Chris Agajanian

Christopher James Agajanian (born May 17, 1949) is an American motorsports promoter, artist manager, racetrack owner/operator, real estate renovator, television producer, inventor, musician, collector, brother, father, and grandfather. He grew up in Baldwin Hills, CA moved to Beverly Hills 1970 moved to Rancho Palos Verdes 1985 moved to Lower South Shores in 2000.

Biography Agajanian was born in Hollywood, California and grew up working for the family refuse removal and motorsports businesses. He went to California Military Academy from 1st to 9th grades, graduated from Lutheran High School and the University of Southern California where he attended pre-med and business classes. He was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Agajanian worked at a gas station when he was 16, a vinyl record pressing plant in Inglewood and a Muntz Stereo shop where he installed 4-track tape player systems in cars. By age 18 he began organizing weekly motocross races at Ascot Park which led to a career as a promotor of motorsports events across the U.S. Agajanian assisted Evel Knievel on a number of events including his ABC’s Wide World of Sports debut jump.

Chris graduated from Lutheran High School in 1967 where he played football, 1968 he went to Pepperdine University as a freshman then transferred to the University of Southern California as a sophomore and took pre-med and business classes until he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1973. He was a member of Kapa Alpha fraternity.

In 1972 Chris worked as Manager and Sales rep for Municipal Service Co., the family’s rubbish removal business, managing 18 rubbish trucks that picked up residential and commercial trash for the cities of Gardena and Torrance, CA. By age 22, he had saved enough money to purchase an apartment building in Manhattan Beach, CA. that he leveraged into a string of properties in North Carolina, Arkansas, Ohio, Utah, Texas and California. In 1973 he promoted the Ike and Tina Turner concert and the Delaney Bramlett concert at Ascot Park. In 1974 he assisted H.B. “Toby” Halicki in the movie, Gone in 60 Seconds and was given a bit part in the film.

By 1975 Chris financed Australian-born artist and sculptor Sir Brett Livingstone Strong’s bronze casting of the life-size statue of John Lennon which was unveiled in Central Park by Andy Warhol and displayed on stage at the “Us Festival” in California. Agajanian became Sir Brett’s partner and business manager for “The People’s John Lennon World Peace Monument”, a movement that exhibited the statue amongst many noteworthy Lennon articles to be moved around the world. The exhibit was kicked off in Tokyo, Japan headed towards Sydney, Australia and sponsored by Asahi Mutual Life Insurance, Capitol Records, EMI, and Rolling Stone Magazine and would finish at Ellis Island where the statue and other sculptures and monument tributes would be installed.

In early 1976 he produced a film called “Motocross Racing and Safety” for libraries and schools. He renovated Ascot Park Raceway by installing state-of-the-art lighting, stronger catch fences, crash walls, restrooms, and concession stands. He added surrounding billboards, an electronic scoreboard, modernized sound system, upgraded city utilities and renewed bleachers. The project was completed in five months for the start of the 1977 season. As Vice President of Agajanian Enterprises, he dealt with race control, event schedules, security, food, advertising, track preparation and equipment upkeep. Ascot was open for 33 Years, it ran 5-nights a week, 8-months a year and produced 160 events per season. It entertained 35 to 40 thousand fans per month.

In 1976 after a Peter Frampton concert at the Forum in Inglewood, Stephen Stills invited Agajanian, Gerry Tolman, Peter Frampton, John Mayall, Mick Fleetwood and Jackson Browne to his home in Laurel Canyon for a party where Chris was later introduced to Gary Wright of Dreamweaver fame. Agajanian became manager of the platinum selling artist. They toured Latin America gathering percussion phrases and video for use on Gary’s albums and music videos. They traveld throughout India and on their return stayed at George Harrison’s Victorian, mansion “Friar Park” where Chris engineered Gary’s keyboard tracks for George’s new album.

In early 1979 Agajanian and Gary Wright traveled to Rio de Janeiro for the Brazilian Grand Prix to meet up with Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart and George Harrison. They visited different studios throughout the country to collaborate with Brazilian musicians and up the Amazon River where they met with Foreigner front man Mick Jones.

