High winds led to Bill Vukovich qualifying in 5th place on the second day, at 141.071 mph, third fastest in the field. When the 1955 Indianapolis 500 began, Jack McGrath charged to the front in a KK500C before Vukovich took the point on Lap 4. Vukovich and McGrath staged a thrilling wheel-to-wheel duel for the lead, before Vukovich began pulling away. McGrath retired with magneto trouble on the 54th lap, leaving Vukovich with nearly half a lap lead on second place Bob Sweikert in another Kurtis Kraft Roadster. On Lap 57, Vukovich rounded Turn Two where he became involved in a multi-car accident and suffered fatal injuries. Sweikert won the 1955 Indy 500 at an average speed of 128.209 mph. Sweikert's response to his bittersweet victory was, "I'd be more than happy to give up first place if only Billy could be here."

A much sought after mid-1990s 1:8 scale scratch-built model by Ron Fournier of the Kurtis-Kraft 500C Lindsey Hopkins Special Roadster as driven by Bill Vukovich at the Indianapolis 500 of 1955.

This example has a hand-fabricated aluminium body with a high-gloss hand rubbed paint finish. It is finely detailed with other aluminium and chrome plated brass components and parts. It features cast aluminium wheels, a detailed cockpit with a hand stitched ‘leather’ seat and side panels. It measures approximately 21 inches in length. The model is accompanied by a large quantity of paperwork, photographs of Ron at work, a Fournier signed certificate and sales paperwork. It also has a separate tail section in plain aluminium.

Ron Fournier (1942-2017) was a world-renowned master craftsman in the field of metal fabrication. His career spanned over 50 years, starting with Holman and Moody in 1964, and working for racing greats like Rodger Penske, AJ Foyt, Kar Kraft, and Bob Sharpe Racing. All benefited from his skills transforming sheet metal into coachwork and components for Championship race cars. In 1991 Ron and his family founded Race Craft after receiving countless awards for his metal fabricating books, tool patents, and metal fabrication training films and videos.