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.
32 Sugaripe Prunes Phoenix PR-01-Cosworth DFX for Jerry O'Connell Racing, as part of the USAC Gold Crown Championship.
In his debut, the Gould Rex Mays Classic at the Milwaukee Mile, Cogan qualified in seventh place and finished in second.
Cogan participated in four more races that season with his best finish coming at the Los Angeles Times 500 at Riverside International Raceway.
Cogan also had two pole positions at the Budweiser Cleveland 500 at Burke Lakefront Airport and the AirCal 500 at Riverside International Raceway.
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.
[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'."
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.
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.
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.
Rodger Ward, working for the IMS Radio Network immediately believed the rear brakes locked up.
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.
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.
At the Dana Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix International Raceway Cogan would finish in 8th place aboard the Eagle.
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.
Cogan would leave Curb-All American Racers after the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport.
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.
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.
Cogan still led the standings after Indianapolis but suffered retirements in seven of the fourteen remaining races and fell to 6th in the championship.
After seven rounds Cogan was ranked 11th in points when he was injured while competing at the Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place.
Cogan suffered serious injuries with his right femur broken near the hip in four lengthwise pieces, requiring seven and a half hours of surgery.
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.
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.
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.