Bill Vukovich at the Indy 500, 1953 by Dion Pears

Long before the Unser's, Andretti's, or the Penske Team became household names, Bill Vukovich blazed a trail across American racing that few have rivaled. Graduating up through the ranks of midget track car racing, Vukovich finally made it to the big time, Indianapolis, for the 1950 running of the 500 mile race. He failed to qualify driving a Maserati 8CTF, the famous Wilber Shaw Indy-winning 'Boyle Special', now seriously outclassed by more modern cars.  The following year he returned with a new mount, qualified 20th, and climbed to 10th position before being sidelined with a broken oil tank. In 1951 he placed his car in the third row in qualifying, but a steering arm failure put him into the wall, and out of the race on the 192nd lap while he was in the lead. Sensing that an Indy victory was within reach, in 1953 he stormed onto the track, captured the pole, led for 195 of 200 laps, and finished victorious. The race was forever known as the 'Hottest Indy', as ambient temperatures wer