In 1958, driving a Pontiac for Smokey Yunick, Goldsmith won the final NASCAR stock car race on the Daytona Beach road course.

[2] Born on October 2, 1925, in Parkersburg, West Virginia,[3] Goldsmith relocated to Detroit, Michigan, with his family at an early age.

Teaming up with Robinson's chief mechanic, Boots Carnegie, Goldsmith campaigned throughout the county fair circuit of the Midwest.

During the year, Goldsmith scored two further podiums – third place in a 20-mile event at Bay Meadows, in San Mateo, California; and third in a 5-mile national at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

[9] 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.

[12] 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.

[12] On March 14, starting in the second row, Goldsmith took the lead on the first lap heading into the North turn, before being passed by John Hicks on the back stretch.

[12] On the tenth lap, a serious accident occurred, which bunched up the field, allowing Kretz and Goldsmith to pass Hicks.

On lap 21, shortly before the midpoint of the race, Goldsmith passed Kretz for the lead heading into the North turn.

[7] During the 1954 Daytona 200, Goldsmith again took the lead on the opening lap before settling into a consistent pace, running second behind Joe Leonard.

[8] That season, the first in which the AMA applied a championship point system, Goldsmith took a victory in the Charity Newsies, a 10-mile national at the Ohio State Fairgrounds half mile.

Goldsmith finished second on the half mile oval at the Meade County Fairgrounds' 5-mile event in Sturgis, South Dakota.

He experienced quick success, winning his first ever event driving a modified Ford roadster, in a race in Detroit.

"[13] Yunick then asked Goldsmith to drive him around a race course set up on the Titusville-Cocoa Airport, located south of Daytona Beach.

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.

[24] During the 1957 Southern 500 held on September 2 at Darlington Raceway, which he had been favored by many to win,[25] Goldsmith sustained serious injuries in an accident which also seriously injured Fonty Flock and killed Bobby Myers.

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).

[28] Goldsmith's win at Daytona had attracted the attention of Semon Knudsen, the general manager of GM's Pontiac division.

[29] Goldsmith would begin putting in thousands of miles of testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Southwestern track.

While he recorded 4 poles, and finished near the front with regularity, he did not reach victory lane until the final race of the season, in Dayton.

[34] The conclusion of the season saw Goldsmith and Nichels finish second in points, a significant margin behind the champion, Norm Nelson.

In addition to his earnings from the Indianapolis 500, Goldsmith's prize money accrued during the Stock Car season saw him finish sixth overall among earners of all USAC-sanctioned series.

Starting on the pole, Goldsmith was challenged by Rodger Ward during the early stages, before taking the lead for good on the 21st lap.

[39] Goldsmith won the 1961 USAC Stock Car national championship, with 7 poles, 10 wins, 16 top-five finishes in 19 races.

[41] Goldsmith's won his second consecutive road-course event, the Peterborough Invitational Trophy at Circuit Mont-Tremblant, in Canada.

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.

His time broke the recent track record set by Dan Gurney during the main qualifying session held on October 31.

[46] Gurney, along with fellow USAC drivers A. J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Roger Penske, and Rodger Ward did not compete in the event.

[49] 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.