Don Edmunds

Don Edmunds (23 September 1930 - 11 August 2020): Born in Santa Ana, California, Don Edmunds was an American racing driver and car builder whose influence on American motorsport extended far beyond his own driving career. Edmunds began racing on the dirt tracks of California before moving up to championship car racing. His Indianapolis 500 debut came in 1957, where his impressive performance earned him the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award after finishing nineteenth, beating out Bill Cheesbourg, Elmer George, Mike Magill, and Eddie Sachs. His driving career at Indianapolis was brief but memorable.

A serious practice accident at the Speedway in 1958 effectively ended his Indy career, though he had demonstrated his potential with his strong rookie showing. However, Edmunds' greatest contributions to motorsport came after he hung up his helmet. Following his retirement from driving, Edmunds founded Autoresearch, Inc. in Anaheim, California, a company that would revolutionize American short-track racing.

Over just 15 years, his AutoResearch shop built over 700 cars, including midgets, sprint cars, Indy cars, and numerous Formula Vee cars. The quality and innovation of Edmunds' designs were proven on track, as cars built by AutoResearch won multiple USAC National Midget Championships during the 1960s and 1970s. His engineering expertise extended beyond racing cars. Edmunds created the blueprints and performed most of the fabrication work on the original Bill Thomas Cheetah prototype sports car racer.

In a completely different but equally spectacular project, he built Evel Knievel's Snake River Canyon Sky cycle for the daredevil's famous 1974 attempted jump. Edmunds' contributions to American motorsport were recognized with induction into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991 and the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1994. His legacy lives on through the countless drivers who achieved success in cars bearing his design and construction. Don Edmunds passed away on 11 August 2020 in Gold Beach, Oregon, at the age of 89, leaving behind a remarkable legacy as both a competitor and an innovator who shaped American short-track racing for generations.