| By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
January 21, 2006
10:06 AM EST (15:06 GMT)
When first founded by French explorer Cadillac in 1701, Detroit -- or "the strait" -- was nothing more than a military outpost on the western frontier. Funny how 200 years can change one's perception of a place. Not only is the Motor City renowned for its cars, but also for an amazing array of musical influences, and not just the Motown Sound. Della Reese, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder are Michigan natives, but so are Ted Nugent, Bob Seger and Madonna Ciccone Ritchie, although she normally just uses her first name. Astronaut Roger Chaffee, director Francis Ford Coppola, actors Tom Selleck and Lily Tomlin, basketball star Magic Johnson and aviator Charles Lindbergh all hail -- or "hail to the victors valiant" as it were -- from the Wolverine State. Where else can you get a pasty from Houghton or pierogi from Hamtramck, a Mackinaw from Mackinac, or fried chicken from Frankenmuth and wash it down with a cold Vernors? However, Michigan is first and foremost about automobiles -- and NASCAR's been a part of that from the start. Best behind the wheel • Paul Goldsmith, St. Clair Shores If it had a motor and wheels, Paul Goldsmith could make it go fast. Goldsmith excelled when it came to motorcycles, stock cars, Indy cars -- even airplanes. Born in West Virginia, Goldsmith moved with his family to the Detroit area as a teenager. After World War II, he began riding motorcycles and found an early talent for racing them.  |
| Inside the Numbers |
| Paul Goldsmith's NASCAR career |
| Year |
Starts |
W |
T5 |
T10 |
| 1956 |
9 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
| 1957 |
25 |
4 |
10 |
15 |
| 1958 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| 1961 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| 1962 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| 1963 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| 1964 |
14 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
| 1966 |
21 |
3 |
11 |
11 |
| 1967 |
21 |
0 |
7 |
8 |
| 1968 |
15 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
| 1969 |
11 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
| Totals |
127 |
9 |
44 |
59 |
|
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From 1947 until 1955, Goldsmith scored five American Motorcyclist Association national victories, including the 1953 Daytona 200, riding a Harley-Davidson on the old Beach course with some help from mechanic Smokey Yunick, owner of the "Best Damn Garage in Town." When he wasn't on the bike, Goldsmith was working full-time at the Chrysler plant in Detroit. His last AMA national victory came in Schererville, Ind., in 1955. A year later, he was in the driver's seat of one of Yunick's cars at Atlanta. Goldsmith's NASCAR debut wasn't impressive -- he crashed 36 laps into the 100-lap race -- but he would soon string together a series of top finishes, starting with a fourth-place run at Martinsville in his next appearance. Goldsmith would go on to put Yunick's Chevrolet in Victory Lane at Langhorne later that year, then win four more races in 1957 as the two switched to Fords. Switching makes in 1958, Goldsmith and Yunick combined for a win in the final NASCAR race held on Daytona's beach and road course -- making Goldsmith the only driver to win there on a bike and a stock car. He also branched out to open-wheel cars about that time. He made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1958, driving a car owned by Yunick and sponsored by the car of Daytona Beach. Unfortunately, he was caught up in the first-lap crash that killed Pat O'Connor and finished 30th. But just like his NASCAR debut, Goldsmith showed immediate improvement in following seasons. In the 1959 Indy 500, he was fifth -- and in 1960, he finished third behind Jim Rathmann and Rodger Ward in what may still be the greatest Indy 500 ever run. Goldsmith continued to run select races in NASCAR -- winning a Daytona qualifier, Rockingham and Bristol for Ray Nichels in 1966 -- until his retirement from racing in 1969. Following that, Goldsmith -- who was one of the first NASCAR drivers to fly to all of his races -- concentrated his efforts on his aviation engine business. In addition, he owned several fast-food restaurants in the midwest and a pair of thoroughbred horse ranches in Florida. Goldsmith, a member of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, was still logging