# Fred Agabashian

Fred Levon Agabashian (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. 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.

## 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 | 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 | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 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 |
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