Fred Agabashian

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

Fred Agabashian
Born	Fred Levon Agabashian (1913-08-21)August 21, 1913 Modesto, California, U.S.
Died	October 13, 1989(1989-10-13) (aged 76) Alamo, California, U.S.
Champ Car career
28 races run over 12 years
Years active	1947–1958
Best finish	14th – 1950, 1954
First race	1947 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race	1957 Rex Mays Classic (Milwaukee)
First win	1949 Golden State 100 (Sacramento)
Wins Podiums Poles 1 1 2
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1950–1958
Teams	Maserati, Kurtis Kraft
Entries	9 (8 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	1.5
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1950 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1958 Indianapolis 500

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 9	MIL	LAN	ATL	BAI	MIL	GOS	MIL	PIK	SPR	ARL					24th	200
1948	Ross Page	ARL	INDY 23	MIL	LAN	MIL	SPR	MIL	DUQ	ATL	PIK	SPR	DUQ				N/A	0
1949	J.C. Agajanian	ARL	INDY 27	MIL	TRE	SPR	MIL	DQSF	PIK	SYR	DET	SPR	LAN	SAC 1	DMR		24th	200
1950	Kurtis Kraft	INDY 28	MIL 8	LAN 6	SPR 8	MIL 8	PIK	SYR 6	DET DNQ	SPR 4	SAC 5	PHX	BAY 13	DAR			14th	532.5
1951	J.C. Agajanian	INDY 17	MIL DNS	LAN 6	DAR DNQ	SPR	MIL	DUQ	DUQ	PIK	SYR	DET	DNC 6	SJS 6	PHX 17	BAY 12	25th	278.2
1952	J.C. Agajanian	INDY 27	MIL	RAL	SPR	MIL 9	DET	DQSF	PIK	SYR	DNC	SJS	PHX				35th	80
1953	Grancor Auto	INDY 4	MIL	SPR	DET	SPR	MIL	DQSF	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX				19th	315
1954	Bardahl Racing	INDY 6	MIL	LAN	DAR	SPR	MIL 10	DQSF	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX	LVG			14th	460
1955	Federal Engineering	INDY 32	MIL	LAN	SPR	MIL	DQSF	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX					N/A	0
1956	Federal Engineering	INDY 12	MIL	LAN	DAR	ATL	SPR	MIL	DQSF	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX				32nd	50
1957	George Bignotti Racing	INDY 22	LAN	MIL 17	DET	ATL	SPR	MIL	DQSF	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX			N/A	0
1958	City of Memphis	TRE	INDY DNQ	MIL	LAN	ATL	SPR	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	WDC	Pts
1950	Indianapolis Race Cars	Maserati 8CL	Offenhauser 3.0 L4s	GBR	MON	500 25	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA					NC	0
1951	Granatelli-Bardahl/Grancor	Kurtis Kraft 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	SUI	500 17	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP				NC	0
1952	Cummins Diesel	Kurtis Kraft	Cummins 3.0 L6s	SUI	500 27	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	NED	ITA				NC	0
1953	Grancor-Elgin Piston Pin	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	500 4	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA			18th	1.5
1954	Merz Engineering/Milt Marion	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	500 6	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP			NC	0
1955	Federal Engineering	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	500 32	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA					NC	0
1956	Federal Engineering	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	500 12	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA				NC	0
1957	Bowes Seal Fast/Bignotti	Kurtis Kraft 500G	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	500 22	FRA	GBR	GER	PES	ITA				NC	0
1958	City of Memphis	Kurtis Kraft 500G	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	NED	500 DNQ	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	MOR	NC	0
Source:^[6]^[7]

References

1. "Fred Agabashian". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
2. The Talk of Gasoline Alley. May 8, 2015. WFNI.
3. Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
4. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14000 Famous Persons, Scott Wilson
5. . www.indy500.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
6. "Fred Agabashian – Involvement". StatsF1. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
7. "Detail – Tipo 8 CL". barchetta.cc. Retrieved April 24, 2019.

External links

• Fred Agabashian driver statistics at Racing-Reference