Indy 500 1982 - The Start, crash

[@dinhwood]

This was my first Indy 500; I was 12. My dad wrote for the local paper but felt my brother and me were too young to go to the race until that year. My dad predicted Gordon Johncock would win; trying to sound knowledgeable, I predicted a wreck on the first lap. We were both right. I met Cogan several years later and he seemed aloof but not necessarily rude or over his head. We wasn't untalented but obviously over his head that year.

[@christopherneyfeldt4587]

I still say Cogan was over his head and he raced for my dad’s boss.

[@JL-ec1by]

I was there, too, and I was 12. It's one of the best races ever.

[@kwsanders]

I was 14 and remember watching this race on television.

[@altfactor]

Growing up, my family had a tradition on Memorial Day weekend that we'd all listen to the live radio broadcast of the Indianapolis "500", and that evening, we'd all watch the taped and edited replay (edited down to 2 hours, including commercials) of the race on ABC-TV (the race wasn't yet televised live).

[@gehlen52]

Beginning in the early 70's probably, our tradition was to listen to Howdy Bell and all the others on the radio as they described the race while we watched it on a TV with the volume off. The radio was far more descriptive than the TV announcers as they had to be and it was a great combination.

[@altfactor]

Something you may not know: During the years (1971-85) that ABC carried the Indianapolis "500" on a same-day tape-delay, Jim McKay, Jackie Stewart, and (later on) Sam Posey would record their commentary of the start, the first few laps, the last few laps and the finish as they happened. The middle of the race was edited to fit the time remaining in-between the start and finish, and the announcers would "call" the middle part of the race as the edited tape was being broadcast that evening.

[@stevefowler2112]

Interesting...thanx for that tidbit...I did not know that.

[@blackeyedcheese]

@2:50"Chet Pillip is the 1st bearded driver here in 46 years" I laughed my ass off at that one.

[@georgejacob3162]

+blackeyedcheese Kevin Cogan was the driver without pubic hair according to Mario Andretti!

[@deanladue3151]

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

[@bétaalfa-g2i]

Currently several driver has a beard like Hinch, Rossi, and sometimes Munoz. And Alonso. :D

[@scottlathrop66]

Hipster before hipster was hipster.

[@MidgetRacer8192]

scott... or just a normal "mans man" back then.

[@themusicman1970]

AJ actually was able to his car and came out on the restart and smoked everyone taking and extending the lead over Mears for the first 30 laps or so. Ultimately, Aj's car broke and I think it was related to Cogan running into him. This was Foyt's last best shot for Five as his father (head mechanic) passed the following year and he just didn't have the same burning passion any longer.

[@nascage]

Man, this is gold!! Thanks for the upload. I I remember watching this as a 16 yr old kid in Phoenix, Arizona. What a great memory for me. Not so much for Andretti, Foyt & Cogan.

[@altfactor]

Although the race had a controversial start, it had the most memorable finish in the history of the Indianapolis "500" (at least up to that time).

[@dsegrist2000]

Yep: Mears, Johncock was one of the best finishes. I saw it from turn 4.

[@shagdesign]

"Cooogin!!" -Classic AJ. Mario's "children" comment also applies to his grandson last year at Indy.

[@sdsmt99]

Vintage Andretti Whine

[@helpinghal]

The best part of this race was A.J. whacking away at his transmission with a giant screw driver while Tom Carnegie said "I'd say Foyt is unhappy". Epic

[@wellblowmedown7645]

Forgot that one. Class I. Tks for flashback there!!

[@deanladue2327]

I think it was more out of frustration for A.J than actually trying to get the transmission back in gear. No doubt he was still POed about Cogan ( "Coogan") nailing the the left front of his car in the ensuing crash at the start. Which hurt the handling and probably forced A.J to use the gearbox much harder than intended.

[@timford3599]

@@deanladue2327 I have read a couple accounts that stated when AJ's Team pushed the DNF'ed car back to their garage one of the mechanics (possibly the Chief) reached into the cockpit and wiggled the gear shift lever and the transmission clicked right into gear. I believe you're correct in your analysis that (possibly the overheated trans) AJ still angry about the crash right past the starting line caused him to force the immoveable shift lever by using his anger filled (typical AJ temperament) strength trying to force the lever too hard (both on the track then in the pits) and he could have jammed the trans gear dogs between two gears simultaneously which caused the problem to become worse. As he is prone to do in the heat of battle he just got out and started pounding on a drift pin with a heavy hammer thus making the problem worse. **These sorts of things can easily happen when the entire year's blood, sweat, tears, and anticipation all conspire to end up in a HUGE disappointment. It's happened many times to dash the hopes of teams that were looking for a great finish and, maybe even a win. Now, the waiting begins for 364 days to try once again. That's all part of The Indianapolis 500 drama and often Heartbreak!

