Bill Vukovich was the greatest race driver of his era, a grim, hard-charging product of a humble and difficult childhood. He honed his racing skills and temperament on the midget and sprint car tracks in California and then went on to dominate the Indianapolis 500. He led 150 laps of the race in 1952 before steering failure forced him out eight laps before the finish. He won the race in 1953 and ’54, and still is the only driver to have led the most laps in the race for three consecutive years. He had a 17-second lead after 57 laps in 1955 when a multi-car accident on the backstretch sent him flying over the outside wall. He landed upside down on parked cars and was killed instantly. Indianapolis sportswriter Angelo Angelopolous, widely recognized as one of the best in the country at his craft, was the only media member to grow close to Vukovich. He dedicated himself to telling Vukovich’s dramatic life story after giving up his newspaper career to become a freelancer for national magazines. He was working against a tight “deadline,” however, because he was slowly dying of leukemia – contracted from the radiation he received while flying over the Hiroshima bombing site as a Navy pilot during World War II. Angelopolous, who died in 1962 at age 43, had a contract with a publishing house and left behind an edited manuscript that for unknown reasons never reached print. He had insider access to Vukovich’s garage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and socialized with him as well. He presents never-before-published details of Vukovich’s life and career, including dialogue that will make readers feel as if they are along for the ride. The story reads like fiction, a Hollywood movie script, but is thoroughly researched and entirely truthful. Both Vukovich and Angelopolous are members of all the halls of fame that are appropriate for their careers, and together they present an unforgettable story.
Although private by nature and gruff with strangers he was generous with friends and extremely close to his wife and two children, and regarded as a man of great integrity.