Gordon Johncock, the legendary open-wheel driver who won the Indianapolis 500 twice and claimed the 1976 USAC National Championship, passed away peacefully at his home in South Branch, Michigan, on 28 September 2026. He was 90 years old.
Born on 5 August 1936, Johncock began driving aged just five on his family’s farm behind the wheel of a John Deere tractor. He started racing Midwest super-modifieds in the late 1950s and captured his first 500-lap race on a quarter-mile oval in Galesburg, Michigan, in 1958.
In 1964, he set a half-mile world record at Winchester Speedway before making his debut at the Indianapol
