John Kevin Cogan (born March 31, 1956) is an American former race car driver who drove in Formula One from to . Driving a RAM Williams in the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, he failed to qualify, suffering the same result driving for Tyrrell at the 1981 United States Grand Prix West. He then moved over to Indy cars in 1982 but his career was cut short by a series of accidents.
Cogan had one Indy car win to his credit (Phoenix in 1986), and finished second at the 1986 Indianapolis 500.
Early life
John Kevin Cogan was born on March 31, 1956 in Culver City, California. He graduated from West Torrance High School in 1974.
Racing career Cogan made his Indycar debut at the 1981 Indianapolis 500, driving the No. 32 Sugaripe Prunes Phoenix PR-01-Cosworth DFX for Jerry O'Connell Racing, as part of the USAC Gold Crown Championship. Cogan qualified in 12th place and finished the race in fourth place with 197 laps completed. Despite this Cogan lost the Rookie of the Year Award to Josele Garza. Cogan then competed in the rival CART/PPG World Series for O'Connell. In his debut, the Gould Rex Mays Classic at the Milwaukee Mile, Cogan qualified in seventh place and finished in second. After the race, he was ranked fifth in points. Cogan participated in four more races that season with his best finish coming at the Los Angeles Times 500 at Riverside International Raceway. Cogan finished his first CART season 23rd in points.
In 1982, Cogan joined Team Penske to drive the No. 4 Norton Spirit Penske PC-10-Cosworth DFX. At the season-opening Kraco Car Stereos 150 at Phoenix International Raceway, he qualified and finished in third place. The remainder of his season was inconsistent, highlighted by a second-place finish at the Domino's Pizza Pocono 500 at Pocono International Raceway to teammate Rick Mears. Cogan also had two pole positions at the Budweiser Cleveland 500 at Burke Lakefront Airport and the AirCal 500 at Riverside International Raceway. He finished the season sixth in points while Mears won the championship. Penske released Cogan at the end of the season.
1982 Indianapolis 500 controversy During qualifying, Cogan set a new one-lap track record of and a record four-lap average of . He was beaten only by his teammate, Mears.
Cogan started from the middle of the front row, next to pole-sitter Mears, and A. J. Foyt. As the field approached the start-finish line to start the race, Cogan suddenly swerved right, touching and bouncing off Foyt's car, and directly into the path of and collecting Mario Andretti. The cars of Dale Whittington and Roger Mears, deeper in the field, were also damaged due to the field checking up. Bobby Rahal also reported getting hit from behind, but was undamaged. The race was immediately red-flagged.
Cogan's shocking accident took out four cars, including himself and Andretti. Foyt's team was able to make repairs and pushed his car out for the restart attempt. Meanwhile, Andretti and Foyt were furious and outspoken about their displeasure with Cogan. Andretti shunned Cogan's attempts to explain himself with a light shove.
Andretti on live radio and television said, "This is what happens when you have children doing a man's job up front." Back in the garage area, Andretti complained about Cogan's abilities, claiming that Cogan was "looking for trouble", that he "couldn't handle the responsibilities of the front row" and that the Penske car he was driving was "too good for him".
The commonly outspoken Foyt also chimed in during comments to ABC's Chris Economaki with, "...he ran right square into my goddamned left front...'Coogin'." Later, Foyt said back in the garage area,1982 Indianapolis 500 broadcast, ESPN Classic, May 2006 of the crash and of Cogan that "It was a stupid deal. The guy had his head up his ass."
Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford and Bobby Unser later placed some blame for the accident on the polesitter Rick Mears, for bringing the field down at such a slow pace. Johncock, who went on to win the 1982 race, pointed out that Andretti had jumped the start, and could have avoided the spinning car of Cogan had he been lined up properly in the second row. Foyt wrote a memoir of his career in 1983 and when mentioning the crash, in a more analytic form, assigned some blame on Mears for the slow start, while assigning Cogan the rest of the responsibility.
At the end of the USAC Gold Crown season, Cogan finished 47th in points. The reason was that Cogan ran the 1981 race without a USAC Class I license and received no points for his 4th-place finish.
Aftermath Cogan quickly fell out of favor following the humiliation stemming from the accident. It was followed by a noticeable "blacklisting" by fans and press. Cogan nearly had the dubious distinction of taking out two of the most famous American auto racing legends (Foyt and Andretti) in one move in the biggest race of the season. The incident also further rehashed a standing feud between Team Penske and Patrick Racing. A year earlier, Penske and Patrick were the key fixtures in the controversial 1981 race. In a post-wreck interview, Penske stood behind Cogan, although he also refused to confirm nor deny the broken CV-joint believed to be responsible. As a result, Cogan faced a firestorm of controversy that impacted the remainder of his career.
