J.C. Agajanian

J.C. Agajanian promoted hundreds of automobile races on the west coast for a half-century and was considered to be dean of the car owners throughout much of the 1950s and 1960s. He twice won the Indianapolis 500, in 1952 with Troy Ruttman and in 1963 with Parnelli Jones. In 1962, while driving for Agajanian, Jones was the first driver to officially lap the Speedway at more than 150 miles per hour. The flamboyant Agajanian entered cars continuously from 1948 through 1972 with his drivers establishing the fastest qualifying speeds (each time with new track records) in no less than four different years: in 1950 and 1951 with Walt Faulkner, and in 1962 and 1963 with Jones. His winning drivers in National Championship races included Jones (four), Ruttman and Faulkner (two each), plus Bill Vukovich and Chuck Stevenson (two each), Johnny Mantz, Fred Agabashian and Dick Atkins. He was also very successful in late 1940s and early 1950s short-track sprint car races with drivers Ruttman, Mantz, and Duane Carter.