ROYCE CLAYTON "ROY" HAGERTY - 3/25/1925 - 7/02/2015
Hagerty was from Portland OR. and was in the U.S. Navy, and a World War II veteran. Royce loved to drive fast and drove in NASCAR for a few years, and remained an avid fan of the sport until his death. His first Cup start came at Bay Meadows Speedway in San Mateo CA. It was 250 laps on a one mile dirt track. Hagerty would take the green from 17th position, and complete 228 laps, finishing in 15th spot in his #15 Dodge. With about ten laps to go in the 250 mile race, back-marker Hagerty crashed his car hard into the barrier. With the massive crowd interested to see if Hagerty was all right, several officers rushed onto the scene to keep them away from the fence. Conditions had been terrible that day, and drivers were unable to see
very well. As such, there was little Scotty Cain could do, when 46-year-old reserve officer Steve Clark, of San Mateo stepped into his path. Cain recalled later that conditions were so terrible that the only way he could see, was by wiping away a small square of dirt on his windshield with his left hand. He only realized Clark was there when he struck him. Clark died at the scene, and the race was stopped with 241/250 laps completed. Hagerty ended up being all right. The Bay Meadows Race Track was not used for any further stock car events, but it remained open to horse racing until 2008. Haggerty stepped it up to six starts in 1956, all driving for owner Curly Weida. Four starts came at Portland Speedway (OR); He started second in his first Portland start, but fell off the quick pace set by
1956 Cup win at Portland
Herb Thomas in his powerful Hudson Hornet. Thomas ended up beating Johnny Kieper for the win, with Hagerty finishing 11th, five laps back. Next he was eighth at Eureka after starting 13th; but mechanical problems the next two races saw him fall out and finish poorly. In August, the Cup series was in Portland again. This time Hagerty would start eighth, and be the first to cross the finish line, as he claimed his first, and only, Cup win. Clyde Palmer was second , and Curley Barker third. His next start was again at Portland, and he won the pole, and jumped out to lead the first 28 laps. Curley Barker had the best car as he led 182 of the 250 laps. But Barker would have fuel issues with three laps to go, and Lloyd Dane would take the lead. Dane led the final three laps to take the win, while Eddie Pagan ran second, and Barker came in third. Hagerty ended up finishing 12th, 13 laps down. 1957 would be Royce's final two starts, and they both would come at Portland. He finished fifth his first start, only making ten circuits, before he fell out with overheating issues, finishing 15th in a 16 car field. His final Cup start, he finished 13th, 38 laps down. He made a total of nine Cup starts in his brief career, six of them at Portland. He had one win, one top five, and two top ten runs. Statistics show he made nine starts in the Pacific Coast Late Model series, but these are the same starts discussed above. During that time PCLM starts combined with Cup Series driver starts and also counted as Cup starts. Hagerty died July 02, 2015.
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