A young Warren Agor commiserates with David Hobbs. Photos by Joe Cali.
Warren Agor was one of the last of a breed, an independent road racer who built a competitive career after striking out from his hometown of Rochester, New York. We learned recently of his death at age 72. If you followed to any degree the glory days of the Trans-Am, Can-Am or early IMSA, you know this guy. He was a proud privateer, usually behind the wheel of Chevrolets ranging from Camaros to the infamous DeKon Monzas.
Agor came out of upstate New York, where he earned a prestigious degree from Cornell University. He then joined the U.S. Army and was commissioned as a captain. Growing up not too far from Watkins Glen, he became obsessed with road racing despite hailing from what’s nominally short-track stock car country. He worked as a mechanic for Penske Racing on the cars of Mark Donohue before striking out on his own as a driver.
Once he did, Agor became regionally famous in the Trans-Am series during its most competitive years, running a Camaro sponsored for a time by his hometown brewery, Genesee. Agor also had a specialty background in the automotive business: In 1971, he and his wife founded Agor Enterprises in Rochester, which modified vans for use by disabled people, including those confined to wheelchairs. As his own health deteriorated, Agor modified one of his own vans to accept a motorized scooter. The Agor family has requested that memorial donations be made to the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen.
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