The Race

Back in the day…I was just reading the story of this years Indianapolis 500 race, the 89th annual running of this classic. No, I didn’t watch it, but if I could have…I would have listened to it. When I was growing up, this was the race that everyone paid attention to. And on Memorial Day, you could walk down the street and hear the race from every house and garage you passed. It was the custom for the men of the household to spend the day out in the garage, tinkering, or? while listening to the race on the radio.

The first race that I really remember was 1950 and Johnny Parsons won that race. Then in 1953, Billy Vukovich won the race and that was the most exciting thing I had ever heard. I know that they call him Bill and not “Billy” now, but in the 1950’s he was Billy Vukovich and he was from California. He was one of us…

Here is clipping I found this morning…Bill Vukovich grew up in Fresno, Calif., one of eight children of Serbian-American parents. He was 14 when his father committed suicide and he dropped out of school to help support his family. He built his reputation as a fearless competitor racing midget cars on West Coast dirt tracks. He came to Indianapolis almost reluctantly after the popularity of midget racing began to fade. Vukovich struggled as an Indy rookie in 1951 but then began a streak that very easily could have produced four consecutive wins. He was leading in 1952 when a minor mechanical problem on lap 192 sent his car into the wall and Troy Ruttman to victory lane. Vukovich won in 1953, leading all but five laps on a brutally hot day in which only five of the 33 starters finished the race without relief. He repeated in 1954, again in dominant fashion. He was well on his way to three in a row with a half-lap lead in 1955 when tragedy struck on lap 57.

Bill Vukovich died in a terrible crash…Rodger Ward, who won the 500 in 1959 and '62, lost control exiting turn two. The cars of Al Keller and Johnny Boyd quickly were swept up in the accident as Vukovich bore down on them. With nowhere to go, Vukovich plowed into Boyd. His car became airborne and sailed over the wall. It landed nose-first, flipped 4-1/2 times in all and then exploded into flames as it landed on its back.

I still remember listening to that crash and not quite believing it had happened. It was incredibly sad. And racing lost its allure for me forever.