In 1979 Stephen Stills was in a transitional period and requested Agajanian to become his business manager. Agajanian did so on the premise it would be a limited-term arrangement due to previous commitments. The two continue their friendship to this day. Graham Chapman of the British comedy group, “Monty Python” invited Agajanian to join him and his partner for a “Life of Brian” dinner party at his home in Brentwood, CA. Agajanian was one of five guests, Van Dyke Parks, Harry Nilsson, John Mayall and Ringo Starr who was seated next to Agajanian during dinner. Gary Wright became a member of Ringo Starr's All Starr Band for four consecutive years and Graham Chapman visited Agajanian many times at Ascot Park. Agajanian co-wrote the song “Love IS A Rose” and is credited alongside Wright featured on the Warner Bros. album The Right Place.

In 1983 Agajanian and co-pilot Bruce Penhall finished 8th place out of 69 competitors in the Inaugural Great American Race driving his 1937 Packard convertible cross country starting at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park CA. and finishing with a lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In October 1984 Agajanian began construction of a development called the Ascot Competition Center on the northern part of the 44 -acre parcel of Ascot Park. He built a 5,000-seat arena called Ascot’s South Bay Stadium, using items purchased from the 1984 Summer Olympics. There he promoted weekly racing for Motorcycles, Bicycles, Go-karts, ATVs, and Radio Control Cars. The stadium was erected with energy absorbing crash walls, a state-of-the-art sound system and sports lighting. His weekly motorcycle races were broadcast nationally on Prime Ticket and ESPN by Agajanian’s television program “Speedway America”. A separate venue was built for bicycle motocross racing that hosted major national and weekly BMX events. Radio-controlled cars were raced on a dirt track and sold at an on-site retail store. Agajanian developed a concept called the Ascot Slic Trac for the Competition Center which allowed participants of varying levels to compete against each other on a slippery concrete oval track. To complete his concept, Agajanian produced purpose-built Ascot TrakMaster go-karts constructed with lightweight non-breakable bodies. He built a Slic Trac in Anaheim near Disneyland and franchised more than ten Ascot Slic Trac facilities in Japan. Celebs like Crosby, Stills and Nash, Charlie Sheen, Nicolas Cage, Erik Estrada, Connie Stevens, Patrick Swayze, Paul Anka, Dhani Harrison, Christopher Stills, and Gary Wright enjoyed their time there. Legendary actor and race car driver Paul Newman celebrated his birthday at the Slic Trac and asked Agajanian for a birthday wish which he granted two months later when Paul and Disney CEO, Michael Eisner showed up to the big track at Ascot Park to race a sprint car.

In 1989, a unique partnership was formed among Chris Agajanian, Formula One driver Emerson Fittipaldi and renowned musician George Harrison. Their shared vision was to create a Beatles-themed café located near Universal Studios. Each brought something special to the project: George Harrison contributed various displays and helped craft the overall atmosphere, Emerson Fittipaldi provided the necessary financial backing, and Agajanian enhanced the venue with his personal memorabilia collection. The Beatles Café’s concept included menus inspired by Beatle song titles, integrating the memorabilia collection into the dining experience. Paul McCartney opposed the idea of associating with a restaurant that wasn’t entirely vegetarian.

