the race shop owned by famed local racer Marshall Teague. It was on one such occasion that Goldsmith first met and began consulting famed local mechanic Henry "Smokey" Yunick, going on to impress him with his racing style and work ethic. Goldsmith prepared diligently for the event, fine-tuning his engine and testing repeatedly on local roads. During the season Goldsmith continually finished in points and prize-paying positions. Later, he won a 250-mile stock car event held during the 1953 Michigan State Fair. After initially being scored in second place, a later review of the scoring tape revealed Goldsmith the true winner.
Early NASCAR career (1956–1958)
During the 1956 Daytona Speedweeks, Goldsmith was competing in that year's Daytona 200 when he interacted with Yunick. During the Southern 500 that year, Goldsmith started and finished the race in the top 5. The next event at Langhorne saw Goldsmith considered a dark horse, due to his strong performance at Darlington, and his previous motorcycling experience at Langhorne. Starting on the outside of the front row, Goldsmith dominated the 300 mile event. Leading 182 of 300 laps, Goldsmith beat runner-up Lee Petty by a seven-lap margin. In addition to his victory, Goldsmith recorded three other top-five finishes in nine races during 1956.
After continuing with Chevrolet for the first few rounds of the 1957 season, Yunick switched to Ford following the Daytona Beach race. Competing with them for the first several months of the season, their factory-backing was cut off after the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) instituted a ban on factory programs in June, in response to increasing public concern over highway safety. During the 1957 Southern 500 held on September 2 at Darlington Raceway, which he had been favored by many to win, Goldsmith sustained serious injuries in an accident which also seriously injured Fonty Flock and killed Bobby Myers. Running for Yunick and occasionally Pete DePaolo, Goldsmith would finish the season with four wins and six other top-five finishes in 25 events that season. Most notable was the Raleigh 250, run on July 4.
In 1958, Goldsmith was the winner of the final Grand National race at the famous Daytona Beach Road Course. His victory would make him the only racer to win the Daytona Beach road course both in a stock car and on a motorcycle. Driving a Pontiac in the event, he led the race from start to finish. A few weeks later, Goldsmith quit the NASCAR circuit, motivated by a desire to race in the Indianapolis 500, sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC).
Association with Ray Nichels
Goldsmith's win at Daytona had attracted the attention of Semon Knudsen, the general manager of GM's Pontiac division. Knudsen, seeking to change Pontiac's stodgy image with the public, had recently hired Ray Nichels, until recently an Indianapolis car mechanic, to begin building Pontiac into a performance brand. That fall, Knudsen arranged a meeting between Nichels and Goldsmith, after which the latter was hired to be Nichels' Pontiac development driver.
Working well together, Nichels soon hired Goldsmith directly, where he replaced Pat O'Connor as Nichels' Firestone test driver. For most of 1958 and 1959, Goldsmith's commitment to break into the Indianapolis establishment, and later his business commitments with Nichels meant he had little time for a robust racing schedule, competing in only a handful of Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) sanctioned stock car events in the Midwest.
USAC career (1960–1965)
1960
Goldsmith returned to racing in 1960, competing on the USAC circuit. While he recorded four poles, and finished near the front with regularity, he did not reach victory lane until the final race of the season, in Dayton. Taking the lead from Don White on the opening lap, Goldsmith dominated the event, leading from flag to flag, and only briefly being challenged by Tony Bettenhausen. Goldsmith earned a significant bonus for laps lead during the event, which took place on his 33rd birthday.
1961
Goldsmith opened the 1961 season with a victory in the Jimmy Bryan Memorial, held in Phoenix. Starting on the pole, Goldsmith was challenged by Rodger Ward during the early stages, before taking the lead for good on the 21st lap. In DuQuoin, Goldsmith, again on pole, dueled again with Ward, before taking the lead for good on the 63rd lap as Ward bobbled. At the 250-mile event at the Milwaukee Mile on September 17, the most prestigious event of the season, Goldsmith had a difficult race. Dropping out on lap 60, he took over teammate Len Sutton's car, only to drop out again on lap 130. Taking over the year-old Pontiac of Whitey Johnson, Goldsmith was able to fight to a leader lap finish of fifth place. In the final race of the season, at Trenton, Goldsmith came from behind to win the race as well as the championship, edging out Nelson, who finished fourth, for the title. Goldsmith won the 1961 USAC Stock Car national championship, with seven poles, ten wins, 16 top-five finishes in 19 races.
