Word: vukovich
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...Larry Bowa gets away with announcing that "if Dave and I were playing for the Reds, Johnny Bench would have 120 runs batted in by now." But Bowa also remembers the time he goaded the Bull once too often. "He came at me, I ducked, and he hit John Vukovich instead. Then I ran into the bathroom and locked the door...
...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...
...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...