over 600 hours of flying time each year, well into his 70s. Other noteworthy drivers from Michigan • Johnny Benson Jr., Grand Rapids: 1995 Busch Series champ found Victory Lane at Rockingham in 2002 • Gordon Johncock, Coldwater: Two-time Indy 500 winner had three top-fives in 21 NASCAR starts • Iggy Katona, Willis: Seventh at Dayton in 1952 was his best finish in a career that started in 1951 and ended in 1974 • Ron Keselowski, Troy: Oldest of two racing brothers, had a best finish of fifth at Michigan twice in 68 appearances • Butch Miller, Coopersville: Midwest short-track legend had a best of eighth at Pocono in 41 starts • Bill Shirey, Detroit: Three top-10s during a four-year stretch from 1969-1972 • David Simko, Clarkston: Six of his ten career starts came at Michigan • Jack Sprague, Spring Lake: Three-time Truck Series champ's best effort in Cup was a 14th in the rain-shortened 2003 Daytona 500 We wish ... Sheila Young-Ochowicz had become a NASCAR driver. Like Goldsmith, another Michigander who understood how to go fast on two wheels -- or two skates -- the Birmingham native and two-time USOC sportswoman of the year won three speed skating medals in the 1976 Olympics and was a two-time world champion cyclist. Keeping it on track • Michigan International Speedway Located in the Irish Hills of southeastern Michigan, groundbreaking for the two-mile D-shaped oval began in 1967 and more than 2.5 million yards of dirt were moved during its construction. Charles Moneypenny, who had designed Daytona International Speedway, designed the Michigan oval. The original layout included infield and exterior roads, which could be configured into a 3-mile or two 1.9-mile road courses. The road courses were designed by Formula One great Stirling Moss and are still used on a limited basis for passenger car testing by area law enforcement agencies. The last interior road course race was held in 1984, and the last time the exterior road course was used was in 1973. The first race was held in 1968, with NASCAR's debut coming a year later, as Cale Yarborough edged Lee Roy Yarbrough in a thrilling last-lap duel. Gone but not forgotten • Michigan State Fairgrounds, Detroit | | |  | ARCHIVE | NASCAR.COM takes you inside the garages and breaks down the action from Daytona.
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The dirt mile hosted a pair of NASCAR races in the early '50s. An amazing 59 cars started the 1951 Motor City 250, with Curtis Turner and Fonty Flock leading the majority of the race before Flock crashed and Turner suffered from overheating. Tommy Thompson came on to win, beating Joe Eubanks by 37 seconds. The series returned in 1952, this time with a 47-car field. Once again, two of the early leaders -- Dick Rathmann and Lee Petty -- dropped out, leaving Tim Flock to lead 162 of the 250 laps and take the checkered flag as Hudsons took the top three spots. The fairgrounds continued to host open-wheel racing until the mid-60s. Local residents objected to a proposal to build a one-mile oval on the site in 2001. Other tracks which have hosted NASCAR races • Grand River Speedrome, Grand Rapids: The dirt half-mile hosted 100-milers in 1951 and 1954, with Marshall Teague and Lee Petty victorious • Monroe Speedway, Monroe: Tim Flock made it a Michigan sweep in 1952 when he won the 200-lapper at this dirt half-mile A word from our sponsor Detroit has been the "Motor City" since Ransom Olds put his automobile factory on Jefferson Avenue East in 1899. Henry Ford, who had been tinkering around with gas-powered engines since he invented the Quadricycle in 1896, founded his company in 1903. At that time, there were already 15 car manufacturers in Michigan, including David Buick's plant in Flint. Racing legend Louis Chevrolet partnered with two others to form his own car-making company in 1913. General Motors bought the operating assets five years later. The Dodge brothers of John and Horace (not to be confused with the Dodge Boys, who would come much later) got their start building transmissions for Mr. Olds and then engines for Mr. Ford. They decided to strike out on their own in 1914, selling their company to Walter Chrysler in 1928. Other Michigan-based automotive aftermarket companies include Affinia Group (Ann Arbor), Clevite Engine Parts (Ann Arbor), Federal-Mogul (Southfield) and Visteon (Van Buren Township). One NASCAR sponsor that doesn't involve the automotive industry is Battle Creek-based cereal manufacturer Kellogg's. | 
