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Kevin Cogan

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Kevin Cogan
NationalityUnited States American
BornJohn Kevin Cogan
(1956-03-31) March 31, 1956 (age 68)
Culver City, California, United States
Champ Car career
116 races run over 12 years
Years active1981–1991, 1993
Team(s)
Best finish6th - 1982, 1986
First race1981 Gould Rex Mays Classic (Milwaukee)
Last race1993 Molson Indy Toronto (Exhibition Place)
First win1986 Dana 200 for Special Olympics (Phoenix)
Last win1986 Dana 200 for Special Olympics (Phoenix)
Wins Podiums Poles
1 7
Formula One World Championship career
Active years1980 – 1981
TeamsRAM, Tyrrell
Entries2 (0 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1980 Canadian Grand Prix
Last entry1981 United States Grand Prix West

John Kevin Cogan[1] (born March 31, 1956)[1] is an American former race car driver who drove in Formula One from 1980 to 1981. Driving a RAM Williams in the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, he failed to qualify, suffering the same result driving for Tyrrell at the 1981 US GP West. He then moved over to Indy cars in 1982 but his career was cut short by a series of accidents.

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 204.638 mph (329.333 km/h) and a record four-lap average of 204.082 mph (328.438 km/h). 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[2] said, [3] "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".[4]

The commonly outspoken Foyt also chimed in during comments to ABC's Chris Economaki with,[2] "...he ran right square into my goddamned left front...'Coogin'." Later, Foyt said back in the garage area, [4][5] of the crash and of Cogan that "It was a stupid deal. The guy had his head up his ass."

Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford[4] and Bobby Unser[2] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] 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,[2] and saying "it was as if he turned the wheel intentionally."[2] 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/Caesar's 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 5th 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 6th 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 5th and finish 8th in his debut for the team at the Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway and would follow it up with a 10th-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.[9] 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 4th-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 3-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 2nd place. Cogan still led the standings after Indianapolis but suffered retirements in seven of the fourteen remaining races and fell to 6th 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 5th 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 3rd-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 4th-place finish at the Nissan Indy Challenge at Tamiami Park.

For 1989 Cogan returned with the Machinists Union driving the No. 11 Schaefer Beer/Playboy Fashions March 88C-Cosworth DFX. Another frustrating season saw Cogan finish 14th in points with a best finish of 8th at the Champion Spark Plug 300K at Laguna Seca Raceway. The only 'highlight' of Cogan's season was a major crash at the Indianapolis 500. At the end of the third lap, Cogan spun in turn four and hit the entrance to the pit lane. The car broke in half, rebounded and slammed into the end of the pit wall before finally sliding to a stop on its side in the pit lane. To everyone's surprise, Cogan immediately climbed from his destroyed car unharmed.

In 1990 Cogan could only get a drive for Indianapolis for Vince Granatelli Racing in the No. 11 Tuneup Masters Penske PC18-Buick V6. In the race Cogan qualified in 15th place and finished in 9th place. Cogan would later get a second race at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway for Stoops Racing in the No. 17 Conseco Lola T9000-Cosworth DFS starting 13th and finishing 20th. Cogan would finish out the season 23rd in points.

In 1991 Cogan would join Team Menard to drive the No. 9 Glidden/Menards Lola T9100-Buick V6 at the Indianapolis 500. During qualifying Cogan was unable to make an attempt due to rain and would have to wait for the second day. Cogan would easily qualify for the race in 16th place with a speed that would have placed him easily in the top ten along with other drivers, such as teammate Gary Bettenhausen, Arie Luyendyk, Emerson Fittipaldi and Stan Fox. In the race Cogan was involved in a crash with Roberto Guerrero on lap 25. Cogan suffered serious injuries with his right femur broken near the hip in four lengthwise pieces, requiring seven and a half hours of surgery. He also suffered a broken right forearm and shoulder.[10]

Original television footage was inconclusive, and Cogan firmly assessed the blame on Guerrero, claiming that Guerrero cut down on him. An amateur home video shot from the grandstands surfaced, however,[11] which showed that Cogan may have moved up into Guerrero. At the very least, the video showed that it may have been a simple racing accident, although Cogan still holds Guerrero responsible. As a result of the crash Cogan missed the remainder of the year (Menard wasn't going to do anymore races) and the next year. Cogan scored no points during the season.

