The son of Hall of Fame member and two time winner of the
Indianapolis 500 Mile Race received his training in midgets
and scored 23 National Midget Championship victories during
his career.
He was the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race "Rookie of the
Year" in 1968 and finished second to Gordon Johncock in the
rain-shortened 1973 500.
His twelve starts
at Indy produced six top ten finishes (7th in 1968, 5th in
’71, 2nd in ’73, 3rd in ’74 6th in ’75 and 8th in ’79).
One of his famous midget rides was the J.C. Agajanian
#98 which is featured along with his father and the Vukovich
“Shaker” on the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame logo.
The Vukovich families contributions to auto racing came
at a high price for Bill, Jr. His father died at Indy in 1955
and his son, who was also “Rookie of the Year" at Indy in
1988, lost his life at Bakersfield, California in 1990 in a
sprint car crash.
