EDDIE PAGAN - 08/01/1918 - 08/01/1984
Pagan was born in Midland, Texas on August 1, 1918. Pagan was living in New Mexico with his wife Marian Pagan by the year 1940. Marian also made a start in NASCAR's Cup series. Pagan also lived a significant portion of his adult life in Lynwood, California. Eddie had a lot of success in the Pacific Coast Late Model Diviion; now called ARCA Menards Series West. He only made a total of five starts in 1954 and 1955 and posted two top ten results each season. He ran 24 of 32 races in 1956; and posted four wins; finishing third in points. 1957 was his final year in the Late Model series and he ran 21 of 24 races held. He won on five occasions. The first came at Portland Speedway in a combination race with the Cup series. He would beat Lloyd Dane to the checkers. The next race Pagan won at Gardena Stadium in CA; as he bested the field by two laps. After finishing third at Eureka Speedway in CA; he was back in victory lane when the series went to Santa Rosa Speedway. He bested Scotty Cain on the tight 1/4 mile dirt oval. Ascot Park would be the next race, and Pagan would again win. It was scheduled for 200 laps. But the dust got so bad that NASCAR called the race after 150 laps. Lloyd Dane finished second and Chuck Meekins third. His final win of the season (and of his career) would come when the race series went back to Portland in the Summer; Pagan would again best Dane to grab the win. He grabbed the checkers to claim
the $1,000 winners check. All of Pagan's wins in the Cup Series was in what was called "combination races". A combination race is any sort of racing event where drivers from two racing circuits compete in the same event in similiar, if not identical vehicles. These races are sanctioned under the banner of both series and in most cases count toward the championship in those respective series' seasons. On-track racing procedures during these races are nearly always similar to that of a race exclusively composed of drivers in one series, denoted as a stand-alone race. However, because of the complexities of
Pagan (#45) In Victory Circle at Bay Meadow
creating an equal playing field and the importance of championship standings, allotment of points, purse, and awards are treated differently in combination races than in stand-alone races. Combinations races can be run for a number of reasons, among those are: 1. Generate larger field of competitors, especially for tracks at the "fringe" of traditional series travel range 2.Generate excitement about another series by combining it with a more popular series. 3. Aid a struggling series or set of series by combining themselves for the sake of increasing championship races or keeping the series alive. So Pagan's Cup wins show he out-ran the Cup regulars in what could have been his Late
Model Division race car. He is shown getting credit for Late Model wins, along with credited for Cup Series wins. Pagan continued on in the Cup Series in 1958. He ran 27 races finishing second at Reading Fairgrounds and also at Old Bridge. His season ended when he had a massive crash in the Southern 500 at Darlington (video here). He blew a tire and crashed through the guard rail. He was lucky at the only got a black eye. Over the next four years he only ran eight Cup races. He finished third at Riverside in 1961. Pagan competed in 62 NASCAR Cup series races between 1954 and 1963. Along with his four Cup wins, he had 27 top five and 38 top ten finishes. In 1971, he co-founded Hutcherson-Pagan Enterprises with Dick
Darlington crash 1958
Hutcherson, a company that built race cars for drivers such as Darrell Waltrip and A. J. Foyt. Pagan died August 1, 1984, in Harrisburg, North Carolina.
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