For 1993 Cogan would drive for Galles-Kraco Racing in the No. 11 Conseco Lola T9300-Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8 265A in a part-time schedule. At Cogan's debut for the year, the Indianapolis 500 Cogan was on the bubble on Bump Day and was nearly bumped by Bobby Rahal. Rahal was not successful and Cogan started in 14th place and would lead for four laps during pit stops, eventually finishing in 14th place. Cogan would drive in three more races for Galles-Kraco, getting a best finish of 13th at the Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland at Burke Lakefront Airport. Cogan would again score no points towards the championship.

Cogan would retire from racing at the end of 1993 with 6th place in 1982 and 1986 being his best finish in the CART standings and his win at Phoenix in 1986 being his only win.

Personal life

Since leaving IndyCar, Cogan has distanced himself from racing (which includes not watching the races), stating that any interest in the sport died with Scott Brayton in 1996. Instead, he concentrated on a real estate business in Los Angeles in the Palos Verdes estates. Cogan declined invitations to be interviewed for the centennial era of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2009 in which many IndyCar legends and IndyCar drivers were interviewed by ESPN. Cogan also refused invitations to participate in Indianapolis 500 festivities during the 100th anniversary of the race in 2011. He granted a rare interview in 2015 about his life, noting that he has lingering pain from the crashes he suffered in racing (foot, shoulder, and forearm), which include shaky balance.[12]

In 1988, ESPN reporter Jack Arute reported that Cogan was married, to Tracy, and had a son. The couple has since been divorced since 2004. In a 2015 interview with a news reporter, it was revealed that Cogan has 2 more children, a daughter and a son, since his retirement.

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status
1977 Road Atlanta Ralt RT1 Ford Formula B 1 1 Running

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos Points
1978 Ralt American Ltd. PIR1 TRE1 MOS MIL1 TEX MIL2
3 		OMS1 OMS2 TRE2 PIR2
1 		11th 340

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 WDC Points
1980 RAM / Rainbow Jeans Racing Williams FW07B Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA USW BEL MON FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN
DNQ 		USA NC 0
1981 Tyrrell Racing Tyrrell 010 Cosworth V8 USW
DNQ 		BRA ARG SMR BEL MON ESP FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN CPL NC 0

American open-wheel racing

(key)

CART

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
1981 Jerry O'Connell Racing PHX MIL
2 		ATL1
16 		ATL2 MIS
28 		RIV
11 		MIL2
23 		MIS2 WGL MEX PHX2 23rd 23 [13]
1982 Team Penske PHX
3 		ATL
18 		MIL
5 		CLE
10 		MIS
14 		MIL2
5 		POC
2 		RIV
10 		ROA
25 		MIS2
22 		PHX2
4 		6th 136 [14]
1983 Bignotti-Cotter Racing ATL
15 		INDY
5 		MIL
20 		CLE
25 		MIS
27 		ROA
19 		POC
15 		RIV
21 		MDO
6 		MIS2
20 		CEA
16 		LS
22 		PHX
6 		15th 26 [15]
1984 Curb Racing LBH
28 		INDY
DNQ 		24th 17 [16]
All American Racers PHX
8
Curb-All American Racers INDY
20 		MIL
9 		POR
18 		MEA
20 		CLE
22
Forsythe Racing MIS
8 		ROA
10 		POC
Wth 		MDO
Inj 		SAN
Inj 		MIS2
Inj 		PHX2
Inj 		LS
Inj 		CEA
Inj
1985 Kraco Racing LBH
23 		INDY
11 		MIL
16 		POR
5 		MEA
7 		CLE
9 		MIS
7 		ROA
25 		POC
17 		MDO
21 		SAN
9 		MIS2
4 		LS
17 		PHX
22 		MIA
24 		14th 44 [17]
1986 Patrick Racing PHX
1 		LBH
17 		INDY
2 		MIL
12 		POR
14 		MEA
21 		CLE
23 		TOR
5 		MIS
22 		POC
2 		MDO
4 		SAN
4 		MIS2
4 		ROA
20 		LS
9 		PHX2
14 		MIA
4 		6th 115 [18]
1987 Patrick Racing LBH
18 		PHX
21 		INDY
31 		MIL
18 		POR MEA
12 		CLE
21 		TOR
13 		MIS
27 		POC
9 		ROA
19 		MDO
5 		NAZ
5 		LS
18 		MIA
21 		16th 25 [19]
1988 Machinists Union Racing PHX
8 		LBH
3 		INDY
11 		MIL
22 		POR
20 		CLE
10 		TOR
24 		MEA
Inj 		MIS
Inj 		POC
Inj 		MDO
Inj 		ROA
24 		NAZ
15 		LS
9 		MIA
4 		13th 40 [20]
1989 Machinists Union Racing PHX
10 		LBH
26 		INDY
32 		MIL
19 		DET
17 		POR
24 		CLE
11 		MEA
12 		TOR
9 		MIS
25 		POC
22 		MDO
10 		ROA
18 		NAZ LS
8 		14th 18 [21]
1990 Vince Granatelli Racing PHX LBH INDY
9 		MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR 23rd 4 [22]
Stoops Racing MIS
20 		DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LS
1991 Team Menard SRF LBH PHX INDY
29 		MIL
Inj 		DET
Inj 		POR
Inj 		CLE
Inj 		MEA
Inj 		TOR
Inj 		MIS
Inj 		DEN
Inj 		VAN
Inj 		MDO
Inj 		ROA
Inj 		NAZ
Inj 		LS
Inj 		51st 0 [23]
1993 Galles-Kraco Racing SRF PHX LBH INDY
14 		MIL DET POR
27 		CLE
13 		TOR
15 		MIS NHM ROA VAN MDO NAZ LS 35th 0 [24]

