George Zarounian

George Zarounian 

photo by the author 

Arakel ‘George’ Zarounian was born into an Armenian farming family in the central California town of Goshen, California on December 28, 1920, the first of their four children.  George was in love with automobiles from an early age and built his first midget race car while still in high school. Following his service in the United States Army during World War Two, in 1948 Zarounian opened his first car dealership starting with just one car.

George whose trademarks were cigars, black Cadillacs, and cowboy hats opened his Cadillac/Oldsmobile dealership in Visalia in 1954, and while the automobile business remained a constant throughout his life, Zarounian was a prolific entrepreneur with many successful businesses that included tomato packing, restaurants, and real estate investments. 

 

Zarounian Motorsports, which included George’s son Gary, was dominant for two decades on the West Coast with Hall of Fame driver Ron “Sleepy” Tripp. They combined for more than eighty USAC Western States feature victories and seven season championships in ten years - 1983, 1985, 1987, 1998, 1990, 1991, and 1992. In addition the Zarounian team scored eleven feature wins in the United States Auto Club (USAC) National Midget series as well as fifteen USAC Silver Crown victories.

Zarounian cars won the Belleville Midget Nationals three times; twice with Tripp and once with Jack  Hewitt as the drivers while the team used three different engines – VW, Cosworth and Arias - and two different chassis - Beast and Edmunds. 

The “who’s who” list of drivers who drove the Zarounian #67 cars through the years includes Donnie Beechler, who won the 1995 Chili Bowl Nationals for “GZ,”, Tony Hunt,  Ed Carpenter, Kasey Kahne, Steve Knepper, Bud Kaeding, Dave Strickland Junior, Jeff Gordon and the California father and son team of Ken and Chad Nichols. 

George Zarounian died on January 3, 2014 just a few days after he celebrated his 94th birthday. The inscription on this National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame member’s grave marker truly sums up how he lived his life “I did it my way.”

Tommy Hunt

George Bignotti 

A smiling George Bignotti in 1962 

Photo courtesy of the

IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship

 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Collection

Today we pay tribute to National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee George Bignotti, another example of a great racer who started their storied career in the sport of auto racing in midget racing.  

George born in San Mateo California in 1916 was the youngest of three brothers all of whom were auto racing mechanics.  In 1946, in partnership with his brother Al, George fielded a car powered by a Ford V8-60 engine in the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) for Ed Normi.

The following season, the brothers bought a second midget and added 1946 BCRA champion Fred Agabashian to their team. Agabashian had a ride in the 1947 Indianapolis 500-mile race and thus missed many races, and was listed in 22^nd place in the 1947 BCRA points when he returned in June.

Through a series of consistent finishes Agabashian with George and Al turning the wrenches on the #108 midget won the 1947 BCRA drivers’ championship by 92 points. When Agabashian returned to the Bay Area after the 1948 Indianapolis 500-mile race, George Bignotti had the new Kurtis-Kraft Ford V-8 60 powered “Burgermeister Special” #154 ready for Fred.

Late in the season, Agabashian’s leading competitor, Jerry Piper broke his arm in a crash and at the end of the season the team of Bignotti and Agabashian were champions - Agabashian with his third consecutive title and Bignotti his second.

For 1949, Piper and Agabashian started the BCRA season as teammates for George Bignotti. Agabashian set quick time on three occasions during the 8-race series and eventually lowered the track record to an amazing 8.22 seconds. Fred won the penultimate feature race, but Hayward’s Bob Sweikert won the inaugural BCRA indoor championship. 

During the 1949 season George became a top driver in the BCRA’s hardtop division, and in 1951 he won the BCRA midget title for a third time with Johnny Boyd.   

For the 1954 Indianapolis ‘500’ Fred Agabashian was set to drive the ‘Merz Engineering Special’ a brand new Kurtis Kraft 500C roadster with 270-cubic inches of Offenhauser power tilted 36 degrees. The car arrived late, and Fred called to ask his friend and former car owner Bignotti to come to Indianapolis and help out the short-handed Merz crew.

