Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock (born August 5, 1936 in Hastings ) is a retired American racing driver .
Career
Gordon Johncock was among the established USAC pilots when he first won the Indianapolis 500 mile race in 1973 . He celebrated his first success in the USAC racing series in 1965 at the Milwaukee Mile .
In 1973 the 500-mile race was overshadowed by fatal accidents. Johncock's teammate Swede Savage had a fire accident on lap 58 and succumbed to serious burn injuries a month later. A member of Johncock's pit crew was run over by a fire engine on the exit of the pit lane and seriously injured. The race was stopped after 133 laps when Johncock was in the lead due to rain and was not restarted after hours of waiting. In 1976 he secured overall victory in the USAC Championship by winning the last race in Phoenix . The leading up to then in the championship Johnny Rutherford had to be content with second place overall.
In 1976 and 1978 he finished third in Indianapolis and in March 1979 he won the first race of the new Champ Car racing series. In 1982 he won the Indianapolis 500 mile race for the second time. At the last pit stop, Johncock was filled with more fuel than necessary, making the car unnecessarily heavy. Rick Mears was able to shorten his gap to Johncock within a few laps and lost the race 0.16 seconds back.
Johncock won three more champ car races and finally retired from racing in 1992. In 1985 and 1987 he had resigned spontaneously twice, but came back both times. He also competed in 21 NASCAR races, his best placings being fourth at Rockingham 1966 and Daytona 1973.
literature
- Rick Popely, L. Spencer Riggs: Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Publications International Ltd., Lincolnwood IL 1998, ISBN 0-7853-2798-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johncock, Gordon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 5, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hastings |