Leroy Goldstein
Leroy was typical of the early drag racer. He loved cars and speed so while still in his teens he bought his first car and started modifying and showing up at the local street races. Also typical of the times, Leroy soon moved his racing participation off the street onto the local drag strips. By the mid-1960s he was part of a San Diego California based two-car top fuel dragster team whose other driver was Jim Nicoll. At that time, it seemed that all of the drivers had to have a nickname and Leroy was soon dubbed the “Israeli Rocket”. Between his nickname and his driving ability, Leroy was soon getting a lot of national attention in the racing newspapers and magazines.
In 1969 Leroy got his really big break when the Michigan-based Ramchargers organization signed him to drive their top fuel dragster. The team was an immediate success winning the AHRA Winternationals and Springnationals followed by runner-up slot at the AHRA US Open and World Points Final that year. That same year Leroy posted a best time of 220.04 MPH and a 6.55 second ET while on his way to winning the prestigious Smokers Meet at New York National Speedway. The respect his fellow racers showed him was also reflected when he was initiated into the elite fraternity of fuel racers known as the “Greek Fleet” that was headed up by Chris Karamesines. Unfortunately, at the end of the season the Ramchargers chose to suspend their participation with top fuel dragsters and go funny car racing. Once again Leroy showed his driving talents by becoming one of the prime targets for the rest of the funny car competitors. Leroy and the Ramchargers were featured in all of the major open events and when time allowed followed the match race circuit. In 1970 Leroy recorded his first six second pass in a funny car with a 6.95 ET at New York National Speedway. By the end of his driving stint in the Ramchargers funny car he recorded several 6.80 ETs and drop the record at the time to a low of 6.71 ET. Leroy has also been given credit by many in the sport as being the first funny car driver to exceed the 220 MPH mark. The Ramchargers and Leroy parted company in 1972 and Leroy wound up driving for one of the other top-ranked teams at the time, Candies and Hughes.
His stint with Candies and Hughes really fit Leroy’s ideal of the perfect driving job since he drove both the team’s funny car and its top fuel dragster. Although they seldom ran both cars in competition at the same race, they did so at the IHRA Longhorn Nationals where Leroy drove the dragster to the winner’s circle and then rushed back to the starting line and drove the funny car to the runner-up position. Leroy continued to drive for Candies and Hughes through the 1972 season. 1972 was also successful for the team on the AHRA circuit where they one that years AHRA Championship crown. In 1973 they did a lot of match racing and competed successfully on the NHRA circuit with one of the more memorable races being the Summernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey. Besides winning the race what made it such a memorable event was the fact that it rained all day with the first round of eliminations starting at midnight and the final round just as the sun was coming up. After he left Candies and Hughes he drove as a fill-in driver for a couple of teams; but by the mid-1970s Leroy was experiencing some health issues and after driving the Mr. Ed/Whipple funny car a couple times he decided to retire completely.