Bill Vukovich: Two-Time Indianapolis 500 Winner and the 1955 Race

Bill Vukovich dominated the Indianapolis 500 in the early 1950s, winning in 1953 and 1954. Born Vaso Vukovich in California, he moved from Fresno roadster racing to midget championships and then to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was killed while leading the 1955 race.

How did Vukovich's interest in racing begin?

Vukovich grew up in Kerman, near Fresno, California, and his fascination with speed showed early. Around the age of seven he and his brothers started going to Championship car meetings at Fresno Speedway, more than 20 miles from home, and they often arrived days ahead to look for free ways to watch.

The household had a Ford Model T, which on Sundays the brothers raced around the yard. They eventually rolled the car and badly damaged its collapsible top, and the activity came to an end when Vukovich sprained a wrist reaching out to stop another roll-over.

Fresno Speedway had been torn down in 1927 and replaced with a dirt track that no longer held major events, yet the brothers kept slipping into the track during the early 1930s. Mechanics was a shared passion for all three of them.

In 1934 Mike decided to go racing seriously, and Bill and Eli reworked a 1926 model Chevrolet as his track roadster. Vukovich had already assisted Mike for more than a year, and during that time he worked as a stooge for various teams.

The only driver to lead the most laps in three consecutive Indianapolis 500s, killed while leading the 1955 race.

How did Vukovich break into driving?

At 17, in 1936, Vukovich finally got a seat in a Chevrolet-powered track roadster that belonged to Fred Gerhardt, later an Indianapolis car builder. The chance came only after he kept turning up at Gerhardt's shop over several days, asking again and again for a drive.

His debut meeting placed him in the B main, the event for those who had missed qualifying for the feature. He finished second there. The next weekend he won the B main, qualified for the feature and retired with a mechanical problem following what one biographer judged a strong run.

The week after, he made the feature again and finished third. On his fourth weekend he won the main event, and afterwards he won regularly at Newton, Chowchilla and Goshen.

At Goshen, a duel with Duane Carter ended in a serious injury when his steering wheel gave way. The metal tore into his chest, and he needed stitches and several days off. Gerhardt, despite a tight financial situation, let Vukovich keep his prize earnings during the 1936 season.

What did Vukovich achieve in midget racing?

Before his Indy car racing, Vukovich ran midgets for the Edelbrock dirt track team. He competed on the West Coast in the United Racing Association, winning the series' midget championships in 1945 and 1946. Those titles came before he reached the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He took the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 1948 at Gilmore Stadium, and he took six of the last eight meetings held there before the stadium closed for good. He also took the 1950 AAA National Midget championship.

His midgets were usually powered by Drake engines, which were Harley-Davidson V-twins fitted with specially built water-cooled heads. Before the Kurtis Kraft that became his last Drake-powered midget, he drove a Frame Rail midget that used the same engine.

The Justice Brothers, Ed and Zeke Justice, put that Kurtis Kraft together in their Glendale shop from a kit.

How did Vukovich win the Indianapolis 500?

In 1952, his second season at Indianapolis, Vukovich started mid-pack in the third row, took the lead quickly and led 150 laps before a steering failure on the 192nd lap of the 200-lap race. He came back to win in 1953 and again in 1954.

He led 71.7% of the laps he drove in competition at the track, a share that reflects how dominant he was in those years.

No other driver has matched his feat of leading the most laps in three straight Indianapolis 500s.

Beyond Indianapolis he added two more AAA National Championship victories. From 1950 to 1960 the Speedway's race counted toward the FIA World Drivers' Championship, and he entered six of those rounds there, taking part in five.

Those participations produced one pole position, two wins, three fastest laps and 19 points.

What happened at the 1955 Indianapolis 500?

The 1955 Indianapolis 500 ended for Vukovich on the 57th lap, a chain-reaction crash that came while he held a 17-second lead. He was exiting the second turn behind three slower cars when the accident unfolded in front of him. Those three cars were the immediate obstacles on that lap.

Rodger Ward's car struck the outer wall on the backstretch, flipped and stopped mid-track after a broken axle. Al Keller swerved into the infield to avoid it, then lost control, slid back onto the track and pushed Johnny Boyd's car into Vukovich's path.

Vukovich's car cleared the outside wall, tumbled through the air and came down on a cluster of parked cars. It came to rest upside down and burst into flames, while Boyd's car also flipped and landed upside down.

Ed Elisian halted his undamaged car and ran toward the burning wreck to help, but Vukovich had already died. Two spectators were hurt when the car came down on their Jeep.

Among defending winners, only Floyd Roberts, who died in 1939, had been killed in the race before Vukovich. Roberts's car had also been thrown over the backstretch fence after leaving the second turn. He was also the only former winner ever killed while leading.

How was Vukovich remembered?

Several drivers of his generation called him the greatest American driver of all time, and he is widely counted among the best of his era. His record includes Indianapolis wins in 1953 and 1954, and midget titles in 1945, 1946 and 1950. He is buried at Belmont Memorial Park in Fresno, California.

A scholarship in his name, the Billy Vukovich Memorial Scholarship Fund, was set up by the Fresno Junior Chamber of Commerce as a living tribute. The fund was directed to Fresno State College and supported young men preparing to teach automotive mechanics in high schools.

His son, Bill Vukovich II, also raced at Indianapolis and finished second in 1973. His grandson, Bill Vukovich III, was named Rookie of the Year in 1988.

He has been inducted into six halls of fame. The first was the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 1959, and the Auto Racing Hall of Fame followed in 1972. Later honours came from the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1990, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992, and the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2019.

What were Vukovich's key results?