John Kevin Cogan (born in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

on March 31, 1956) is a former race car driver who drove in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

from to . Driving a

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

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 INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis 5 ...

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 The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

for

Jerry O'Connell Racing Jerry O'Connell Racing is an American auto racing team owned by Jerry O'Connell. The team debuted in 1970 as a Sugaripe Prune entry in 1970 Indianapolis 500 with driver Bill Vukovich, Jr. The team competed in the USAC & CART ranks until the tea ...

, 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 A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

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 The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...

, 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 Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Rivers ...

. Cogan finished his first CART season 23rd in points. In 1982 Cogan joined

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...

to drive the No. 4 Norton Spirit Penske PC-10-

. 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 The ABC Supply 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, located in the Pocono Mountains. The first Indy car race at Pocono was held in 1971. It was the first major event held at the track, shortly after its ...

Pocono International Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA ...

to teammate

Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (1 ...

. Cogan also had two pole positions at the Budweiser Cleveland 500 at

Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport is a public airport on the shore of Lake Erie, in the northeast part of downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It's classified as a general aviation airport and is an FAA designated reliever to Cleveland Ho ...

and the AirCal 500 at

. 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 Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...

. 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 Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

. The cars of

Dale Whittington Dale Lindsey Whittington (September 23, 1959June 14, 2003), was an American racing driver. Born in Farmington, New Mexico, he was the youngest of four sons born to 1950s race car owner Dick Whittington. Dale Whittington had 3 sons: R.D Whittington ...

and

Roger Mears __NOTOC__ Roger Mears (born April 24, 1947 in Wichita, Kansas) is a former off-road driver who also drove in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1978–1984 seasons, with 31 combined career starts, and started in the 1982 ...

, deeper in the field, were also damaged due to the field checking up.

Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 ...

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 Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...

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 ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns 20%). The channel was originally l ...

, May 2006 of the crash and of Cogan that "It was a stupid deal. The guy had his head up his ass."

Gordon Johncock Gordon Johncock (born August 5, 1936) is an American former racing driver. He won the Indianapolis 500 twice, and was the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Early career Johncock began racing at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. J ...

Johnny Rutherford John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 3 ...

and

Bobby Unser Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. F ...

later placed some blame for the accident on the polesitter

, 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 "

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

ing" 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 Andretti is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Mario Andretti (born 1940), Italian-born American father of the prominent Andretti racing family: ** Michael Andretti (born 1962), son of Mario *** Marco A ...

) in one move in the biggest race of the season. The incident also further rehashed a standing feud between

and

Patrick Racing Patrick Racing was an auto racing team in both Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Patrick Racing was started by Pat Patrick in the 1970s. The team is best known for winning the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions (1973, 1982, 1989), and the I ...

. 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 Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...

because of it and replaced by

Al Unser Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick ...

in 1983. The accident was never explained by the Penske team, however, several experts had differing opinions.

Rodger Ward Rodger M. Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was a World War II P-38 aviator in the United States Army Air Forces, and an American race driver with 26 victories in top echelon open-wheel racing in North America, two Indianapolis 500 v ...

, working for the

IMS Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

immediately believed the rear brakes locked up. 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 Constant-velocity joints (also known as homokinetic or CV joints) are mechanical joints which allow a drive shaft to transmit power through a variable angle, at constant rotational speed, without an appreciable increase in friction or play. They ...

. Some feel that

Sam Posey Sam Posey (born May 26, 1944)) is an American former racing driver and sports broadcast journalist. Early life and driving career Posey's father was killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Posey grew up on his grandfather's Connecticut estate near Lime ...

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 ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Televisi ...

, 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/

Caesar's Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio (resort), Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest ...

March 83C-

(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 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

where teammate

Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spokane, ...

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 Dubonnet (, , ) is a sweet, aromatised wine-based quinquina, often enjoyed as an aperitif. It is a blend of fortified wine, herbs, and spices (including a small amount of quinine), with fermentation being stopped by the addition of alcohol. ...

/ Curb Records Ligier LC02-

for

Curb Racing Curb Racing is a former NASCAR team competing mainly in the Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series from 1984–2011. The team was owned by Mike Curb, CEO of Curb Records and 45th Lieutenant Governor of California. Curb also had numerous business ...

and the No. 98

Eagle 84SB-

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

V8 for

All American Racers All American Racers is an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well a ...

each in select races. At the season-opening

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...

on the

Streets of Long Beach The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...

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

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 Michael Chandler (born April 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, Chandler first gained n ...

suffered career-ending injuries in the Eagle. During this time Mike Curb and

Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...

merged their teams to form

Curb A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway. History Although curbs have ...

. 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

. Cogan would then start driving for

Forsythe Racing Forsythe/Pettit Racing was an American racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series owned by Gerald Forsythe and Dan Pettit. The Champ Car effort ceased operations after the 2008 unification of North American open wheel racing. Histor ...

in the No. 33 Skoal Bandit

March 84C The March 84C is a highly successful and extremely competitive open-wheel race car, designed by Adrian Newey, and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1984 IndyCar season. March won 10 out of the 16 races, and took 8 pole positions. Newey' ...

. Initially results were good as Cogan was able to start 5th and finish 8th in his debut for the team at the

Michigan 500 The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was most recently held in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, the event was better-known as the Michigan 500, and was held in high pre ...

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track ...

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

Cogan would suffer season-ending injuries. Cogan would finish 24th in points. In 1985 Cogan would begin to drive for Kraco Racing in the No. 18 Kraco Car Stereo/ Wolff Systems

March 85C The March 85C is an open-wheel race car, designed by Adrian Newey, and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1985 IndyCar season. March would win 10 out of the 15 races that season, along with taking 12 pole positions. Newey's March 85C ch ...

