Billy Vukovich III

Billy Vukovich III
Billy Vukovich III
Born	William John Vukovich III; August 31, 1963; Fresno, California, United States
Died	November 25, 1990 (aged 27); Bakersfield, California, United States
Cause of death	Racing accident
Nationality	American
Relatives	Bill Vukovich (grandfather); Bill Vukovich II (father)

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.

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[edit]

American open–wheel results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

CART/Indy Car[edit]

Year	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[edit]

Year	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Retired
1988	56	23	208.545	20	14	179	Flagged
1989	81	30	216.698	13	12	186	Flagged
1990	81	31	211.389	32	24	102	Engine
Totals						467

Starts	3
Poles	0
Front Row	0
Wins	0
Top 5	0
Top 10	0
Retired	1

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.

External links[edit]

Billy Vukovich III at Find a Grave

Sporting positions
Preceded by Fabrizio Barbazza	Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1988	Succeeded by Bernard Jourdain Scott Pruett

[1] 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.

[2] "Billy Vukovich III – 1988 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.

[3] "Billy Vukovich III – 1989 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.

[4] "Billy Vukovich III – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.

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