Fred Agabashian Explained

Fred Agabashian

Birth Name:

Fred Levon Agabashian

Birth Date:

21 August 1913

Birth Place:

Modesto, California, U.S.

Death Place:

Alamo, California, U.S.

Module1:

Child:	yes
Years:	1947–1958
Total Champ Races:	28
Years In Champ:	12
First Champ Race:	1947 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last Champ Race:	1957 Rex Mays Classic (Milwaukee)
First Champ Win:	1949 Golden State 100 (Sacramento)
Champ Wins:	1
Champ Podiums:	1
Champ Poles:	2

Module2:

Child:	yes
Years:	–
Races:	9 (8 starts)
Championships:	0
Wins:	0
Podiums:	0
Points:	1.5
Poles:	1
Fastest Laps:	0
Last Race:	1958 Indianapolis 500

Fred Levon Agabashian^[1] ^[2] (August 21, 1913 - October 13, 1989) was an American racer of midget cars and Indy cars.

Career

Midget car racing

Agabashian competed in his first midget car race in his teens. His first championship was the 1937 Northern California Racing Association against such drivers as Duane Carter, Lynn Deister, and Paul Swedberg.^[3] He captured the 1946 BCRA championship for Jack London. He won the 1947 and 1948 BCRA championships for George Bignotti.

Championship racing

Agabashian qualified for his first Indianapolis 500 in 1947 and finished 9th. He made the next 11 500s with a best finish of 4th in 1953, the extremely hot race day where he was relieved by Paul Russo. He qualified on the pole in 1952 in the Cummins Diesel Special, the first turbocharged Indy race car, but it dropped out after 71 laps.

Agabashian won one Championship race, a 100-mile contest at the Fairgrounds in Sacramento, CA in 1949.

He retired from the sport after failing to qualify at Indianapolis in 1958.

Broadcaster

After his retirement, Agabashian did color commentary for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, serving from 1959 to 1965 and again from 1973 to 1977.

Death

He died on 13 October 1989 at Alamo, California and was cremated.^[4]

Recognition

Agabashian was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and in 2005, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

Racing record

USAC results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Rank	Points
1947	Ross Page Offenhauser	INDY	MIL	LAN	ATL	BAI	MIL	GOS	MIL	PIK	SPR	ARL					24th	200
1948	Ross Page	ARL	INDY	MIL	LAN	MIL	SPR	MIL	DUQ	ATL	PIK	SPR	DUQ				N/A	0
1949	J.C. Agajanian	ARL	INDY	MIL	TRE	SPR	MIL	DQSF	PIK	SYR	DET	SPR	LAN	SAC	DMR		24th	200
1950	Kurtis Kraft	INDY	MIL	LAN	SPR	MIL	PIK	SYR	DET	SPR	SAC	PHX	BAY	DAR			14th	532.5
1951	J.C. Agajanian	INDY	MIL	LAN	DAR	SPR	MIL	DUQ	DUQ	PIK	SYR	DET	DNC	SJS	PHX	BAY	25th	278.2
1952	J.C. Agajanian	INDY	MIL	RAL	SPR	MIL	DET	DQSF	PIK	SYR	DNC	SJS	PHX				35th	80
1953	Grancor Auto	INDY	MIL	SPR	DET	SPR	MIL	DQSF	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX				19th	315
1954	Bardahl Racing	INDY	MIL	LAN	DAR	SPR	MIL	DQSF	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX	LVG			14th	460
1955	Federal Engineering	INDY	MIL	LAN	SPR	MIL	DQSF	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX					N/A	0
1956	Federal Engineering	INDY	MIL	LAN	DAR	ATL	SPR	MIL	DQSF	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX				32nd	50
1957	George Bignotti Racing	INDY	LAN	MIL	DET	ATL	SPR	MIL	DQSF	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX			N/A	0
1958	City of Memphis	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	ATL		MIL	DQSF	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX			N/A	0

Indianapolis 500 results

Year^[5]	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Led	Retired
1947	41	23	121.478	13	9	191	0	Flagged
1948	26	32	122.737	28	23	58	0	Oil line
1949	15	31	127.007	25	27	38	0	Overheating
1950	28	2	132.792	3	28	64	0	Oil line
1951	59	11	135.029	6	17	109	0	Clutch
1952	28	1	138.010	3	27	71	0	Clogged air intake
1953	59	2	137.546	4	4	200	1	Running
1954	77	24	137.746	30	6	200	0	Running
1955	14	4	141.933	2	32	39	0	Spun T2
1956	42	7	144.069	8	12	196	0	Flagged
1957	14	4	142.557	8	22	107	0	Fuel leak
Totals						1273	1

Starts	11
Poles	1
Front Row	3
Wins	0
Top 5	1
Top 10	3
Retired	7

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		Pts
1950	Indianapolis Race Cars	Maserati 8CL	Offenhauser 3.0 L4 s	GBR	MON	500	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA					NC	0
1951	Granatelli-Bardahl/Grancor	Kurtis Kraft 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP				NC	0
1952	Cummins Diesel	Kurtis Kraft	Cummins 3.0 L6 s	SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	NED	ITA				NC	0
1953	Grancor-Elgin Piston Pin	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	500	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA			18th	1.5
1954	Merz Engineering/Milt Marion	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP			NC	0
1955	Federal Engineering	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	500	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA					NC	0
1956	Federal Engineering	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA				NC	0
1957	Bowes Seal Fast/Bignotti	Kurtis Kraft 500G	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	500	FRA	GBR	GER	PES	ITA				NC	0
1958	City of Memphis	Kurtis Kraft 500G	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	NED	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	MOR	NC	0

Notes and References

Web site: Fred Agabashian . 2023-06-30 . www.champcarstats.com.
The Talk of Gasoline Alley. Donald Davidson (historian). WFNI. May 8, 2015.
http://www.worthyofhonor.com/Inductees/Fred_Agabashian.htm Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14000 Famous Persons, Scott Wilson
Web site: Fred Agabashian Indy 500 Race Stats . www.indy500.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060508001345/http://www.indy500.com/stats/drivers.php?drivername=Fred%20Agabashian . May 8, 2006 . February 22, 2016.