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Entrant
1981 Phoenix PR-01 Cosworth DFX 12 4 Jerry O'Connell Racing
1982 Penske PC-10 Cosworth DFX 2 30 Team Penske
1983 March 83C Cosworth DFX 22 5 Bignotti-Cotter Racing
1984 Eagle 84SB Pontiac V8 27 20 Curb-All American Racers
1985 March 85C Cosworth DFX 32 11 Kraco Racing
1986 March 86C Cosworth DFX 6 2 Patrick Racing
1987 March 87C Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8 265A 24 31 Patrick Racing
1988 March 88C Cosworth DFX 13 11 Machinist Union Racing
1989 March 88C Cosworth DFX 27 32 Machinist Union Racing
1990 Penske PC-18 Buick V6 15 9 Vince Granatelli Racing
1991 Lola T91/00 Buick V6 16 29 Team Menard
1993 Lola T93/00 Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8 265A 14 14 Galles-Kraco Racing

24 Hours of Le Mans

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1988 United States Silk Cut Jaguar Republic of Ireland Derek Daly
Australia Larry Perkins 		Jaguar XJR-9LM C1 383 4th 4th

References

  1. ^ a b "Drivers/Riders". Motor Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e 1982 Indianapolis 500 television broadcast, ABC Sports, May 30, 1982
  3. ^ "'82 Crash Turned Promising young Driver into 500 Pariah". Indy Star. May 20, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "1982 Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Report" (PDF). Indianapolis Motor Speedway. May 30, 1982. Retrieved July 23, 2008.[dead link‍]
  5. ^ a b 1982 Indianapolis 500 broadcast, ESPN Classic, May 2006
  6. ^ Cavin, Curt (May 21, 2015). "'82 crash turned promising young driver into 500 pariah". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  7. ^ Bob Varsha, on WindTunnel with Dave Despain, 10 June 2007
  8. ^ 1982 Indianapolis 500 radio broadcast, May 30, 1982
  9. ^ "Footboxes A Joke, Injuries Aren't". Indianapolis Star. September 20, 1984. p. 39. Retrieved April 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  10. ^ "Cogan Not Bluffing". LA Times. August 16, 1991. Retrieved April 21, 2024 – via LATimes.com.Open access icon
  11. ^ 1992 Indianapolis 500 television broadcast, May 24, 1992
  12. ^ "'82 crash turned promising young driver into 500 pariah".
  13. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1981 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  14. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1982 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1983 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  17. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  18. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1986 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  19. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1987 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1988 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1989 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  22. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  23. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1991 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  24. ^ "Kevin Cogan – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
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