INDIANAPOLIS — Six-time Indianapolis 500 starter Paul Goldsmith has died at age 98.
According to a press release, Goldsmith was the oldest living Indy 500 starter before he died at his home in Munster on Friday.
Goldsmith competed in the Indy 500 annually from 1958-63. His best finish came in 1960, when he finished third. He also placed fifth in 1959.
Goldsmith earned his best qualifying position in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in 1963, when he started ninth in what would be his final Indy 500.
Goldsmith also finished zero laps in one Indy 500. In 1958, he was caught in a multi-car crash that ultimately resulted in the death of Pat O'Connor.
In his career, Goldsmith started in eight open-wheel races. They were all United States Auto Club (USAC) events.
Goldsmith also enjoyed a great deal of success as a NASCAR driver. In 1956, he won his first NASCAR event driving for engine builder Smokey Yunick's team — a 300-mile race at Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania.
In total, Goldsmith won nine races and racked up 59 top-10 finishes in 127 career NASCAR starts. His last NASCAR win came in 1996 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.
Goldsmith was also the last person to win the NASCAR Grand National on the old beach course in Daytona Beach, Florida. His win came in 1958 while Daytona International Speedway was being built.
Goldsmith's stock car career began when he won a 250-mile race at the Detroit Fairgrounds in 1953. He won 26 USAC stock car races in 85 career starts. He also finished in the top three in 44 of the 85 USAC stock car events he appeared in.
Goldsmith won USAC stock car championships in 1961 and 1962. He finished second on the circuit in 1960 and 1965.
In addition to his exploits on four wheels, Goldsmith also proved to be a solid motorcyclist. He reigned victorious at the Daytona 200 motorcycle race in 1953.
Goldsmith is the only person to ever win both motorcycle and stock car races on the old Daytona beach course.
Goldsmith began his career as an American Motorcycle Association racer in 1952, while he was still working full-time at a Chrysler factory. That year, he won on a one-mile dirt track at Wisconsin State Fair Park. The track was later paved and is now known as the Milwaukee Mile.
Goldsmith ran numerous laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in November 1961, when he and six other drivers competed in a 24-hour race. They used a Police Enforcer version of the Pontiac Catalina and a conventional Catalina during the race.
Goldsmith and company were also the first drivers to compete on the fully paved oval track at IMS. The front straightaway was converted from its original brick to asphalt in October 1961.
Goldsmith was a member of the IMS, Motorsports, Motorcycle and USAC Halls of Fame. He retired from racing in 1969 to focus on his aviation-related exploits.