Gordon “Gordy” Johncock, a Hasting native, was a premier driver of Indy Cars for almost 30 years, won the Indianapolis 500 twice and was the 1976 USAC National Champion.
He started his racing career in Midwestern modifieds and USAC sprint cars and set a world half-mile record at Winchester, Ind., in 1964, the same year he started in USAC Championship Trail racing. He raced in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1965 and finished fifth, and his first major championship win came a year later when he won a close race with legend A.J. Foyt at Milwaukee.
His first Indianapolis 500 win came in the accident-marred, rain-shortened 1973 race. With new sponsorship from STP, he also won at Phoenix and Trenton that year and won at Milwaukee and Phoenix in 1974.
Following a disappointment at Indianapolis in 1975 where he qualified 2nd and finished 31st, Johncock finished third in the 500 in 1976 and rolled on to winning the USAC national championship.
Starting in 1978, he finished in the top 10 at Indianapolis five consecutive times capped by his second win in 1982. In that race, which was the closest finish ever at Indianapolis at the time, he topped Rick Mears by 16/100ths of a second.
After winning the 1983 season-opener in Atlanta, Johncock suffered season-ending injuries in a crash at Michigan International Speedway. The 1984 was his last full season, though he came out of retirement for specific races in ’87, ’88 and ’89.
Over his career Johncock competed in 261 races, winning 25 times and earning 20 poles. His winnings amounted to well over $3 million. In 24 Indianapolis 500s, he finished in the top five eight times and led 339 laps.
His career consisted of two Indy 500 wins (1972 and 1982), 20 pole positions, 25 wins, 107 top 5 finishes, and 155 top 10 finishes out of 262 starts.
? After retiring from racing, he moved to Northern Michigan and worked in the timber business. He is a member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.