[@manthing43]

A good indication of what happened to Cogan happens later in this very race. Tony Bettenhausen's car takes a hard right on the straightway at speed. Even the announcers caught that. Just very unfortunate set of circumstances for Cogan. A pure racer though, and no he didn't pay for his ride (contrary to whats been posted). Despite being the class of the field at Cleveland & Riverside, he failed to score a win that year, and we all know Penske likes WINS. Cogan did score 3 Top 5 Indy fins.

[@rivotrich7]

I know that there are some slightly closer finishes at Indy now, but I think the 1982 Indy 500 Finish AND Start are still the most exciting ones to this day.

[@TheCarlsonsRaiders]

There's a pretty big case for a failure in the rear suspension. Rick Mears had a rear suspension go out on him at Michigan earlier that season in the same way, and Cogan looked to the right left corner as he got out, almost like he thought something broke.

[@VampireYoshi]

What happened to Coogan (have called him that ever since the King of Texas renamed him...) was two-fold. Mears was, in fact, bringing them around too slowly, given the nature of turbocharged engines, and the awesome surge of energy they get when one punches the throttle from a cold start. Coogan likewise had cold tires, in comparison to heat of race pace. The combination of the two produced a right-veering motion that became unrecoverable only after his car impacted and was deflected by Foyt's.

[@Dahaas2003]

Thank you for this explanation! I always wondered what caused such a sudden and pronounced veer to the right by Cogan's car.

[@alonenjersey]

For 20 yrs., my Dad & I would always cheer for Mario Andretti to win @ Indy.

[@davidca96]

and he simply never could, he ALWAYS had something happen that wasnt his fault it was incredible how bad his luck was at this specific track.

[@alonenjersey]

@@davidca96 The two of us ALWAYS felt super bad when he wasn't the victor. Year after year.

[@mikebronicki8264]

"Andretti is slowing on the backstretch!"

[@sdsmt99]

It didn't work

[@manthing43]

Kevin's instinctive reaction was to walk to the back of his car & examine the righthand side rear in particular. Please remember that this recording is not the original broadcast & is edited. Kevin's "I don't know what happened" is more of a "no comment" because in the unedited interview he says "no point in saying i was hit from behind until I see the video." That says it felt like he was hit.That's a good description for a broken halfshaft & how it feels when it goes CLUNK! Common early 80's.

[@carlfrye1566]

He wasn't hit from behind, the 2nd row cars are way back. He hit the throttle and spun the tires.

[@MichaelClark-uw7ex]

Looking at it frame by frame, it looks like something weird happened to the right rear tire, it looks deformed right after the car veers right, then it appears to shrink compared to the left rear just before he hits Foyt..

[@scottmaxwell8578]

@@carlfrye1566 Read first. I never said he was. I re-iterated what Kevin said in his interview. It was a broken halfshaft. There were many broken halfshafts in the early to mid 80's. It took them awhile to resolve the problem because the problem wasn't consistent in how they were failing. There was an extensive in article in either On Track or Autoweek about it back then with a list of known halfshaft failures and this incident was on the list.

[@brianvogt8125]

@@MichaelClark-uw7ex Playing at 0.25 speed, at about 3:59.6 when Cogan's car is at 90° to the track direction, significant tyre inflation is clearly visible - how much is uncertain, but it doesn't take much deflation to lose traction. Definitely no sparks from the wheel rim grinding on the track. Could also have been a broken steering rod. Being in Australia, I watched the race replay several hours later (we don't stay up until 4 am waiting for you guys to get started 😅). The commentators speculated about the possibility of a broken half shaft, which would make sense if it was common at the time. The fact that Roger Penske refused to comment on the cause means either: (1) The car was embarassingly at fault, or (2) The suspect parts were destroyed in the secondary crash.

[@mattskustomkreations]

I started to watch this and they showed Kevin Cogan. I thought “now why does that name stick in my mind...?” Then when the wreck happened I instantly remembered when I saw this “live” on TV. Everybody in Indiana hated the guy after that. Mario and AJ were HUGE fan favorite.

[@gsmscooter22]

Not true, it wasn't Cogan's fault as CV joint/ halfshaft broke according to Walker. AJ was horses ass

[@mattskustomkreations]

@@gsmscooter22 Maybe it wasn’t his fault. But it is true he was despised and mocked by Hoosiers when it happened.

