Rainey, Goldsmith Enter Motorsports HoF

The motorcycle racing legends will be honored in a ceremony at the Fillmore Detroit in Detroit, Mich. Aug. 13.

Rainey, a three-time 500cc Grand Prix World Champion and two-time AMA Superbike Champion, is also a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. In seven Grand Prix seasons, Rainey finished in the top three six times with 24 career race victories and 65 podium finishes. AMA Pro Racing chief Roger Edmondson will accept the induction in the Halls Motorcycles category on Raineys behalf.

Paul Goldsmith was one of the top racers from the late 40s to the mid 50s, winning four AMA Nationals and the 1953 Daytona 200. After retiring from motorcycle racing, Goldsmith tried his hand at automobile racing, winning the final NASCAR race run on the beach at Daytona in 1958, and is the only person to have won on the Daytona Beach Road Course in both a stock car and a motorcycle. Goldsmith will be inducted into the Halls Historic category by Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson.

Other members of the 2008 Motorsports Hall of Fame class include open wheel racing legend Michael Andretti (who will be inducted via video by Mario and Macro Andretti), NASCAR racer Buddy Baker, drag racer John Force, Formula 1 racer Richie Ginther and pilot Betty Skelton who was the first woman to reach the 300 mph mark on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

On land and in the sky, the Class of 2008 represents race wins and championships in every series in America and beyond, says Ron Watson, president of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Also scheduled to be in attendance at the induction ceremony are past inductees and Motorcycle Hall of Fame members Gary Nixon, Carroll Resweber and Jay Springsteen.