Paul Goldsmith (racing driver)
American racing driver (1925–2024)
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 United States 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.
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