1962
Goldsmith again started strong for 1962. In a two-heat event at Riverside to open the season, Dan Gurney was disqualified from the first for lightening of his car. Goldsmith won the second heat over Gurney, and was declared the overall winner. Goldsmith won his second consecutive road-course event, the Peterborough Invitational Trophy at Circuit Mont-Tremblant, in Canada. The 250-mile event consisted again of two heats. The combined highest average time of the two heats determined the winner. Goldsmith finished second behind Ward in the first heat, and beat Ward in the second. His combined time was two-seconds faster. He won the USAC championship in 1962 with six poles, eight wins, and 15 top-five finishes in 20 races.
1963
Goldsmith and Nichels did not record as much success during the 1963 season, which saw Nichels Engineering transition from Pontiac to Plymouth factory support. Although they recorded three wins during the season, they also skipped several events, and suffered numerous mechanical DNFs. The end of the season saw Goldsmith seemingly ranked ninth in the points standings. In 1963, Goldsmith, in a Pontiac Tempest, won the non-championship NASCAR Challenge Cup at Daytona International Speedway, lapping a Ferrari 250 GTO multiple times.
Suspension from USAC
While a USAC regular, Goldsmith and Nichels occasionally participated in NASCAR-sanctioned events. Due to compete in the 1963 NASCAR season-ending Golden State 400 at Riverside on November 6, USAC informed Goldsmith's team at the end of October that USAC would not permit their drivers to participate in the event, despite it having an FIA-affiliation. This effective ban lead to all USAC drivers, except Goldsmith, to withdraw. Goldsmith, who later claimed never to have been notified directly by USAC, declared that as an employee of his team and Plymouth, he intended to uphold his obligation to compete.
Goldsmith did not participate in the original day of qualifying, instead setting his time during a last chance session on November 3. His time broke the recent track record set by Dan Gurney during the main qualifying session held on October 31.
The day following the race, Henry Banks, USAC official and a former driver, announced that Goldsmith had been suspended by USAC for a period of one year, and stripped him of his points earned during 1963. Goldsmith threatened to relocate to Mexico, which he claimed would allow him to compete as an FIA-licensed foreign driver. USAC responded by affirming that such an action would lead to no change in Goldsmith's status. Goldsmith and Nichels were soon rumored to compete in NASCAR during the 1964 Grand National season. Goldsmith and Nichels returned to the USAC Stock Car circuit for the second race of the season – the Yankee 300 at the Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) road course – edging out Parnelli Jones for pole position. Goldsmith fell to 15th place during the opening lap, after going off-course at the first turn. He finished in second behind the winner, Norm Nelson. At the IRP oval two races later, Goldsmith won over Nelson, driving the 150-mile event without pitting. Goldsmith won three more races heading into the final race of the season, but lost the championship to Norm Nelson during the final event of the season.
Championship Car career
Goldsmith competed in eight races in the USAC Championship Car series, between 1958 and 1963 with six of those starts in the Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top five twice at Indianapolis, following up a fifth-place finish in 1959 with a third in 1960.
World Drivers' Championship career
The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship participation, and were eligible to score WDC points alongside those which they may have scored towards the AAA/USAC National Championship.
Goldsmith participated in three World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He finished in the top three once, and scored six World Drivers' Championship points.
Personal life
During his racing career, Goldsmith became one of the first drivers to become a pilot, often flying to and from races. After his retirement from driving, flying primarily a Cessna 421, he transported engines and parts to and from races.
For several decades following racing, Goldsmith owned a series of ranches and restaurants.
- USAC Hall of Fame (2018)
Motorsports career results
Indianapolis 500 results
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Year
!Car
!Start
!Qual
!Rank
!Finish
!Laps
!Led
!Retired
|-
!1958
|31
|16
|142.744
|24
|30
|0
|0
|Crash T3
|-
!1959
|99
|16
|142.670
|19
|5
|200
|0
|Running
|-
!1960
|99
|26
|142.783
|27
|3
|200
|0
|Running
|-
!1961
|10
|17
|144.741
|25
|14
|160
|0
|Connecting Rod
|-
!1962
|53
|26
|146.437
|26
|26
|26
|0
|Magneto
|-
!1963
|99
|9
|150.163
|5
|18
|149
|0
|Crankshaft
|-
|colspan=6|Totals
|735
|0
|
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Starts
|6
|-
!Poles
|0
|-
!Front Row
|0
|-
!Wins
|0
|-
!Top 5
|2
|-
!Top 10
|2
|-
!Retired
|4
|}
References
External links
- Biography from Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum note: The Motorcycle HoF bio is incorrect; Paul never won the Daytona 500, but instead, won both automobile and motorcycle races on the beach/road course.