[@BSNFabricating]

If you remember, that happened to Roberto Guerrero in 1992... he started on the pole, but spun and crashed on the pace lap. It was a cold day, and that led to a lot of crashes...most of them on restarts when the tires were cold...

[@ButOneThingIsNeedful]

One of the most bizarre moments in the 500's long history. Cogan's crash alone would have made it so, but many fail to notice that what Dale Whittington does in the background (row 8) is just about as crazy!! Just weirdsville!

[@chrisp2757]

Isn’t that just locking up the brakes and losing control?

[@deanladue2327]

Hit Dennis Firestone, and spun in the fluids put down by Cogan.

[@SIGMAMAN69]

Rumor has it that Mario Andretti told Whittington’s brothers Don & Bill that if he came back to Indy that he would expose their drug smuggling activities. I don’t k ow if that’s true or not but those Whittington brothers were practically a drug cartel

[@cheerdiver]

@@deanladue2327 And now you know the magic of Ammonium Perchlorate sublimation, low Hg=high Hp. Once the silicone saturates the track, no traction. The talking heads call it 'rain', yet no rain clouds. Ppl claim Indycars are 50%, complete BS. They don't count oxydizers as fuel.

[@vuetube]

Wow! 80's Flashback. Actual Americans in the field! Love the graphics and music. 130 looks like pace car speeds in comparison to 230s. Nice they actually waited (or tried to) until the entire field was on the front straight. That was a different era in American Open Wheel.

[@myronlarimer1943]

Nope. Been to a lot of 500’s. I was at that one. Rick Mears brought the field out onto the main straight off turn 4 way too slow. I was sitting in the old C stand between turn four and the yard of bricks. Saw it all happen right in front of me. Too much torque in the rear for Cogan to handle (or the half shaft in the rear was faulty and snapped under the torque) when they tried to jump up to racing speed about 210 on the straightaways that year from that comparatively slow 130…. The race did have a great finish between Mears and Johncock, though. Hated to see Andretti eliminated like that - he was wicked fast all month with a great car and team with Patrick Racing.

[@altfactor]

The crash at the start would have been the best remembered part of the 1982 Indianapolis "500", were it not for the exciting and historic finish.

[@jameshoran8]

Now those cars were sleek.

[@acegibson9533]

AJ's problem has always been, he's never been able to express himself. lol lol lol

[@dethmonger117]

I know, he always seems to not be able to get the right words!!! Haha But seriously, how low did cogan feel crashing out AJ, & Mario? I don't know if I'd ever come out of the trailer

[@doctorindy]

I always found Sam Posey's remarks amazing, since the IMS Radio Network crew was all over the crash. Rodger Ward immediately suggested that either 1) Kevin was riding the brakes to engage the turbo, released, and it came around or 2) He simply gunned it in 1st gear (when he should have been in 2nd) and it came around. It wasn't hard to do that back then. Posey's analysis...."Absolutely no idea." 4 years later Sam would call Cogan on the radio with 3 laps to go..."I'm kinda busy now Sam"

[@altfactor]

From 1971 through 1985, ABC carried the Indianapolis "500" on a same-day tape-delay basis, edited down to a two-hour (or later, three-hour) tape (including commercials). During those years, the commentary of the start, the first few laps, the final few laps, and the finish by Jim McKay and either Jackie Stewart or Sam Posey would be recorded as the events took place. The commentary of the middle of the race was done as the edited tape was broadcast. Thus, the commentary you hear in this clip was recorded at the time.

[@josephscott6388]

yeah Sam posey was a space cadet. Woulda liked to have heard Sam and Larry Nuber call a race together. With a big bag of weed to split between them over the next 4 hours.

[@deanladue2327]

Basically Cogan telling Sam to "F" off.

[@manthing43]

Fast forward to lap 37. Tony Bettenhausen is full speed on the mainstraight & almost the same spot where Cogan crashed, Tony's car suddenly veers right like Cogan's. Fortunately he was not hurt and no other cars were near. Was it cold tires? No he had many laps at speed on them. Did he jump on the throttle too hard? No, he was already flat out. Obviously it was mechanical failure, as Sam Posey eluded to & said "This is the sort of thing that may have happened to Cogan earlier".

[@Zoomer30]

The same thing happened to Roberto Gerroro in the 91 or 92 Indy, he was in POLE POSITION and had a similar issue on the back strech on the pace laps. Pretty embarssing but it can happen.

