A Report On The Accident That Killed Bill
Vukovich In The 1955 Indianapolis 500-Mile-Race
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A Report On The Accident That Killed Bill Vukovich In The 1955 Indianapolis 500-Mile-Race
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Speedway Sue's Statement Sue Thompson (Dailey), daughter of Lawrence Thomson, at the home of which Bill Vukovich stayed in 1955, wrote this and gave it to the web site. The accident of Bill Vukovich during the 1955, 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway as reported here is incorrect. He did not die in a chain reaction accident. As he drove his car out of turn 2 on the race track, other race car drivers passed underneath him and forced/squeezed him to the top of the track on the backstretch. On the backstretch of the race track was an 2' cement abutment on the inside of the track. Years before 1955 the Speedway Complex had built a foot-bridge over the top of the race track to accommodate golfers to play the back nine situated on the inside of the track. As Bill Vukovich was forced to the top or the track he drove down the backstretch and hit the abutment and died instantly. Dr. Tom Hanna, MD., and other 500 track officials walked the track and viewed the video of the accident which confirmed their decision of a broken neck. I invite you to watch the video of his accident. Another reason for their decision was based on viewing the video. When watching the video notice Bill's left arm outside the car as the car goes straight up and gets airborne. Another reason was the neck brace on the car was more like a bump, not a headrest. Our current automobiles today have higher headrests than they had on the race cars during the early years. The headrest on his car ended where his helmet began. A whiplash of his neck occurred on impact. My provenance for this article of Bill Vukovich, his brothers Eli, Mike, and other crew members lived at our house in Speedway during the months of April and May each year he drove. Vukovich's Speedway funeral was held at Conkle Funeral Home 16th Street, Speedway, Indiana. The decision for the funeral in Speedway was for the convenience of other race car drivers, crew members, 500 officials his friends and any fans to attend. In the 1950's Commercial air travel was very expensive and not priced for the common man. Bill was a wonderful common man. Each day he would walk to and from work at the track. I read in another article that the drivers did not wear fireproof uniforms. For the '55 500 race The Speedway gave all the drivers a firesuit with instructions and fire retardant chemicals on how to prepare their suits the night before the race. He had a fireproof suit. I do not know if he took it to the track with him that day. Most drivers chose not to wear them. It had been very hot and humid the 2 previous races. During his racing career at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway he was awarded the Rookie Driver of the Year. He won two back to back 500 mile races, mentored many new drivers about driving at the Speedway. Bill had numerous fans and the respect of other drivers and 500 officials, and the love of one Speedway family. He won 2 pace cars, a red and white Dodge in 1953. He flew to New York as the guest of Ed Sullivan Show along with the race car and appeared on the Show. He was not very happy when he came back to Speedway from New York. He said that if he had known all they wanted was for him to sit on the back or the race car and smile, he would not have gone. He taught he was safer in a race car at 140 mph than flying in an airplane. In 1954 he won a gold Ford convertible pace car. Henry Ford ordered the car to be painted gold. It was the Ford Motor 50th anniversary and that is the way he wanted to celebrate. The is the same car in the Ford Museum in Michigan. To conclude, after the '55 race the Speedway removed as much as the cement abutment as they could while still maintaining the integrity of the foot-bridge. Today the foot-bridge is gone. The Speedway Golf Course is a contiguous 18 hole golf course. The original spelling of Vukovich had a lot of "u's". Whomever was the first Vukovich to arrive in America changed the spelling of their name. No one they did business with could remember where all the "U" went. To stop the confusion and make it easier for all they changed the spelling. The Serb someone interviewed was most likely the 4th Vukovich brother. The Vukovichs' we knew, spoke without a foreign accent of any kind. Trivia: Esther, Bill's wife, maiden name was Smith. She told laughingly it was hard from writing Smith all her life and to begin writing Vukovich. Trivia: The color green was a superstition for all race drivers and crew members. One day my mom put out green bath towels in the bathroom. After everyone left for the track that day she noticed the green towels had not been used. When she found out about the color green she never put them out again. The year Jimmy Clark arrived with a green car everyone knew he was going to die. If not in practice then in the race. Jimmy Clark broke the green color line. True Story: One year while driving home to Fresno a policeman pulled Bill over for speeding. The policeman said to him, "Who do you think you are, Bill Vukovich?" Bill replied, "Yes". After the policeman was satisfied he was indeed Bill Vukovich he told him to go on but to watch his speed.
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