DRIVE IS BUILT IN : Based on Family’s Track Record, Rookie Billy Vukovich III Should Star at Indy

Vukovich was the biggest name in racing in the 1950s. As big as Andretti or Foyt or Unser today.

Bill Vukovich came out of central California in 1953 to win the Indianapolis 500 by leading 195 of 200 laps, then won it again in 1954 by more than a lap despite starting 19th, and was leading in 1955 when he was hit by a sliding car and sent catapulting to his death.

Bill’s son, Bill Jr., came to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1968, finished second in the rain-shortened race in 1973 and third the next year. He ran here 12 times before retiring in 1980.

Now it’s the grandson’s turn.

Billy Vukovich III will become the first third-generation driver in Indianapolis 500 history Sunday when he starts in the middle of the eighth row in a March-Cosworth.

“I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything,” the 24-year-old said. “Just to be here, to walk out on the track and feel all the history that’s made this the greatest race in the world is fantastic.”

Vukovich, the spitting image of his father, was preparing to defend his United States Auto Club super modified championship this year when the phone rang the night of March 6.

“Dick Hammond (a car owner) called the house and asked Dad if he thought I was ready to race Indy cars,” Vukovich said. “I wasn’t home at the time, but Dad said he thought so, but he’d better ask me.

“He called back the next morning, and it didn’t take long for me to give him his answer. I’d wanted to do it for a long time, but racing super modifieds didn’t seem the way to get an opportunity. Most of the new guys who get a chance at Indy are road racers.”

Vukovich is one of five rookies in the race. The others are Dominic Dobson, Tero Palmroth, John Andretti and Rocky Moran, all with road racing backgrounds.

Billy III, although he was born eight years after his grandfather was killed, grew up in a racing atmosphere.

“I’ve been coming back to Indianapolis every year since I was 5 because Dad was racing,” he said. “I never knew my grandfather, of course, but I’ve heard a lot of people talk about him. He made a big name for himself here, and I’m sure the name has helped, but racing has been our family life style since the ‘50s, and not just because of my grandfather.

“On my mother’s side, my grandfather is Tommy Astone. He used to race sprint cars, and his son, Tommy Jr., drove midgets and sprint cars in the ‘70s in California. He drove a lot at Ascot.”

When Billy was 14, he got a go-kart and his father built a track in the family’s back yard in Coarsegold, Calif., about 30 miles east of Fresno on the way to Yosemite National Park.

“I never drove in any races, but my dad and I raced against each other all the time. From then on, all I thought about was becoming a race driver. When I was 18 I started running midgets at Madera and since then it’s been all racing.”

Despite his early success, Billy’s family was not enthused about having another race driver in the family.

“Dad really didn’t want me to race, and neither did my mother,” Vukovich said. “They knew how tough it was to follow in the Vukovich tradition. Once they were convinced that it was what I wanted, though, they helped all they could. But you sure couldn’t say I was pushed into it. Quite the contrary.”

After two years racing midgets in central California, Vukovich was hired by Vern Reitz, a Madera rancher and longtime racing enthusiast, to drive his super modified car. He won a race at the Phoenix International Raceway in 1985, the Madera Speedway track championship in 1986 and dominated USAC’s super modified series last year by winning 12 of 17 races.

During one stretch, Vukovich won seven straight races, tying A.J. Foyt’s USAC record for most consecutive wins in a season.

“You can’t compare what I did to what A.J. did because he did it in Indy cars (in 1964), but it’s nice to have my name in the record books alongside his,” Vukovich said.

Curiously, Billy III will start alongside Foyt in the eighth row Sunday, a row that includes three of the most famous names in racing--Foyt, Vukovich and Bettenhausen. Tony Bettenhausen Jr., whose father, Tony, drove in 14 Indy 500s before he was killed while practicing for the 1961 race and whose brother, Gary, drove in 16 races, is on the outside.

Bill Jr. is proud of his son’s accomplishments today, but he’s a very nervous father when his son is racing.

Last Saturday, when Billy III qualified at 208.545 m.p.h. to make the race, his father couldn’t watch. Instead, he sat in the team’s garage and listened on the radio.

“When I heard the first lap was 207, I was afraid it wasn’t fast enough,” Vukie Jr. said. “Then he got up to 208 and then 209 and I couldn’t believe it. I was talking to him even though he couldn’t hear me. It was just incredible, that’s all I can say.”

Vukovich was the only driver among the 33 qualifiers to go faster on each of his four laps: 207.826, 208.242, 209.016 and 209.050.

“It felt like a million pounds had been taken off my back when I took the checkered flag and knew I was in the race,” Billy said. “We had a long two weeks, the longest of my life, getting the car ready. We blew three engines, and it doesn’t matter what your name is, you’ve got to perform when it’s your turn.”

Vukovich Jr. says he tried to prepare his son for the hardships and possible disappointments of competing here.

“Billy is a good driver, a good learner and a good listener, but he had the best equipment in super modifieds and winning came pretty easy,” his father said. “I told him when he came here this place was no piece of cake, that if he thought so, he’d be sadly mistaken. He found that out for himself, but the way he came through made me very proud of him.”

The 500 will be only Vukovich’s second race in an Indy car. He made his debut in the Checker 200 at Phoenix International Raceway last month and finished 11th after starting 23rd.

“It turned out to be quite a bit different from my super modified,” Billy said. “I felt like I knew my way around the track because I’d won three times there, but the feeling was totally different. The Indy cars are a little lighter and quite a bit quicker.”

There are remarkable similarities between Billy’s first start here and his father’s. Both were 24 and both started in the 23rd position. Both spend most of their spare time playing golf.

Bill Jr. finished seventh in 1968, two laps behind winner Bobby Unser, and was named rookie of the year.

“I’d like to do as well on Sunday as my dad did his first time here,” Billy III said.

His father thinks he will.

“It gives me goose bumps to think about Billy’s potential,” Bill Jr. said. “His grandfather was very gifted, a very talented race driver. I wasn’t as gifted, but I think I see in Billy the things his grandfather had. He’s already smarter and smoother and faster than I was.”