[@STP43FAN1]

1992. That was the year maybe half the field crashed out in so many cautions the crown moaned angrily with each crash

[@timford3599]

@@STP43FAN1 Ridiculously cold track temps were responsible for many wrecks because the tires weren't up to to racing temps. Especially after the field slowed to yellow flag pace. The old saying was certainly true in 1992 that; Cautions beget Cautions. Dr. Terry Trammel was noted to have spent something like 21 hours in surgery after driver upon driver was brought into Indiana Methodist Hospital with many complicated injuries mostly to their lower extremities. Mario's injuries, as bad as he had ever received at the 500, was next up for the O.R. and was triaged down the list because his son Jeff had just been brought in with several extremely serious compound fractures to both legs and as I recall, to his back as well. It was a very grim day at Methodist Hospital that day. Dr. Trammel performed in a nearly Super Human fashion that day in Surgery!

[@rivotrich7]

I remember seeing this on the tape delayed ABC broadcast when I was 12.

[@saleendriver]

God I miss guys like Super Tex in racing........

[@dinhwood]

It didn't end his career per se, but it ended Cogan's chance at being one of the elite drivers. Penske dropped him more for publicly criticizing the car and denying any culpability than actually wrecking. After this, Cogan drove for second tier teams. And if anything could demonstrate the existence of curses, its the history of the Andrettis at Indy!

[@thunderbolt2145]

I remember this. I was 13 and could only imagine how Cogan felt having two legends pissed off at him at the same time

[@ramdel0396]

My thought exactly . The faces of the two legends pissed off because of you . Wow.

[@johnolexa1543]

Yep was thinking the same thing!!

[@DucatiPaso750]

Same here. 14 years old for me. It was broadcast on time delay back in those days.

[@mattskustomkreations]

@@DucatiPaso750 Same here. Indiana kid and the race was everything for our state growing up. But I also was pissed at the guy since AJ and Mario were my favorite 2 drivers.

[@aiciamcafee9152]

Does anyone remember this race different? I do

[@doctorindy]

In the minutes following the crash, on the radio, most of the drivers...Rutherford, Johncock, among them, all thought that Mears took the field down way too slow. Which could have been the reason Cogan was in first gear as he said he was, and if they were going faster, he wouldn't have gunned it so abruptly. Everyone at Penske maintains that "nothing broke." We'll never know if that's true or not.

[@deanladue2327]

Penske immediately had the destroyed PC-10 covered up and locked away in the hauler. Wouldn't even let USAC or CART officials have even a glimpse of it. So yep, you wonder.

[@koro287]

Another cover up like that Brazilian dudes.

[@jondoe8889]

I remember this wreck, on TV. But mostly I remember making a pitcher of lemonade, moving the hammock close to a window, and listening to the long race, all by myself. Late 50's, before they showed the race on TV - and the coverage was crappy! Today, I watch from the recliner couch, where I get to skip any commercials. And wow - do they have commercials! But I miss the good old days, where I had to see with my ears. ammock close to a window, and listening to the long race, all by myself. Late 50's, before they showed the race on TV. I do miss those days!

[@JackoProvenGuiltyDozensOfTimes]

Sounds like you got a 500 lb gut!

[@2014cwajts71]

Yes, further back in the pack. Dale Whittington swerved into Roger Mears' car similiar to Cogan's manuever. In his book, A.J. Foyt blamed the crash on too slow of pace lap speed and driver inexperience when they hit the throttle and the turbocharger boost kicked in and the cars got away from them. Whatever the reason, it was a pretty unique situation.

[@timford3599]

Rick Mears had his worst injury at Sanair Speedway in Canada due to the same thing. The turbo spooled up and the car snapped a hard left directly nose first into the outside pit wall which damaged his feet so badly that Doctors in Canada were ready to amputate one or both feet. Thankfully Dr. Trammel was called in Indianapolis and he said get Rick on a Life Flight Helicopter and fly him directly back to Methodist Hospital where the extraordinary Physician successfully saved Rick's feet, legs and his racing career.

[@MichaelClark-uw7ex]

Looking at it frame by frame, it looks like something weird happened to the right rear tire, it looks deformed right after the car veers right, then it appears to shrink compared to the left rear right before he hits Foyt.. Pause right before the crash then use < and > to advance or rewind one frame at a time. Could be an artifact of the potato cam they were using but I'm not sure.

[@michaelruston5190]

In 1987, Aunt Carolyn went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for the 1987 Indianapolis 500, and she bought me a shirt that says, Indianapolis 500, the 71st, May 24, 1987, I was 14 years old at the time.

[@ProfessorIgor]

those Gurney-Eagle's (Herm Johnson) were awesome looking cars... my fave indy car ever

[@indyracingnut]

That 1983 Eagle of AL Unser Jr was by far the prettiest one of the bunch.

