Top 25 IndyCar drivers of all-time
By Asher Fair
Top IndyCar drivers of all-time: #16 – Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock comes in at #16 on this list. His career spanned four different decades, and he is one of those drivers for whom the wins and championships statistics don’t necessarily tell the whole story.
Of course, 25 victories, which ranks 16th on the all-time list, and one title, that being his 1976 USAC Championship Car crown, Johncock does have a case to be ranked as one of the sport’s all-time best on stats alone.
“Gordy” retired abruptly ahead of qualifying for the 1985 Indy 500 but decided to return to racing the following year, although a lack of funding prevented him from returning to the Indy 500. He ended up back in 1987 and competed in the race four more times before retiring after the 1992 race.
In 24 career Indy 500 starts, Johncock actually finished the race 10 times. In those 10 starts, his lowest finishes were sixth place efforts, and his average finish was 3.7, easily making him one of the most talented drivers to ever compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
He won the race twice, first in 1973 when it was run over multiple days but shortened due to rain to become the second ever partially postponed edition of the event, and he won it again in 1982.
At that time, his nine years between victories was good for second place on the all-time list behind A.J. Foyt’s 10 (1967, 1977). Juan Pablo Montoya has since broken the record with 15 (2000, 2015).