Comments on: Vukovich – Part II

By: Janet

Janet — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:30:58 +0000

I am a Vukovich and I was not happy with the book as far as Bill sr’s early years. You said the book covered the entire Vukovich clan. That is incorrect. Mr. Gates never spoke to Bill’s brother Eli or his daughter. He also left out the strong connection all the children had with their older sister. The oldest brother was the main contributer, and I believe that made the story one sided. The three boys were not very close. Bill and Eli ran up and down the state of California racing. Mike was married and stayed home with his wife. Sometimes they raced seven nights a week. So who was closesst?

By: JohnMc

JohnMc — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 05:52:01 +0000

Me, too!

By: JHall14

JHall14 — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 15:03:02 +0000

George,

Bill II was my favorite driver when he came to Indy. One thing I remember was an interview he conducted was the “amount of power of an Indy Car” on acceleration, such as on a track like Milwaukee. He said the power literally pinned you back into your seat. I always hoped for a victory in those “Sugaripe Prune Specials” but it was not to be. Bill was a very consistant driver and yes, he would always bring the car back in 1 piece. I hope to see him at the Speedway this year.

By: james t suel

james t suel — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 01:05:31 +0000

GEORGE,

I AGREE WITH MOST OF YOUR POINTS ON THE BOOK.VUKY DID NOT CHOSE THE PATH AROUND WARDS CAR! VUKE AND JOHNNY BOYD HAD GONE WAY TO THE LEFT TO MISS WARDS CAR,KELLER COMING OUT OF THE INFIELD FORCED BOYD TO THE RIGHT,THAT FORCED VUKY TO THE RIGHT AN OVER BOYDS RIGHT REAR TIRE! THAT SENT HIM UP AN OVER AND CLIPPING THE TOP OF THE FENCE! BILL jr was a solid driver maybe underated.he had a lot to overcome.

great stuff as always from you thanks

By: JohnMc

JohnMc — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:13:50 +0000

Bill II had a solid career and is in the National Midget Hall of Fame alongside his father. One thing about the book on Vuky, I learned a lot about his midget career and how he worked on his Drake to become the most dominating midget driver on the west coast.
Another good one George.

By: Mike Silver

Mike Silver — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:53:50 +0000

George,
I agree with many of your points about the book. However, there was some fascinating history about the California midget scene and I liked the details of the 500″s Vuky won. I, too was looking for more about the man himself. But about halfway through I decided to just absorb the history that was new to me. The book was worth it for that. Anyone new to the sport should read it. There is a lot about the evolution of today’s product in it.