Item Info

Media Type: Photographic Prints
Source: Automobile Reference Collection
Notes:

Chrysler Royal Wins Stock Car Race

A Chrysler Royal stock sedan won a recent 250-mile race on the Oakland, California, speedway, with an average speed of approximately 73 miles per hour. The Chrysler was driven by Fred Agabashian of Berkeley, who took the lead at the 68th mile and never headed thereafter. At the finish he was two laps ahead of his nearest rival. Twenty-four cars started in the race, the majority of them being equipped with eight-cylinder engines, while the Royal has six. Only ten cars finished. Ten were forced out by the gruelling pace before 100 miles. The time is considered remarkably fast on a mile track, especially as the rules permitted the contestants to start with only five gallons of gasoline in the tank and to replenish only five-gallon lots. The race was "just a Sunday afternoon drive", according to Agabashian, who traveled the full distance at a steady pace, entirely free from mechanical trouble of any sort. This victory established Chrysler as the 1938 Pacific Coast champion. The winning car was entered by Phil Davis, an East Bay Chrysler and Plymouth dealer.

Creation Year: 1938