Gordon Johncock, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, dies at 90
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Gordon Johncock died of natural causes at his home in South Branch, Michigan, on Monday. He was 90.
Gordon Johncock, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1973 and 1982, died of natural causes on Monday at his home in South Branch, Michigan. He was 90.
Born Aug. 5, 1936, in Hastings, Michigan, Johncock was the USAC national champion in 1976, winning 25 IndyCar races and 20 poles and leading 3,360 laps across 261 starts. He started the Indianapolis 500 a record-tying 24 times, making his final start in 1992, finishing in the top five eight times and leading 339 laps.
His 1973 victory came in a rain-shortened race, ended after 133 laps with Johncock leading 64 of them ahead of Bill Vukovich II; the month was marred by the accidents involving teammate Swede Savage and crew member Armando Teran. His 1982 win was the closest finish in the race’s history at the time — 0.160 seconds over Rick Mears, still the seventh-closest ever — after Johncock nearly lost control over a bump low in Turn 3 on the final lap. “I pretty near lost it,” he later recalled.
Johncock raced for Patrick Racing, made 21 NASCAR Cup Series starts, was inducted into the IMS Museum Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2002, and later ran Johncock Forestry Products in South Branch. He is survived by his wife Sue, whom he married in 1990.
Sources
- INDYCAR.com official obituary: http://www.indycar.com/news/2026/09/09-28-johncock-obit-ic
- USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/motor/indycar/2026/09/28/gordon-johncock-motorsports-hall-famer-dies/91998267007/
- IndyStar: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/2026/09/28/gordon-johncock-two-time-indy-500-winner-has-died-at-90/91996260007/
- Speed Sport: https://speedsport.com/indycar/ntt-indycar-series/two-time-indy-winner-gordon-johncock-90/
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