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, 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.
Vukovich 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 Ref 1988 Gohr RacingPHXLBHINDYMILPORCLETORMEAMISPOCMDOROANAZLAGMIA 30th 6 1989 Hemelgarn RacingPHXLBHINDYMILDETPORCLEMEATORMISPOCMDOROANAZLAG 34th 1 1990 Hemelgarn RacingPHXLBHINDYMILDETPORCLEMEATORMISDENVANMDOROANAZLAG34th0
Indy 500 results
YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired198856 23 208.545 20 14 179 0 Flagged198981 30 216.698 13 12 186 0 Flagged199081 31 211.389 32 24 102 0 EngineTotals 467 0 Starts3Poles0Front Row0Wins0Top 50Top 100Retired1
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