Bill Vukovich

William John "Bill" Vukovich (/ˈvjuːkəvɪtʃ/; December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, and died while leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500.

Bill Vukovich
Vukovich, circa 1951
Born	William John Vukovich (1918-12-13)December 13, 1918 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died	May 30, 1955(1955-05-30) (aged 36) Speedway, Indiana, U.S.
Championship titles
AAA National Midget Car (1950) Major victories Indianapolis 500 (1953, 1954)
Champ Car career
22 races run over 6 years
Best finish	3rd (1953)
First race	1951 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race	1955 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
First win	1952 Detroit 100 (Detroit)
Last win	1954 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles 4 6 3
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1950 – 1955
Teams	Maserati, Trevis, Kurtis Kraft
Entries	6 (5 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	2
Career points	19
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	3
First entry	1950 Indianapolis 500
First win	1953 Indianapolis 500
Last win	1954 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1955 Indianapolis 500

Several drivers of his generation have referred to Vukovich as the greatest ever in American motorsport. He is generally considered one of the best racing drivers of his generation, and is the only driver to lead the most laps in three consecutive Indy 500s.

Driving career

Midget car career

Before he began Indy racing, Vukovich drove midget cars for the Edelbrock dirt track racing team. He raced on the West Coast of the United States in the URA, and won the series' 1945 and 1946 midget car championships. Vukovich won the 1948 Turkey Night Grand Prix at Gilmore Stadium, and six of the last eight races at the stadium track before it was closed for good. He won the 1950 AAA National Midget championship. Vukovich was known for racing midgets powered by Drake engines. The Drake was a Harley V-twin with specially built Drake water cooled heads. His last Drake powered midget was a Kurtis-Kraft that was built by Ed and Zeke Justice, the Justice Brothers, in their shop in Glendale from a Kurtis kit. Previous to this car Vukovich drove a "Frame Rail" midget that was also powered by a Drake engine.

Indianapolis 500

Vukovich's winning car from the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500s

In 1952, his second year in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 500-Mile Race, he quickly moved up from his starting position in the middle of the third row to take the lead, and led 150 laps in dominant fashion before suffering steering failure on the 192nd of the 200 laps. He returned to win the race in consecutive years, 1953 and 1954. He led an astounding 71.7% of laps that he drove in competition at the track, and remains the only driver ever to lead the most laps in the race three consecutive years.

World Drivers' Championship career

The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship points and participation in addition to those which they received towards the AAA/USAC National Championship.

Vukovich participated in five World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He started on the pole once, won twice, recorded three fastest laps, and accumulated 19 World Drivers' Championship points.

Death at Indianapolis

Vukovich was killed in a chain-reaction crash while holding a 17-second lead on the 57th lap of the 1955 Indianapolis 500. He was exiting the second turn, trailing three slower cars—driven by Rodger Ward, Al Keller, and Johnny Boyd—when Ward's car hit the backstretch outer wall and flipped, resting in the middle of the track as a result of a broken axle. Keller, swerving into the infield to avoid Ward, lost control and slid back onto the track, striking Boyd's car and pushing it into Vukovich's path. After Vukovich's car went over the outside wall and become airborne, it cartwheeled through the air multiple times landing on top of a group of parked cars before coming to rest upside down and bursting into flames. Boyd's car also flipped over and landed upside down as well. As the car burned, Ed Elisian stopped his undamaged car and raced towards Vukovich in an attempt to save him. It did not matter; Vukovich had perished instantly. Two spectators were also injured when Vukovich's car landed on their Jeep.

Vukovich was the second defending Indy 500 champion to die during the race, following Floyd Roberts in 1939, and the only former winner to have been killed while leading. Roberts' car was also thrown over the backstretch fence after exiting the second turn in his fatal accident. Since the 1955 race was counted as part of the Formula One World Championship, Vukovich is also the first driver to be killed during a World Championship race.

Family

His son, Bill Vukovich II, and his grandson, Bill Vukovich III, also competed in the Indianapolis 500, with Vukovich II taking second in 1973, and Vukovich III being named Rookie of the Year in 1988. Vukovich III died on November 25, 1990, in a crash during practice for a CRA race at Mesa Marin Raceway, in Bakersfield, California.

Awards and honors

Vukovich has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

• Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame (1959)
• Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1972)
• National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1990)
• International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1991)
• Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1992)
• West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame (2019)

Motorsports career results

AAA Championship Car results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Pos	Points
1950	INDY DNQ	MIL	LAN	SPR	MIL	PIK	SYR	DET	SPR	SAC DNQ	PHX	BAY	DAR			-	0
1951	INDY 29	MIL DNQ	LAN 14	DAR 26	SPR 15	MIL 21	DUQ 7	DUQ DNQ	PIK	SYR 3	DET 7	DNC 11	SJS 18	PHX	BAY DNQ	23rd	291.8
1952	INDY 17	MIL DNQ	RAL 24	SPR DNQ	MIL	DET 1	DUQ 3	PIK	SYR 14	DNC 1	SJS 14	PHX 8				12th	590
1953	INDY 1	MIL	SPR	DET	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC DNQ	PHX				3rd	1,000
1954	INDY 1	MIL 22	LAN	DAR	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX	LVG			4th	1,000
1955	INDY 25	MIL	LAN	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX					-	0

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1950 10 – – – – – – Did not qualify 1951 81 20 133.725 16 29 29 Oil tank 1952 26 8 138.212 2 17 191 150 Steering 1953 14 1 138.392 1 1st 200 195 Running 1954 14 19 138.478 15 1st 200 90 Running 1955 4 5 141.071 3 25 56 50 Fatal accident Totals 676 485

Starts 5 Poles 1 Front Row 1 Wins 2 Top 5 2 Top 10 2 Retired 3

FIA World Drivers' Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	WDC	Pts
1950	Indianapolis Race Cars	Maserati 8CTF	Maserati 3.0 L8s	GBR	MON	500 DNQ	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA			NC	0
1951	Central Excavating	Trevis	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	SUI	500 29	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP		NC	0
1952	Fuel Injection	Kurtis Kraft KK500A	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	SUI	500 17	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	NED	ITA		22nd	1
1953	Fuel Injection	Kurtis Kraft KK500A	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	500 1	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	7th	9
1954	Fuel Injection	Kurtis Kraft KK500A	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	500 1	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP	6th	8
1955	Hopkins	Kurtis Kraft KK500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	500 25	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA			25th	1
Source:

External links

• BillVukovich.com
• Bill Vukovich - ChampCarStats.com
• Bill Vukovich at Find a Grave
• Bill Vukovich - Motorsport Memorial
• Bill Vukovich driver statistics at Racing-Reference