William John Vukovich III (August 31, 1963 – November 25, 1990) was an American race car driver. He was a three-time starter of the Indianapolis 500. The grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bill Vukovich and the son of Bill Vukovich II, Vukovich III was the 1988 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Billy Vukovich III was killed in practice for a CRA race at Mesa Marin Raceway,[1] in Bakersfield, California, when his throttle stuck open which caused his car to swerve into the wall. He was 27 years old.
Billy Vukovich III | |
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Born | William John Vukovich III August 31, 1963 Fresno, California, United States |
Died | November 25, 1990 Bakersfield, California, United States | (aged 27)
Cause of death | Racing accident |
Nationality | American |
Relatives | Bill Vukovich (grandfather) Bill Vukovich II (father) |
Vukovich became the first third-generation driver to qualify in Indy 500 history. His grandfather was killed while leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500.
He got his start in racing driving for the John Runjavac racing team.
Motorsports career results
editAmerican open–wheel results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
CART/Indy Car
editYear | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Rank | Points | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | Gohr Racing | PHX 11 |
LBH | INDY 14 |
MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | MEA | MIS 17 |
POC 9 |
MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | MIA | 30th | 6 | [2] | |
1989 | Hemelgarn Racing | PHX | LBH | INDY 12 |
MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MIS | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | 34th | 1 | [3] | |
1990 | Hemelgarn Racing | PHX | LBH | INDY 24 |
MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MIS 13 |
DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | 34th | 0 | [4] |
Indy 500 results
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References
edit- ^ Glick, Shav (November 26, 1990). "Vukovich, 27, Is Killed in Crash at Bakersfield : Motor racing: Three-time Indy 500 starter and the only third-generation Indy 500 driver dies while warming up car before CRA event". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
- ^ "Billy Vukovich III – 1988 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
- ^ "Billy Vukovich III – 1989 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
- ^ "Billy Vukovich III – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
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