. The season had its ups and downs uch as Cogan nearly failing to qualify for the

, eventually starting in 32nd place and finishing 11th. Cogan would also get a 4th-place finish at the Detroit News 200 at

and a 5th-place finish at the Stroh's/G.I. Joe's 200 at

Portland International Raceway Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Vanpo ...

to get a 14th-place finish in points. For

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Cogan joined

to drive the No. 7

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

March 86C The March 86C is a highly successful and extremely competitive open-wheel race car, designed by Adrian Newey, and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1986 IndyCar season, and eventually the 1987 IndyCar season. The season was another whit ...

. At the season opening Dana 200 for Special Olympics at Phoenix International Raceway Cogan scored his first Indycar win, leading 2nd place

by a lap. It was also the first time Cogan led the CART standings in his career. With 13 laps to go in the

, Cogan made a bold move to pass

and

in less than a lap when both were held up by the slower car of

Randy Lanier Randy Thomas Lanier (born 1954) is a professional race car driver and convicted drug trafficker from the United States. He is best known for his racing efforts in the mid-1980s, including winning the 1984 IMSA Camel GT title for the wholly ind ...

. 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 Arie Luijendijk (anglicised as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Sp ...

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 Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...

March 87C The March 87C is a highly successful and extremely competitive open-wheel race car, designed and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1986 IndyCar season, alongside the 85C and 86C. The season was another whitewash and a clean-sweep fo ...

Ilmor Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...

- 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 Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing facility near Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004 in two distinct course configurations. In its early years, it was a dirt twin oval layout. In 1987 it was reo ...

to get a 16th-place finish in points. In 1988 Cogan would begin to drive for

Machinists Union Racing Machinists Union Racing was a CART Indy Car team owned by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and run by the IAM's national automotive coordinator Andy Kenopensky, a former appointee to the United States Metric Boar ...

in the No. 11

Schaefer Beer Schaefer Beer is a brand of American beer first produced in New York City during 1842 by the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company.The Shaefer Beer Stor The company relocated to Brooklyn in the early 20th century. It went public in 1968 with a $ ...

/ Playboy Fashions

March 88C The March 88C is an open-wheel race car, designed and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1988 IndyCar season. The 88C chassis won four out of the 15 races, all with Al Unser Jr., but only managed to score 1 pole position, with Michael An ...

(although an 87C was used at the Miller High Life 200 at the

). The season started off well as Cogan got a 3rd-place finish at the

on the

. After seven rounds Cogan was ranked 11th in points when he was injured while competing at the

Molson Indy Toronto The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 t ...

Exhibition Place Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...

. 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 Tamiami Park is a public urban park in metropolitan Miami, just south of the Modesto Maidique campus of Florida International University. Background The park was built in the late 1960s on the site of the former ''Tamiami Airport'', which was re ...

. For 1989 Cogan returned with the Machinists Union driving the No. 11

/ Playboy Fashions

. 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 Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and ...

. The only 'highlight' of Cogan's season was a major crash at the

. 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 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Cogan could only get a drive for

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

for

Vince Granatelli Racing Vince Granatelli Racing was an American auto racing team that competed in the CART PPG IndyCar World Series between 1987 and 1991. The team's greatest success came in their first and final seasons, as each year, their driver (Roberto Guerrero in ...

in the No. 11 Tuneup Masters Penske PC18-

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

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

for

Stoops Racing Stoops may refer to: People * A set of American brothers who are all current or former college football coaches: ** Bob Stoops (born 1960), former head coach at the University of Oklahoma ** Mark Stoops (born 1967), head coach at the University o ...

in the No. 17

Conseco CNO Financial Group, Inc. (formerly Conseco, Inc. (from Consolidated National Security Corporation)) is a financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana. Its insurance subsidiaries provide life insurance, annuity and supplemental he ...

Lola T9000- Cosworth DFS starting 13th and finishing 20th. Cogan would finish out the season 23rd in points. In

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Cogan would join

Team Menard Team Menard was an auto racing team that competed in the Indianapolis 500, CART, Indy Racing League, NASCAR Cup Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team was owned by Menards founder, John Menard Jr.. Founded in 1980 to compete in CAR ...

to drive the No. 9 Glidden/

Menards Menards is an American home improvement retail company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menards is owned by founder John Menard Jr. through his privately held company, Menard, Inc. It has 335 stores in 15 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, ...

Lola T9100-

V6 at the

. 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 Gary Bettenhausen (November 18, 1941 – March 16, 2014) was an American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, graduated in the class of 1962 from Bremen High School (Midlothian, Illinois) in ...

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...

and

Stan Fox Stanley Cole Fuchs (July 7, 1952 – December 18, 2000), known professionally as Stan Fox (''Fuchs'' being the German word for "fox"), was an American open wheel race car driver. Fox was one of the last links between the midget car racing world ...

. In the race Cogan was involved in a crash with

Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Wi ...

on lap 25. In the wreck Cogan broke his arm and leg. 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, 1992 Indianapolis 500 television broadcast, May 24, 1992 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

Lola T9300-

- Chevrolet Indy V8 265A in a part-time schedule. At Cogan's debut for the year, the

Cogan was on the bubble on Bump Day and was nearly bumped by

. 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

. 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 to concentrate on a real estate business in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Palos Verdes Estates LLC. Cogan declined invitations to be interviewed for the centennial era of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (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.(9) 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

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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American open-wheel racing

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CART

Indianapolis 500

24 Hours of Le Mans

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogan, Kevin 1956 births Living people American racing drivers American Formula One drivers Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers People from Culver City, California Racing drivers from California Racing drivers from Los Angeles RAM Racing Formula One drivers Tyrrell Formula One drivers British Formula One Championship drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Team Penske drivers Jaguar Racing drivers Forsythe Racing drivers