William John Vukovich Jr. (March 29, 1944 – August 20, 2023) was an American driver in the championship car division of USAC and the

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

series.

Career

Vukovich was named the

1968 Indianapolis 500 The 52nd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Thursday May 30, 1968. Bobby Unser won the first of his three Indy 500 victories (1968, 1975, 1981). This was the final Indianapolis ...

Rookie of the Year, a result of his seventh-place finish. Vukovich raced in the 1965–1982 seasons, with 158 combined career starts, including the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

in 1968–1977, 1979–1980. He finished in the top ten 85 times, with one victory in 1973 at

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. His best finish at the Indianapolis 500 came in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, where he finished second in a rain-shortened, tragedy-marred event. Vukovich also had 23 National

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 most ...

victories in his career, and drove for part of his career in J. C. Agajanian's midget car.

Personal life and death

Bill Vukovich II was the son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner

Bill Vukovich William Vukovich (born Vaso Vukovich, December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500s, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, and died while leadin ...

and the father of Billy Vukovich III, both of whom were killed in racing accidents. Vukovich and his wife, Joyce, were married for 60 years. Vukovich died on August 20, 2023, at the age of 79.

Award

*Vukovich was inducted in the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summe ...

in 1998.

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Complete PPG Indy Car Series results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vukovich, Bill 2 1944 births 2023 deaths American people of Serbian descent Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Sportspeople from Riverside, California Racing drivers from California USAC Silver Crown Series drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers