Donald Walter Radbruch

Don Radbruch, a resident of Sagle, Idaho, for 20 years, passed away on Jan. 1, 2008, after a long illness. He was a World War II veteran, championship sprint car racer, avid historian and noted author.Born on April 14, 1924, in San Francisco, Calif., the first of two sons of the late Anne and Walter Radbruch. He was preceded in death by his brother Les, in 1980. He is survived by his wife, Naida; stepchildren, Thomas, Allison and Kevin Poore; and his two nieces, Nancy Radbruch and Diane Potratz and their children.Don became hooked on racing at a very early age, participating in Soap Box Derby races and attending local races with his family. After serving for his country in World War II and graduating from San Francisco College, Don was able to really get into racing. In 1948 Don began his racing career in earnest, racing sprint cars, and by 1951 he had won the American Racing Association championship. In 1954, Don switched his focus to the Midget Car races sponsored by the Bay Cities Racing Association and enjoyed that sport until 1967.Born to be a historian and author, as a teen Don began writing articles for several different racing publications. Don's professional career as a soil engineer kept him quite busy until he retired in the mid-1980s. He was then able to concentrate on documenting racing history. His interest and writing skills produced three books on the early history of auto racing. These books, "Roaring Roadsters", "Roaring Roadsters II" and "Dirt Track Racing" preserve the history of an important part of our American culture that otherwise would have been totally lost. Again, several racing publications continued to benefit from Don's research, including his weekly column to National Speed Sport News.Don was able to actually enjoy racing once more when he became involved in the vintage midget/sprint car group, the Pacific Northwest based- Golden Wheels. Don's interest and dedication to auto racing history continued until he took his final checkered flag.A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made the National Sprint Car Museum Foundation for the development of an automobile racing history research library. You may contact the foundation at 1 (800) 874-4488.