That visit marked the beginning of Bignotti’s magical 29-year career at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  

In 1956 George teamed with Bob Bowes of the Bowes Seal Fast Company to field an entry for Johnny Boyd and in 1957 Agabashian teamed with Johnny Boyd in a pair of new Kurtis-Kraft 500G models. At the end of the 1958 season, George won his USAC first USAC championship race at Sacramento with driver Jud Larson.

In 1960, Bignotti teamed with a young Texan named A J Foyt and together they won four USAC races and the USAC championship, the first of their four USAC championships. In 1961 George the won the first of a pair of Indianapolis 500-mile race wins with Foyt.

Before he retired at the end of the 1983 racing season, Bignotti won seven USAC national championships and won the Indianapolis 500-mile race seven times. Bignotti passed away at age 97 in 2013. The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is proud to count George Bignotti as one our inductees.    

IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship Indianapolis Motor Speedway Collection

Boots Archer

Born in 1913 in Oakland California, in 1931 David J. Archer Junior, known as  "Boots" started to work for a Bay Area well drilling company. He worked in the well drilling, pump installing and repairing field for other for ten years until he decided to start his own business in San Francisco in May of 1941 named Pump Repair Service Company. As the business grew, his wife Helen joined the company and managed the office.

In 1955, Boots’ son, David “Dave” Archer III joined the family business. Over the years, Dave learned the business and eventually in 1980 took over ownership of the company when “Boots” retired.  The company is still family owned by Dave Archer and his sons Wayne and Steve.

‘Boots’ first entered the “racing game” as a mechanic and partner in a Ford touring stock car with his friend Lynn Deister in the mid 1930’s. Sadly, Deister died in a midget racing crash at Bayshore Stadium in South San Francisco on Labor Day 1947.

After World War Two, ‘Boots’ served as the Business Manager for the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) from 1945 to 1948, when he was forced to resign due to the growing demands of his pump business. While he was the Business Manager of BCRA, “Boots” made a strong effort to unite the BCRA (Northern California) and United Racing Association (URA) of Southern California but his efforts fell short.  

Less than a year after he resigned, ‘Boots’ returned to the BCRA Business Manager’s role on an interim basis after 1945 BCRA champion Bob Barkheimer who quit his race driving career to take over as BCRA business manager, resigned to take over management of the San Jose Speedway. “Boots” managed the BCRA operation for nearly two months until Ab Allen was hired as a permanent replacement. 

‘Boots’ served throughout the 1950’s and  1960’s as the referee at BCRA racing events, including the legendary winter time Pacific Coast Indoor Auto Racing Championship midget auto racing events held indoors at the Oakland Exposition Building.  For most of those years, ‘Boots’ was assisted by Northern California auto racing legend Jerry Piper, while Mel Fernandez served as the flamboyant starter.

Boots’ racing efforts were not confined just to midget auto racing, as due to knowledge of racing rules he also served as the referee for many major west coast stock car races promoted by Bob Barkheimer, such as the 1953 National 500-lap Stock Car Race held at Oakland Speedway. 

‘Boots’ also served as the chairman of California Auto Racing Fan Club (CARF) and for many years hosted that club’s annual Indianapolis 500-mile breakfast and remote viewing party. In September 1970, ‘Boots’ served as the referee of the inaugural ‘California 500’ USAC (United States Auto Club) championship car race at Ontario Motor Speedway, working alongside stewards Richard King and J. Gordon Betz and starter Shim Malone.

Boots became a member of the BCRA Hall of Fame in 1987 and passed away at age 83 in 1996.

