Gordon Johncock, the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 1976 series champion, died Monday at age 90, INDYCAR and fellow racers confirmed.
Johncock died of natural causes at his South Branch, Michigan, home, and tributes poured in within hours from INDYCAR, USAC, fellow drivers and racing organizations honoring a career that spanned three decades and 25 wins.
Born Aug. 5, 1936, in Hastings, Michigan, Johncock learned to drive on the family farm at age 5 and broke through in super modifieds during the late 1950s. In 1964 he set a qualifying speed record without brakes at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway, a signature feat that announced his arrival.
Gordon Johncock’s Road To 2 Indianapolis 500 Titles
Johncock captured the USAC national championship in 1976, then delivered the signature moment of his career in 1982, holding off Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds in what was then the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. He was later inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the USAC Hall of Fame.
After retiring, Johncock made his final Indianapolis 500 start in 1992, a race that featured 10 past Indianapolis 500 winners, then ran Johncock Forestry Products from his South Branch home.
Gordon Johncock Remembered By INDYCAR, Fellow Racers
“INDYCAR is deeply saddened to learn of Gordon Johncock’s passing,” the series said, calling the 1976 champion’s “hard-charging, no-nonsense style” what led him to two Indianapolis 500 victories and 25 career wins.
“USAC is saddened to learn of the death of the legendary Gordon Johncock,” the organization wrote in a tribute post, thanking him for the memories and sharing video of his first USAC Championship Car win at Milwaukee in 1965, when he beat A.J. Foyt.
“2x Indy 500 winner Gordon Johncock has died at the age of 90,” Motorsport.com wrote. “Rest in peace to a true legend of American open-wheel racing.”
“A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Rutherford and the Unsers would tell you that Gordy raced them as hard and as fair as any of the other elite front runners,” longtime IndyCar spotter Jim Cooke wrote in a social media tribute.
“What a man, what a driver, what a friend,” Johncock friend Steve Shunck wrote alongside a home photo of the IndyCar great smiling at home, adding he would miss him for years to come.
“The legendary Gordon Johncock secured victory in arguably the most tragic Indianapolis 500 in history in 1973 and one of the most thrilling in 1982,” IndyCar Radio’s Nick Yeoman said. World of Outlaws also offered condolences, recalling Johncock’s 1963 win at the Williams Grove National Open.
The Tragedy Behind Gordon Johncock’s First Indianapolis 500 Win
Johncock’s first Indianapolis 500 win came in 1973, a race still remembered as the deadliest Month of May at the Speedway since 1937. Veteran Art Pollard died in a practice crash on Pole Day, and on race day Salt Walther’s car flew into the catch fence and sprayed burning methanol into the grandstands, injuring roughly a dozen spectators.
Rain pushed the race back two days, and when it finally ran, Johncock’s Patrick Racing teammate Swede Savage crashed and burned exiting Turn 4, later dying from his injuries, while crew member Armando Teran was killed by a safety truck racing to the wreck. Johncock, leading when rain ended the race on Lap 133, skipped the victory banquet to visit Savage in the hospital.
He is survived by his wife, Sue, daughters Peggy, Patsy and Pamilee, sons Wally and Gordon Jr., stepdaughter Valerie Heffelbower, 12 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
Gordon Johncock, 2-Time Indy 500 Winner Dies, Heartfelt Tributes Pour In