William John Vukovich Sr. (; December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American
automobile racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...
driver of Serbian descent. He won the
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...
and
1954 Indianapolis 500
The 38th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1954. The event was part of the 1954 AAA National Championship Trail, and was also race 2 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers.
...
, plus two more
American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 mi ...
National Championship races, and died 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 ...
. Several drivers of his generation have referred to Vukovich as the greatest ever in American motorsport.
Racer
Midget car
Before he began Indy racing, Vukovich drove
midget car
Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on mo ...
s for the
Edelbrock
Edelbrock, LLC is an American manufacturer of specialty automotive and motorcycle parts. The company is headquartered in Olive Branch, Mississippi, with a Southern California R&D Tech Center located in Cerritos, CA. The Edelbrock Sand Cast and P ...
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
Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on mo ...
championships. Vukovich won the 1948
Turkey Night Grand Prix
The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving ni ...
at
Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City. The stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field. The sta ...
, and six of the last eight races at the stadium track before it was closed for good.
[Biography]
at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, Retrieved January 4, 2007 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
Justice brothers (Ed, Gus and Zeke) were figures in motorsports and automotive industry. Founding a company in the oil additive industry.
Youth - Paola, Kansas
Edward Ray Justice, Sr. was born June 12, 1921 in Paola, Kansas. Lawrence Milton "Z ...
, 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
In
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes ...
, his sophomore year in the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United Stat ...
'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
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...
and
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
. 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.
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
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 was exiting the second turn, trailing three slower cars—driven by
Rodger Ward,
Al Keller
Alvah August “Al” Keller (April 11, 1920 in Alexander, New York – November 19, 1961 in Phoenix, Arizona) was an American racecar driver.
NASCAR
Keller participated in the NASCAR Strictly Stock/Grand National series from 1949 to 1956 ...
, and
Johnny Boyd
Johnny Boyd (August 19, 1926 – October 27, 2003) was an American racecar driver.
Racing career
Born in Fresno, California, Boyd drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series from 1954 to 1966 with 56 starts. He finished in the top ten 31 ...
—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 his 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. The cockpit side of his car struck a low bridge near Turn 2 when it was airborne. Boyd's car also flipped over and landed upside down as well. As the car burned,
Ed Elisian
Ed Elisian (born Edward Gulbeng Eliseian; December 9, 1926 – August 30, 1959) was an American racecar driver, mainly competing in the National Championship. He died in a crash at the Milwaukee Mile.
In the 1955 Indianapolis 500, he stoppe ...
stopped his undamaged car and raced towards Vukovich in an attempt to save him. It did not matter; Vukovich had perished instantly. He had been partially decapitated upon his car's impact with the low bridge. 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
Floyd Marion Roberts (February 12, 1900 - May 30, 1939) was a Championship Car racing driver from Jamestown, North Dakota. He won the 1938 Indianapolis 500 with a then-record speed of . He led for 92 laps. The following year, 1939, driving the sa ...
in
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
, 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.
Lifetime achievement awards
*Vukovich was inducted into the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1972.
*He was inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991.
*He was inducted in the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America[Bill Vukovich]
at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992.
*He was inducted in the
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1990.
Family
His son,
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. ...
, and his grandson,
Bill Vukovich III, also competed in the Indianapolis 500, with Vukovich II taking second in
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
, and Vukovich III being named
Rookie of the Year in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicentenn ...
. Vukovich III died on November 25, 1990, in a crash during 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
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 popula ...
.
World Championship career summary
The Indianapolis 500 was part of the World Drivers' Championship (which later became the FIA Formula 1 World championship) from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Vukovich participated in 5 F1 World Championship races. He started on the pole once, won 2 races, set 3 fastest lead laps, and finished on the podium twice. He accumulated a total of 19 championship points.
Motorsports career results
Complete AAA Championship Car results
Indianapolis 500 results
Complete Formula One World Championship 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 (ma ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
See also
*
List of fatalities at Indianapolis
References
External links
A Report On The Accident That Killed Bill Vukovich In The 1955 Indianapolis 500-Mile-RaceThe Greatest 33
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vukovich, Bill
1918 births
1955 deaths
American people of Serbian descent
American racing drivers
Filmed deaths in motorsport
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Indianapolis 500 polesitters
Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year
Indianapolis 500 winners
International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Fresno, California
Racing drivers from California
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sports deaths in Indiana
AAA Championship Car drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
Formula One race winners
Carrera Panamericana drivers