[@Chives5150]

I love Jim McKay's call. "How in the world could this have happened?!"

[@josephscott6388]

hated when McKay was replaced by Lampley. neither one really knew racing but at least Mckay came across as a likeable guy who didnt make you want to punch him in his shit sniffing face.

[@carlfrye1566]

He always said that when there was a crash at the start, listen to the 1973 start crash.

[@manthing43]

Yes. Cogan's teammate Rick Mears had the same thing happen to him during a private test session at Michigan the following month. Penske kept it quite while they fixed the flaw. Would've been nice if Penske would have stood behind his driver, but Penske has pride in building the best and his reputation meant more than standing behind a driver that was a public relations nightmare following this unfortunate incident.

[@doctorindy]

At 5:57 you can see how far ahead Mario was...he was trying to jump the start. Johncock (his teammate) was right next to him, back in proper alignment, and says that if Mario was back in row 2 where he belonged, he could have steered to avoid Cogan.

[@PeterMayer]

Bullshit

[@mikebronicki6978]

Why did the green flag take so long? It usually is out much sooner. They were almost up to the start finish line and still no green.

[@Zoomer30]

The accident looked very much like what happened to Roberto Guerrero at Indy (from the pole no less) lost it on the first parade lap on admittedly a very cold day to be racing.

[@deanladue2327]

The difference was the field was on the back straightaway and Roberto was in the pole position when he lost it. So he didn't take anyone else out. No doubt that it gave some drivers involved in the '82 crash some serious flashbacks.

[@dalebshelton]

Cogan was in way over his head. He had a very fast car in a big moment. I watched this raced live at 10 years old...AJ foyt was pissed,,,,,,,this was a classic race.....this is the race that I can never forget.

[@dietpepsivanilla3095]

"Coogan" did at least win one Indy Car race. He almost won the 500 in 1986, but Bobby Rahal got him on the restart with two laps left. Coogan ended up second.

[@SIGMAMAN69]

As disappointing as Cohan’s 2nd place finish was that year, it should have shut his critics up. He would have won for sure if not for that late yellow flag

[@mtlassen1992]

Cogan however did win 1st place in the Farrah Fawcett Pretty Hair Contest!

[@nascage]

Fun fact?

[@koro287]

Yes,it had quite a neat taper down the sides didnt it.

[@user-sp8eb6iz7f]

“Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.” ― Benjamin Franklin

[@Caroni100]

"Car racing always will be dangerous" Sir Jackie Stewart (1939- ) Retired british Formula 1 driver. World Champion in 1969, 1971 and 1973. Greetings from Venezuela.

[@Zoomer30]

And yes, it's been said many times.... "AJ Foyt blames Kevin Coooooogan"

[@jimbosc]

Either wheel spin or a broken half shaft - if the former is true - then AJ and Mario are correct in their assessment of his abilities. I think the post race analysis seems to agree something broke on the car......but Penske unloaded Mr Cogan pretty quick after this incident. I think the Captain made his own decision about fault.

[@deanladue2327]

If there's one person that doesn't like being embarrassed, it's Roger Penske. Especially after Cogan was involved in another crash with Foyt at Michigan. Only this crash sent Foyt to the hospital, and Penske had seen enough of Kevin Cogan.

[@boogieondown5824]

I remember seeing this live burned into my brain, and years later I still can't believe it. What a miserable feeling.

[@TS-ef2gv]

I remember after that race there were some driver complaints that the flagger was very late giving them the green, which made the front row late to accelerate and bunched up the field, especially the first several rows. That was caused by an ongoing problem at Indy with the field getting too strung out on the last pace lap and not being in their eleven rows of three for the start. In years past they had gotten the green no matter what and sometimes all but the first couple of rows were strung out nearly in single file coming out of turn four on the last pace lap. It made for really sloppy starts. Track officials took a hard line and the flagger was directed to not drop the green flag if the field was strung out on the last pace lap, to send them around again for another pace lap. You can see it play out in this video. They were almost at the start/finish line and the flagger still had given them no signal either way. Some drivers were holding back and some were trying to go.

[@Derby14]

@Zoomer30 Great comment...I was remembering that myself as I was watching and then saw your comment. I believe it was 1992...the first year Little Al won the race.

[@gnevolejr]

Jim McKay was the best. He had the ability to get you interested in barrel jumping at Grossingers (1963 Wide World of Sports).

[@JohnnyUtah13]

could you imagine buying tickets for this race in '82 and watching Foyt and Andretti get taken out BEFORE the race even started...

