William John Vukovich III (August 31, 1963,

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

– November 25, 1990,

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

) was an American race car driver. He was a three-time starter of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. The grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner

Bill Vukovich William John Vukovich Sr. (; December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American automobile racing driver of Serbian descent. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, ...

and the son of

Bill Vukovich II William John Vukovich II (born March 29, 1944 in Riverside, California) is a former driver in the championship car division of USAC and CART series. He was named the 1968 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, a result of his seventh-place finish. ...

, Vukovich III was the

1988 Indianapolis 500 The 72nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 29, 1988. Team Penske dominated the month, sweeping the top three starting positions with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sulliva ...

Rookie of the Year. Billy Vukovich III was killed in practice for a CRA race at

Mesa Marin Raceway Mesa Marin Raceway was a paved oval race track, located near the junction of CA 178 and CA 184 (Kern Canyon Road), east of Bakersfield, California. It opened in 1977 and was owned by Marion Collins throughout its existence. The Collins fami ...

, in Bakersfield, California, when his throttle stuck open which caused his car to swerve into the wall. He was 27 years old. Vukovich became the first third-generation driver to qualify in Indy 500 history. His grandfather was killed while leading the

1955 Indianapolis 500 The 39th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1955. The event was part of the 1955 AAA National Championship Trail and was race 3 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers. The ra ...

. He got his start in racing driving for the John Runjavac racing team.

Motorsports career results

American open–wheel results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

CART/Indy Car

Indy 500 results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vukovich, Billy 3 1963 births 1990 deaths American people of Serbian descent American racing drivers Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Sportspeople from Fresno, California Racing drivers from Fresno, California Racing drivers from California Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in California USAC Silver Crown Series drivers