Billy Vukovich III

William John Vukovich III (August 31, 1963, Fresno, California, United States – November 25, 1990, Bakersfield, California, United States), better known as Billy Vukovich III or Bill Vukovich III 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 was killed in a sprint car race at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, California, in 1990.

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

American open–wheel results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

CART/Indy Car

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
1988	Gohr Racing	PHX 11	LBH	IND 14	MIL	POR	CLE	TOR	MEA	MIS 17	POC 9	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG	MIA		30th	6
1989	Hemelgarn Racing	PHX	LBH	IND 12	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MIS	POC	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG		34th	1
1990	Hemelgarn Racing	PHX	LBH	IND 24	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MIS 13	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG	34th	0

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1988 56 23 208.545 20 14 179 0 Flagged 1989 81 30 216.698 13 12 186 0 Flagged 1990 81 31 211.389 32 24 102 0 Engine Totals 467 0

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

External links

Billy Vukovich III at Find a Grave