[@mrjasonwhite73]

I've always liked the Penske PC10. Very clean, fast looking design.

[@deanladue2327]

Perfection in the "ground effects" technology of the time. But because of the tragic accident involving Gordon Smiley, ground effects technology was banned after the '82 season. And the new 1983 PC-10B couldn't compete with the new 'March chassis.

[@manthing43]

@tonip420 Yeah we were big Mears fans too as well as Cogan. I have a CIRCLE TRACK magazine in which Kevin was quoted as saying "Rick has THE touch on ovals - nobody is better!" I probably didn't get it exact but that's pretty much what he said and I thought that was pretty cool of him to say. Rarely did you hear drivers praise other drivers.

[@2014cwajts71]

Man, I just remembered Jackie Stewert. He was smart, thoughtful and respected the legend of the 500. Here's a thought, I wonder how the old gaurd would do with all the camera angles, including the onboard cameras of today. I don't know if it would make it better or not. You're right, it was a simpler time.

[@bubbiesdad1792]

"It's an alcohol fire, you can't see the flames."

[@joekidd1992]

I remember this race and you bring up a good point that I don't remember hearing about back then. He WAS way out in front for about half a lap... way out in front of the other 2 cars in the 2nd row. I almost could not even make out that he was there until he was hit because he was so close behind the inside car on row 1.

[@Treetop64]

Not my fault, lol. Didn't Roger Penske fire Cogan after this?

[@SHEVYWOOD]

He fired him after the full season cuz he performed not to expectations. But this race definitely didn't help 😂

[@chrisp2757]

Talk about fate, Cogan has a few bad crashes including one with injury that included Roberto Guerrero. Guerrero would later go on to crash a pole sitting car during the parade lap.

[@deanladue2327]

Also later in the season Cogan was involved in another crash at Michigan, ( again with Foyt!) I think after that, Penske had seen enough of Kevin Cogan.

[@kadasrichard]

@@deanladue2327 I mean, not everyone can take out AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti at the same time😃

[@manthing43]

That's already been covered. Penske and crew chief at the time Derrick Walker deny anything wrong with the PC10. However several crew members and Mears himself say what happened at Michigan was exactly what happened to Cogan and the design flaw in the halfshaft was discovered and fixed following the Michigan incident.

[@enoughthatshoppingads6069]

R.I.P Gordon Smiley

[@umm589]

Flippy Musa Respect

[@deanladue2327]

Saw the replay of it on ABC Sports that very day, Absolutely horrific. RIP Gordon Smiley.

[@timford3599]

@@deanladue2327 Gordon Smiley and Swede Savage in 1973 were the most devastating that I have ever seen. RIP Gordon and Swede...God Speed!

[@davidteller7681]

AJ sums it up nicely at the end 😁

[@rocketscience777999]

I was a huge Mario Andretti fan as a kid and remeber this race very well. Later in the telecast they said the accident was caused by Kevin Cogan flooring is car to get a jump at the start of the race and shearing an axle however some people say it was a broven CV joint or a locked up brake (some drivers would ride the brakes at the start of the race to get the turbocharger spooled up). 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 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, of the crash and of Cogan that "It was a stupid deal. The guy had his head up his ass."

[@manthing43]

@PorygonFanatics Split was 1996 so actually Robby competed in 3 Indy 500's before the split. He was a rookie in 1993 driving for Foyt. He finished 5th both 1994 & 1995 driving for Valvoline sponsored Derrick Walker owned team.

[@mitchcolburn1216]

Sad thing is it wasn't even Cogan's fault, more than likely it was a mechanical failure.

[@racermac1988]

ABC used that music a lot for their racing coverage.

[@Woody615]

ABC had commissioned specific music for all of their sports events. The Wide World of Sport had it's own. MNF had it's own, and the famous Trumpet fanfare for the Olympics was by ABC also. That is why in 1984, ABC wouldn't let NBC use it for the Los Angeles Games, so NBC hired John Williams to write a new theme. Four years later, ABC relented and now both themes are used during the Olympics.

[@muffs55mercury61]

I miss those days of Jim McKay calling these races. Back when the drivers were drivers and not celebrities. I read that Mario Andretti later forgave Kevin Cogan for his deed and they later became friends. It was somewhat of a vindication for winner Gordon Johncock after the awful 1973 race. He was declared the winner in that one but had nothing to celebrate about, being distraught over Swede Savage being laid up (who died 33 days later)

[@rivotrich7]

Gordy said that Mario jumped the start and was out of line with the rest of row 2. Mario kinda admitted it, but said that when the race is starting that he don't hold back.

[@manthing43]

@Zoomer30 And it also happened to Tom Sneva 1986 - he started on the 2nd row I believe. Everybody seems to forget about that one.

[@cjs83172]

What happened there was that Sneva, who lined up on the inside of the third row (and had trouble even getting his car started), didn't have the steering wheel fastened (or couldn't get it fastened), and it came off in his hands.

[@SP-tn4if]

This happened because of a injector valve (butterfly valve) that was malfunctioning on Cogans car. They found this out later that it was a problem on a couple other cars after the race. The valve was either partially closed or all the way open. Once you punched the accelerator, it opened all the way and forced a overflow of fuel into the combustion chamber and accelerated the engine suddenly. Totally was not Cogans fault.

[@jlpapple]

Very interesting. Is there a source for this explanation?

[@SP-tn4if]

Sorry, there isn't to my knowledge. I do remember it being discussed when it was actually happening and that it had been a problem that year. It was discussed with mechanics and drivers that stated they felt this was the problem. I wish I could find the interview, but no luck so far.

[@ColdSmokes]

S P Sounds like the oldest type of excuse in the book such as when an F1 car chucks a rod or 2 and they call it a bad generator...ok, yeah right. How does this mysterious valve cause a driver to veer hard right?

[@Nehpets94]

It was those damn Whittington Brothers!!

[@altfactor]

R.I.P. Jim McKay.

[@OverlandOne]

RIP Chris Economaki

[@robertbrook8552]

RIP Gordon Smiley he died just days before this.

[@NUKE-W.E.F.]

Indy was never the same without Jim McKay and Chris Economacki

[@stansmad]

@@NUKE-W.E.F. And they moved Paul Page to Drag Racing ! :(

[@plethoraxray]

It s very curious the yellow car at the end of the grip slips EXACTLY at the same place , in the same way and trajectory of Koogan.....would not be the absence of grip on a very specific right side of the track ?

[@TheGojira84]

these 80s intros are so badass.

[@deanladue3151]

those thirty something year old cars, (especially the Penske PC 10) still look awesome today. think they're better than the crap they're using today.

[@Bojangles5-2]

They had personality! They represented the culmination of team engineering, and they didn't roll off the cookie cutter assembly line of today's cars.

[@PYLrulz1984]

@Hanjin13 Something had to have broken on the car for it to wreck like that.

[@hoss73ford]

Gosh how I miss the sportscasters of the day and the sport as it was then. Jim McKay was the voice of auto racing like Pat Summerall or Curt Gowdy was to football of Vin Scully is to baseball.

[@GeorgeAshburn]

I always saw McKay as the voice of ABC's Wide World of Sports too.

[@Zoomer30]

It's almost 100% the same thing that later happened to gerraro (not sure on the name, he was the pole sitter in the 91 92 or 93 500). His car just made a right hand hook on him right into the inside wall. And he was a vet and the freaking pole sitter These cars are really touchy going slow like that and i think kc got way too much grief for it.

[@tyvulpintaur2732]

Wow Rahal and Ganassi in the race

[@SIGMAMAN69]

If Cogan was right, that something broke on the car, there wasn't really anything for him to feel responsible for. I don't know what happened but I know he didn't do it on purpose. That man took a lot of heat for that moment for a long time when people should have just let it go. It was just unfortunate that it added to Mario's Indy hard luck stories.

[@SolamenteVees]

Gordon Smiley, the crash at the start & that insane finish. The most memorable Indy 500.

[@hmdwgf]

This is probably the most spectacular screw-up in motor racing history.

[@chiptmcc8656]

Roberto Guerrero......wrecking on pace lap

[@GeorgeAshburn]

Craziest one I've seen in person. Dad and I had tickets a few rows behind the pits. A sure WTF moment

[@hmdwgf]

@@GeorgeAshburn That's awesome. To have been at that Indy 500 must have given you real bragging rights. I'm jealous.

[@GeorgeAshburn]

@@hmdwgf Thank You. The only other race I went to was in '85 but seating in a different section around turn 2 thinking I wouldn't see anything crazy, then Danny Sullivan pulled off the spin in front of us. I couldn't believe how he regained control of the car. I've been blessed to see two of the crazier things to happen at Indy

[@fueldragster]

"How in the WORLD could this of happened?" "Absolutely NO Idea Jim!"

[@AutoRockinRacing94]

What is the name of the song in the background when they show the starting grid?

