Fred Agabashian
Levon "Fred" 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.