Bill Vukovich

Interesting facts

Bill Vukovich won the Indianapolis 500 in both 1953 and 1954 in the very same car, the Fuel Injection Special. He led 71.7 percent of all laps he ever drove at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and remains the only driver ever to lead the most laps at the race three years running. In 1952 he fought his way up from mid-pack to a commanding lead, only for a steering failure on lap 192 of 200 - just eight laps from the finish - to rob him of what looked like a certain win. In 1955, chasing a third straight Indy 500 win, he was leading by 17 seconds on lap 57 when he collided with another car, went airborne, cartwheeled, crashed onto a group of parked cars and burst into flames - he was killed instantly. Bill Vukovich made his Formula 1 debut in 1951 and raced until 1955, 5 seasons in total as an American driver. He scored a total of 19 championship points over his career.