Word: vukovich
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...less power would mean less speed. It meant just the opposite. Smaller engines allowed smaller cars. The "bombs" that turned out for the 500 had never been lighter, had never handled so well on the turns. As a result, the first ten to finish all beat the late Bill Vukovich's 130.84 m.p.h. record...
...time. He gunned his Hopkins Special into a fierce duel with Jack MrGrath's Hinkle Special, and the two men began to run away with the race. Behind them, mechanical trouble thinned the field. Then McGrath's mount sputtered to a halt with ignition failure. Bill Vukovich was alone in the lead...
...looked like a bad day for the big spin in "The Brickyard." Grey rain clouds scudded over Indianapolis; damp winds skittered across the infield as the Memorial Day 500-mile auto race got under way. But Wild Bill Vukovich, 36, the "Grape Picker" from Fresno, Calif., had no time to worry about weather. He kept his eyes on the track. A two-time winner in the 500, "Vuky" was hell-bent on pulling off an unprecedented three...
...until the danger was past. Black fumes, more ominous than any thunderhead, eased upward over the backstretch. The racket of racing engines sounded loud against the tense and quiet crowd. Reason for the yellow lights: a four-car pile-up that had jammed the track ahead of Wild Bill Vukovich. All the luck in the world was not enough to bypass disaster. Vuky never had a chance. His Hopkins Special plowed into the tangled wreckage at 150 m.p.h., bounced into the air, caromed off a parked car and clipped a utility pole. Then it landed on its back and burst...
Died. Bill Vukovich, 36, two-time winner (1953 and 1954) of the Memorial Day Indianapolis Speedway 500-mile race; in a five-car pile-up as he led the pack on the 57th lap (see SPORT...