[@kendog0731]

I have a piece of the wall from inside of pit road when he wrecked hard years later. It was such a hard impact it blew the wall out from the back

[@2014cwajts71]

Yes, those two and I must add Jim Mckay and Bobby Unser to that list. Today's commentators are good, but you're right, the passion isn't there as much. Mckay wasn't the biggest racing expert, but it wasn't cause of a lack of effort. Tom Sneva was good too, and witty. I was actually impressed with Jason Priestly in 2001 too.

[@gijoeman22]

@gamrguy101 Not sure Dennis Firestone is part of THAT Firestone family. He's from Australia

[@snappy452]

AJ Foyt - Best interview ever

[@dinhwood]

@PorygonFanatics: I have spoken with several sportswriters who cover and covered Indy car racing and *none* of them heard anything about Mears having a similar wreck in a test at Michigan until Donald Davidson mentioned it in 2004. I don't know that Davidson, who has a lot of trivia about the IMS, is necessarily a solid source.

[@altfactor]

It's interesting that future Indy-type drivers like Bobby Rahal and Danny Sullivan made their Indianapolis "500" debuts in 1982.

[@jackjeffries2470]

AJ Foyt would approve of how the description spells Kevin Cogan.

[@manthing43]

@tonip420 Actually Foyt's car only had minor damage, The crew repaired it and Foyt didn't just make the start but stormed into the lead going into Turn 1. He led like the first 22 laps! He dropped out about the halfway mark with transmission problems which was another classic image, as he got out and began hammering on his transimission! I never heard anyone complain about their tickets because they were treated to one of the closest finishes in history!

[@atjays]

I had no idea that Chip Ganassi had raced before!

[@chicken_953]

atjays neither did I! lol

[@Woody615]

Oh so very young. :-) AND Bobby Rahal was a rookie in this race.

[@DaveCompton5150]

There is a youtube clip where Chip wrecks spectacularly at Michigan

[@MDCSWildcats86]

CG raced 5 times at Indy, best finish 8th in 1983.

[@CaptainRon956]

@@MDCSWildcats86 No, his best Indy 500 finish was 2nd in 1986. I was there,,,

[@snappy452]

You gotta love those old school graphics

[@Cynon]

Rick Mears led the field down to the line too slowly. Not to mention that Penske had a similar problem happen with Rick Mears in a private test. Kind of too bad, too, because Cogan wasn't 100% at fault.

[@geo_ashburn]

Dad and I were at this race. Our seats were 12 rows behind the pits and saw this live. I can still remember my Dad yelling WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT?

[@RandySarjeant]

I was there working on Dennis Firestone's car, Had been a mechanic for Kevin Cogan, knew him personally. It was unfortunate but he stood on the gas lost traction in a split second and rotated sideways. That was the cause of the crash, He was an excellent driver not accustomed to the instant massive power of the Indy or Cart car.

[@bofustjohnson]

Last time Mario was on the track at Indy I believe he was going over a hundred, upside down and 10 feet in the air....think he blamed it on a broken jack shaft.

[@cdjhyoung]

Got to love AJ. No muzzle on him, says what he thinks and uses normal adult language.

[@beeemm2578]

Fuckin COOGAN!- AJ Foyt

[@manthing43]

Reply to Cogan not always having the heart (or head) to win .... You may have a point. In an interview 1 yr following the 82 start fiasco Kevin stated "Before Indy last yr nobody loved racing more than I did. Now nobody loves it less". However, when you consider he returned to racing 2 times after traumatic injuries (once he nearly lost both feet), I think that kind of tells a person that his heart really was into racing big time.

[@CHABBO]

7:28.. Mario's comment about "..children doing a man's job.." I've heard that line before in F1 also :D Usually when a Rookie takes out a big name driver.

[@cjbuford4536]

The wreck in the back was due to Dale Whittington, who was absolutely loaded on cocaine, overreacting to the crash

[@hoss73ford]

+PorygonFanatics yeah I read about them. Wow !

[@hoss73ford]

+Cj Buford Yeah, Cogan had nothing to do with that one.

[@SIGMAMAN69]

PorygonFanatics Rumor had it that Dale's brothers Don & Bill were warned by Mario that he would expose their drug smuggling if Dale ever came back tonIndy.

[@livinahufkens7284]

no they weren't that good, in the year they won Le Mans ('79) Klaus Ludwig did almost all the driving in that car (there were 3 drivers on the car, a Porsche 935)

[@v12tommy]

Actually, that is not accurate. McLaren did it in 1995. Ferrari did it in 1965, which ironically, is Ferrari's last overall victory at LeMans. Their P-51 Precious Metal is one of my favorite air racers though, but they were done racing at Reno by the time I came along.

[@privateer0561]

This was nothing compared to the death of Gordon Smiley during qualifying. Worst crash I've ever seen...