As Executive Producer of over 100 national television programs, Agajanian also consulted and was motorcycle race coordinator for Craig T. Nelson’s 1994 movie “Ride with the Wind.” In addition to the thousands of events he managed at Ascot Park, Chris specialized in presenting AMA Grand National Championship motorcycle races to sellout crowds at Thoroughbred tracks like: L.A. County Fairgrounds in Pomona, the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Seattle’s Emerald Downs, Lone Star Park in Dallas, Cal-Expo Fairgrounds in Sacramento, the New Mexico State Fairgrounds Albuquerque, the Marion County Fairgrounds Knoxville Iowa, The State Fair Park Lincoln Nebraska, The “Concours d'Elegance” in Del Mar, the Las Vegas AMA Motorcycle Championships, the Denver Half-Mile Championship Rocky Mountain Speedway, The Budweiser USA vs the World “American Cup Challenge”, the “Thrill Show” for the Los Angeles County Fair, The Del Mar 100-mile Silver Crown Championship and the USAC Silver Crown Championship at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In 1993, Agajanian spearheaded the development of the California Speedway in Fontana. As president of Agajanian Entertainment, Inc., Chris signed an exclusive right to develop a motorsports complex on the site of the decommissioned Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana, California. Together with cable television executive Bill Daniels, owner of sports cable network Prime Ticket, they formed Agajanian Prime Ventures to design and build a racing complex with a half-mile dirt oval centered in a 1.5-mile paved oval built for NASCAR and IndyCars, including a stand-alone NHRA drag strip and an integrated road course on the 360-acre plot.

In 2000 Agajanian sold his events to Clear Channel Entertainment, the largest producer of special events in the world and became President of Clear Channel Entertainment’s Dirt Track division where he expanded the series by adding the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Wisconsin, Rochester Fairgrounds in New Hampshire, the State Fair Speedway Oklahoma, Proctor Speedway Minnesota, Black Hills Speedway South Dakota, Portland Speedway Oregon, Les Bois Park Idaho and the Tacoma Dome in Washington. It has been estimated that Agajanian has personally been involved in the promotion of over 4,000 racing events.

Agajanian served as the president of Nanotech Fuel Corporation which specializes in developing emergent technology aimed at reformulating fossil fuels. Its technology enables a higher volume of oxygen molecules to be absorbed into fossil fuels aiding a more complete burn. As a result, this process reduces hazardous emissions and pollution in a variety of fuel types, including diesel, gasoline, two-cycle engines, and open furnace fuels.

He formed Ascotmotorsports, LLC and began designing and marketing the Ascot Park Apparel line. His organization also developed and manufactured a denim material with anti-abrasion technology that he patented and trademarked called IRONCLOTH. He then entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with the Foshan Textile Company of China to mill rolls of Ironcloth material for use in the production of jackets and pants for street motorcycle riders. Agajanian signed an agreement to become an official licensee of Williamson-Dickie Mfg. USA, & Williamson-Dickie Europe Ltd. which gave Agajanian’s proprietary brand, “Dickies Moto”, an exclusive distribution category to all motorcycle shops and dealerships nationwide.

In 2011 the Herta Autosport with CURB-Agajanian #98 racecar won the Centennial Running of the Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon. And in 2016 the Andretti Herta Autosport with CURB-Agajanian #98 racecar won the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 with driver Alexander Rossi. Making it the 4th win for the Agajanian Family.

In 2012 Agajanian signed an agreement with Felix Rappaport, president and COO of the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to accompany Cirque du Soleil and Apple Corps Limited’s Beatles’ “LOVE” show. Agajanian combined his collection with another collector creating one of the largest private collections of Beatles memorabilia anywhere. As Creator and Executive Producer of Silver Hammer, LLC, Chris partnered with Tom Zaller, president and CEO of Imagine Exhibitions, a leading producer of immersive exhibits, and attractions, to produce “The Beatles Experience” at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

In 2013, Agajanian introduced Rim Fire, a sparking gasket system engineered to incorporate electrodes within a head gasket that deliver high-voltage, intermittent sparks directly inside a combustion chamber. The placement of the sparks creates a burn pattern beginning from the outer circumference of the chamber towards the center. That convergence ignites more of the fuel efficiently and ensures a much cleaner and higher performing use of the fuel. The Rim Fire sparking gasket system was a finalist in the 2014 Outdoor Power Equipment Dealers’ Choice Awards in Kentucky.

The Agajanian brothers grew up around racing all their lives. They have been honored with many awards and inducted into multiple Halls of Fame. Chris networked and became friendly with many of the celebrities and notables within the Formula One, IndyCar, Movie and Music industries.