Bill Vukovich is a racing driver from United States who last raced in Formula 1 for Kurtis Kraft. Vukovich has recorded 2 wins and 2 podiums from 5 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,858 ranks Vukovich 418th of 15,348 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 1955-05-30 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | DNF | −81 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | P22 | −82 | 4,917 |
| 1954 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | P6 | +150 | 4,998 |
| 1953 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | P7 | +156 | 4,849 |
| 1952 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | P22 | +5 | 4,693 |
| 1951 | ▸Formula 1 | Trevis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P20 | −112 | 4,688 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Duane Carter | 5,054 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Sam Hanks | 4,988 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Jack McGrath | 4,932 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Jimmy Bryan | 4,903 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Chuck Stevenson | 4,807 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇺🇸 Art Cross | 4,438 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Manny Ayulo | 4,363 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
Bill Vukovich was an American single-seater driver who competed in Formula 1 between 1951 and 1955, starting five races for Kurtis Kraft and scoring two wins and two additional podium finishes. His five-race Formula 1 career yielded an average finishing position of sixth, though his classification record in this context is limited; his most recent appearance came in 1955, when he finished outside the points. Across his Formula 1 starts, he maintained a competitive record against a peer group of professional American drivers, most notably finishing ahead of Duane Carter, Sam Hanks, and Tony Bettenhausen in multiple encounters, all drivers who themselves rated between 4,800 and 5,000 in Elo strength. In shared races against Jack McGrath, Jimmy Bryan, and Art Cross, Vukovich showed a consistent pattern of outpacing them, winning two encounters apiece against the first two.[1]
The bulk of Vukovich's racing career and his lasting reputation came in American Automobile Association National Championship racing, where he won the Indianapolis 500 in both 1953 and 1954, among other victories. His Formula 1 activity represented only a fraction of his competitive life; the record shows five starts across five calendar years rather than a sustained campaign in the series. His final Formula 1 start in 1955 proved to be the end of his circuit racing, a year marked by tragedy on the American racing calendar.[2]