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Gordon Johncock (born 5th August 1937, Coldwater, Michigan) is a former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and 1976 Champcar champion. August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ...
1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Coldwater is a city located in central Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. ...
The Indianapolis 500 is an American race for open-wheel automobiles held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. ...
Champcar has been the name for the class of cars used in the United States premier open wheel auto racing series for decades. ...
Johncock's first Champcar victory was scored at Milwaukee in August 1965, and he won six further races before winning the Indy 500 in 1973.
This was a very bittersweet victory as his teammate David 'Swede' Savage was severely injured in a crash during the race, eventually passing away a month later, while Armando Teran, a mechanic for the same STP/Patrick Racing organization, was killed in a subsequent pit lane accident caused by a safety truck headed towards the Savage crash. The race was also shortened to 133 laps (from 200) because of rain.
Johncock won the USAC Champcar title in 1976, but was frustrated at Indianapolis; in 1975 he started the race on the front row but retired with ignition problems on the 11th lap. In 1976 and 1978 he was 3rd, and in 1977 he was leading A.J. Foyt comfortably when the car's crankshaft broke on lap 184. The United States Automobile Club (USAC) was the primary sanctioning body for open-wheel motor racing in the United States from the mid-1950s until the late 1970s. ...
A. J. Foyt (born January 16, 1935) is considered by many as the greatest race car driver of all time. ...
Johncock had the distinction of winning the first CART sanctioned Champcar race at Phoenix in March 1979, but only won one further race until May 1982. Phoenix International Raceway is a one mile tri-oval race track located in Avondale, AZ. It opened in 1964, but wasnt used by NASCAR until 1988, with the first race won by the late Alan Kulwicki. ...
Johncock took a second Indianapolis 500 victory in 1982 but by only .16 of a second from Rick Mears. Johncock had been a dominant force in the race but by the closing laps Mears was rapidly closing in. However, at his final pit stop, Mears' team made a miscalculation and filled his car with more fuel than it needed to finish the race. As a consequence Mears had to catch-up with Johncock again, but on the 197th and 198th laps came from 3 seconds back to within carlengths. The final lap was one of the most thrilling laps in motorsport history as Mears tried to pass Johncock for the win, with Johncock making a decisive defense of first place in Turn One. Mears would later joke about watching the tape over and over to see if 'this time I get around Gordy'. Rick Mears (born December 3, 1951,) is an American race car driver. ...
Johncock took another three Champcar wins before retiring from racing in 1985. He returned for occasional appearances in 1987, '88, '89 and finally quit after the 1992 Indianapolis 500 (also the final '500' for Mears and Foyt).
In 1999 he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to auto racing either as a driver, owner, developer or engineer. ...
Indianapolis 500 results
- 1965 - 5th
- 1966 - 4th
- 1967 - 12th
- 1968 - 27th (suspension)
- 1969 - 19th (piston)
- 1970 - 28th (piston)
- 1971 - 29th (crash)
- 1972 - 20th (exhaust valve)
- 1973 - 1st
- 1974 - 4th
- 1975 - 31st (ignition)
- 1976 - 3rd
- 1977 - 11th (crankshaft)
- 1978 - 3rd
- 1979 - 6th
- 1980 - 4th
- 1981 - 9th (engine)
- 1982 - 1st
- 1983 - 14th (gearbox)
- 1984 - 25th (crash)
- 1987 - 22nd (valve)
- 1989 - 31st (engine)
- 1991 - 6th
- 1992 - 29th (engine)
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