Johnny Boyd, 77; He Finished in Top 10 Five Times in Indy 500

Johnny Boyd, 77, who finished third in the Indianapolis 500 in 1958, died Sunday in Fresno after a long illness.

Boyd drove in the Indy 500 from 1955 through 1966 and finished in the top 10 in five of his starts.

“Racing at Indianapolis was his passion, his desire,” his wife of 28 years, Shirley Boyd, said in a statement.

“He led for 18 laps in 1958, but he didn’t lead the one he wanted. He told me, ‘I wouldn’t have changed anything, but I would have liked to have led that last lap.’ ”

Boyd’s initial Indianapolis 500 race was marred by a collision that ended with the death of driver Billy Vukovich, whose car hit Boyd’s before slamming into a wall.

A native of Fresno, Boyd also was well known in the midget-car racing circuit; he raced throughout the country. He won a Triple-A midget feature race in 1954 at Kokomo, Ind., and a USAC 100-lap midget features event in 1957 at Fresno and Gardena. He won another features race at Gardena in 1959.