Cogan never managed to win a race in 1982, and was possibly fired by Roger Penske because of it and replaced by Al Unser in 1983.Bob Varsha, on WindTunnel with Dave Despain, 10 June 2007
The accident was never explained by the Penske team, however, several experts had differing opinions. Rodger Ward, working for the IMS Radio Network immediately believed the rear brakes locked up.1982 Indianapolis 500 radio broadcast, May 30, 1982 It was a common practice for drivers in the turbocharged era to "ride the brakes" during warm up laps in order to engage the turbocharger. Others theorized it may have happened due to a broken CV joint. Some feel that Sam Posey on ABC-TV inadvertently may have added to the controversy when he proclaimed "absolutely no idea" to the question of how it could have happened,1982 Indianapolis 500 television broadcast, ABC Sports, May 30, 1982 and saying "it was as if he turned the wheel intentionally." The comments led many to conclude that the accident may have been entirely of Cogan's doing. As soon as he climbed from the car, Cogan was observed looking at the rear end axle, suggesting that he thought something broke.
1983–1993 In 1983, Cogan began driving for Bignotti-Cotter Racing in the No. 6 Master Mechanic/Caesars Palace March 83C-Cosworth DFX (numbered 16 at Indianapolis only). During the season, results were hard to come by for Cogan with his best finish being a fifth place at the Indianapolis 500 where teammate Tom Sneva won. Helping neither Cogan nor Sneva was that Bignotti-Cotter began to develop the Theodore 83 rather than continue to use the proven March 83C. At the end of the season Cogan finished 15th in the CART standings and sixth in the USAC standings. At year's end, team co-owner George Bignotti retired and sold his share of the operation to co-owner Dan Cotter, who did not retain Cogan for 1984.
For 1984, Cogan was originally going to drive the No. 98 Dubonnet/Curb Records Ligier LC02-Cosworth DFX for Curb Racing and the No. 98 Dubonnet Eagle 84SB-Pontiac V8 for All American Racers each in select races. At the season-opening Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the Streets of Long Beach Cogan would start 21st and finish in 28th place in the Ligier. At the Dana Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix International Raceway Cogan would finish in 8th place aboard the Eagle. Then at the Indianapolis 500, Cogan returned to the Ligier. The car was off the pace at the beginning of practice and Cogan faced the possibility of failing to qualify. Cogan would eventually qualify for the race after Ligier and Curb parted ways, and when Michael Chandler suffered career-ending injuries in the Eagle. During this time Mike Curb and Dan Gurney merged their teams to form Curb-All American Racers. In the race Cogan qualified in 27th place, setting a new speed record for stock block engines at Indianapolis. In the race, Cogan retired to 20th place after suffering a frozen wheel after 137 laps. Cogan would leave Curb-All American Racers after the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport. Cogan would then start driving for Forsythe Racing in the No. 33 Skoal Bandit March 84C-Cosworth DFX. Initially results were good as Cogan was able to start fifth and finish eighth in his debut for the team at the Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway and would follow it up with a tenth-place finish at the Provimi Veal 200 at Road America. During practice for the Domino's Pizza 500 at Pocono International Raceway, Cogan crashed in turn two. The force of the frontal impact caused broken heels in both feet, a torn Achilles tendon on his left foot, and a shattered talus bone on his right foot. The injuries ended Cogan's season and he finished 24th in points.
In 1985, Cogan would begin to drive for Kraco Racing in the No. 18 Kraco Car Stereo/Wolff Systems March 85C-Cosworth DFX. The season had its ups and downs such as Cogan nearly failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, eventually starting in 32nd place and finishing 11th. Cogan would also get a fourth-place finish at the Detroit News 200 at Michigan International Speedway and a 5th-place finish at the Stroh's/G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway to get a 14th-place finish in points.
For 1986, Cogan joined Patrick Racing to drive the No. 7 7-Eleven March 86C-Cosworth DFX. At the season opening Dana 200 for Special Olympics at Phoenix International Raceway Cogan scored his first Indycar win, leading 2nd place Tom Sneva by a lap. It was also the first time Cogan led the CART standings in his career. With 13 laps to go in the Indianapolis 500, Cogan made a bold move to pass Rick Mears and Bobby Rahal in less than a lap when both were held up by the slower car of Randy Lanier. Despite his car conspicuously oversteering in the turns, Cogan pulled away to a three-second lead before a caution came out on lap 195 for a crash by Arie Luyendyk in turn four. Cogan did not get a good restart on lap 198 and was passed by Rahal, eventually finishing in second place. Cogan still led the standings after Indianapolis but suffered retirements in seven of the fourteen remaining races and fell to sixth in the championship.
For 1987, Cogan would return with Patrick, making it the first team Cogan drove for in consecutive years, driving the No. 7 Marlboro March 87C-Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8 265A. The season would turn out to be a disappointment as Cogan got a best finish of fifth at the Escort Radar Warning 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix at Nazareth Speedway to get a 16th-place finish in points.
In 1988, Cogan would begin to drive for Machinists Union Racing in the No. 11 Schaefer Beer/Playboy Fashions March 88C-Cosworth DFX (although an 87C was used at the Miller High Life 200 at the Milwaukee Mile). The season started off well as Cogan got a third-place finish at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the Streets of Long Beach. After seven rounds, Cogan was ranked 11th in points when he was injured while competing at the Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place. Cogan would miss four races but would still finish 13th in points on the strength of a fourth-place finish at the Nissan Indy Challenge at Tamiami Park.