Dick Atkins

2017 NMARHoF  

Richard F. "Dick" Atkins was born into a large family with eight brothers and sisters in 1936 in Oakland California, and graduated from Castlemont High School in 1954 after standout career in varsity athletes particularly in football.  Dick who worked as a building contractor in Hayward California began racing in 1960 as a hobby, and by 1963 he was a force in Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) competition driving Sim Clark’s Chevy II powered midget with a signature win in a 50-lap feature at Capitol Speedway on May 30 and he set a track record in June at Stockton 99 Speedway.

1964 was Atkins’ breakout season in 2017 Sim Clark’s Chevy II that included a July 4 weekend sweep of the BCRA races at Chico on the dirt at Silver Dollar Speedway and the tight paved oval at Lakeport California. During July 1964 Dick Atkins captured three consecutive wins and he was crowned the 1964 BCRA outdoor champion following in his third place finish in the October 17 1964 25-lap feature at Vallejo Speedway.

For the 1965 season, Atkins joined the multi-car team of John Pestana and Bob Lang that fielded a pair of Offenhauser-powered midgets for BCRA competition as well the former Fike Plumbing sprint car in Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) races. Atkins won races in both divisions, notably 100-lap features at Santa Maria on Memorial Day and in July at Vallejo Speedway and claimed his second consecutive BCRA driving title.

On Thanksgiving night 1965 on Ascot Park Speedway, Atkins qualified the Pestana #3X in fifth place then watched as AJ Foyt and Parnelli Jones dueled for the early lead until Jones flipped on lap 70. Foyt continued to lead with pressure from Atkins until Foyt pitted on lap 118 and Atkins led the remaining 32 laps to claim the 25th annual Turkey Night Grand Prix victory and nationwide notoriety.

1966 was Atkins’ breakout year which began as he claimed the BCRA Pacific Coast Indoor Auto Racing Champion’s crown as joined JC Agajanian’s REV 500 racing team on the USAC (United States Auto Club) championship circuit at Indianapolis. In his first attempt to qualify for the ‘500,’ Dick passed his rookie test and qualified for the field at 158.158 miles per hour, only to be bumped out of the field the following day  by Larry Dickson and wound up the first alternate.

Days after the ‘500,’ a mechanic’s torch set off an explosion that damaged the Shrike that Atkins had driven at Indianapolis, and for the rest of the USAC season, Dick became the driver of the famed Agajanian #98 entry. Dick also found time to race sprint cars and set quick time and won the final USAC sprint car race held at the Allentown Pennsylvania fairgrounds in August. Dick finished sixth in his first appearance at the high-banked Winchester Speedway in a sprint car after he started 14th and trailed Al Smith, Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, Roger McCluskey and Arnie Knepper to the finish line.  

Midway during the USAC championship car season, Dick began to pile up steady top ten and top five finish, and in the penultimate race of 1966 at the State Fairgrounds dirt mile in Sacramento, he qualified second. Atkins tracked leader Mario Andretti all race long then swept past to claim victory when Andretti car suffered rear end failure with six laps to go. In one year, Atkins had claimed wins in the three elite USAC classes- champ car, sprint car and midgets.

On the cusp of stardom, with a full-time ride with JC Agajanian set for 1967, Dick Atkins just thirty years old was struck down three weeks after his Golden State victory following a USAC sprint car crash at Ascot Park that also claimed the life of Don Branson. On the fifth lap of the 30-lap feature Branson in what was scheduled to be his final race became incapacitated and his car crashed hard into the outside wall.

Branson’s flipping car landed on top of Dick’s Wally Meskoswitz owned sprint car which exploded into flames. Though rescuers pulled him from the car Atkins had suffered severe burns and a basal skull fracture and he passed away in the Gardena Memorial Hospital at noon the next day. Dick just thirty years old and on the cusp of superstardom was struck down just three weeks after his ‘Golden State 100’ victory.  The tragic Branson/Atkins double fatality led USAC to mandate the use of fuel cells in both sprint cars and midgets.  

Taken from us too soon, we were honored to welcome Dick Atkins truly a phenomenal driver into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2017 at ceremonies in Tulsa Oklahoma on January 12 2018.