For many a young racing driver victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can be the defining moment of a career, setting them on the path to further racing prospects all whilst carrying the aura that only comes with success at the Brickyard. But such is the fickle nature of the 500 that very often the opposite can take place, where one false move can be magnified to such an extent it can ultimately damage a driver’s stature beyond repair, a fate that befell Kevin Cogan in 1982.

Heading into the 1982 500 Kevin Cogan looked set to become Indycar next big thing. The 25 year old had started his motor-sports career racing go karts at the age of 11, and by the time he was 20 had captured two racing championships and was hailed by the likes of Parnelli Jones as a potential star of the future. Following a spell in Formula Atlantic, as well as a series of one-off drives for the Tyrell Formula One Team, Cogan joined the Indycar series in 1981 driving for Jerry O’Connell Racing, impressing many with his speed in the under funded machine including a second placed finish at Milwaukee in his debut race for the team. Although Cogan would only finish 23rd in his debut season his promise was immediately identified by Roger Penske, who hired Cogan to drive alongside reigning champion Rick Mears for the 1982 campaign. Penske had earned a reputation at the time for sourcing Indycar’s most talented drivers at a young age, and many felt that Cogan’s raw talent and Penske’s tutelage would set the Californian on the path to potential superstardom. In only his second 500 race Cogan qualified his Norton sponsored machine second in the field behind his team-mate Rick Mears and ahead of a number of established stars including third placed AJ Foyt as well as Mario Andretti on his way to becoming the second fastest qualifier in history, as well as leaving him as one of the favourites for the race itself.

In one swoop however Cogan’s race, as well as entire career was about to change for the worse. Coming up to the start of the race Cogan found himself sandwiched on the front row between Mears and Foyt reading himself for the green flag to commence the start of the race, when suddenly Cogan’s car veered over to the right hand side of the track, hitting the side of Foyt’s machine before veering into the path of fourth placed Mario Andretti and setting off a concertina effect throughout the field. Cogan and Andretti, as well as the cars of Dale Whittington and Roger Mears were eliminated from the race immediately, whilst the 500 itself was red-flagged to clear the mass of damaged cars on the start finish straight.

Both Foyt and Andretti were quick to blame Cogan for his part in the crash, with the Californian’s lack of experience in top level machinery coming under particular criticism from the 500 winning duo. “This is what happens when you have children doing a man’s job up front”, Andretti told reporters in the pits, whilst the ever outspoken Foyt stated that “Coogan” (AJ’s inadvertent name for Kevin) pulled a stupid trick caused by “having his head up his own ass”. Cogan’s cause was also not helped by former driver turned pundit Sam Posey, who whilst commentating for the race on ABC television even implied that Cogan had “turned the wheel intentionally” into the path of Foyt. Former 500 winner Rodger Ward however came to the defence of Cogan, suggesting that the incident may have been caused by a broken CV joint which had snapped as Cogan accelerated readying himself for the green flag, whilst fellow drivers Bobby Unser and Gordon Johncock placed the blame on Rick Mears, suggesting that Mears’ slow pace coming to the start-finish lane meant that Cogan’s tyres were not properly up to temperature by the time of the start.

Following the race Cogan quickly fell out of favour with both fans and team personnel in the Indycar paddock. The high profile stature of his error, aided with the incident involving two of the sport’s biggest names, leading to him being blacklisted by the sport’s highest brass, and helping to instigate his departure from the Penske team following the 1982 season. Unable to secure a top tier ride, Cogan began something of a journeyman career, driving for the likes of Bignotti, Kraco and Mike Curb without ever reaching the levels of success of his first two years in the sport. A close second placed finish to Bobby Rahal in the 1986 500 did threaten signs of a career revival, but injures and high speed accidents had soon began to catch up with Cogan’s health, and led to the Californian’s decision to retire from the sport following the 1982 season.

Despite his achievements and promise, Kevin Cogan would always be tainted by his accident at the start of the 1982 race, and should be held as a warning sign that the Brickyard can prove just as wrathful as she can rewarding.

In today’s video relive the accident itself, as well as quintessentially eighties starting grid rundown prior to the incident:

In tomorrow’s update we take a look at one of the most controversial and disputed in Indy 500 victories of all time, as well as one which put two legendary Indianapolis families at loggerheads with one another.