OT-40 years ago 1968 Greatest Season of them all.

[!!WALDO!!]

The Phoenix PIR Jimmy Bryan 150 will be up this week, if things go right,

[!!WALDO!!]

The spring of 1968 was really looked forward to as the winter was rough. The Pueblo Incident, the Tet Offensive that change the “outcome” of the Viet Nam War, Lyndon Johnson tell us he would not seek or accept the nomination to be re-elected as “Your President”. Eugene McCarthy and Bobby Kennedy fighting for the anti-war side of the electorate and Dr. Martin Luther King was in Memphis trying to settle a garbage workers strike during the week prior to the race at Phoenix International Raceway. On April 3rd a very tired Dr. King made his famous “I have been to the mountain” speech in which he predicted not being around much longer and the next evening he was gunned down on the balcony of his hotel. The cities within hours started to burn and the rioting swept the U.S.
So on Sunday April 7th, J.C. Agajanian was pacing around because he sold around 3,000 advance tickets so he already cut a deal so the $750.00 owed to Foyt came from USAC and not from Aggie. Thus the purse would be the absolute minimum of $17,685. 31 cars were pre-entered and actually were in the pits that beautiful Sunday morning. Already a very ugly rumor was moving around the pits, the rumor was Jimmy Clark was killed in an F-2 race in Hockenhiem, Germany. That can’t be true, one of the greatest drivers ever dead in F-2? As Agajanian and USAC were correct in their purse requirements and the 6900 fans settled in to their seats, the word in the pits is the rumor is not a rumor but a fact. “That’s why I have no friends in racing”, said Foyt. Others reflected but practice, qualifying and a race were on the agenda for today and what happen to Jimmy could strike any of 31 drivers vying for the 24 spots.
Bobby Unser in the 1967 Leader Card Owned, Rislone Sponsored and Jud Phillips wrenched 1967 Eagle Turbo Offy set fast time but not a record. The line up looked good with a mix of engines and tires but as everyone was commenting, where was every one?
LINE-UP
1 3 Bobby Unser Rislone 1967 Eagle Offy T/C 29.010 124.095 mph
2 2 Mario Andretti Andretti Racing Team Brawner II Ford

3 8 Roger McCluskey G. C. Murphy 1967 Eagle Ford
4 25 Lloyd Ruby Gene White Mongoose Offy T/C

5 1 A.J. Foyt Sheraton-Thompson Coyote Ford
6 4 Gordon Johncock Johncock Racing Team 1967 Gerhardt Ford

7 5 Al Unser Retzloff Chemical 1967 Lola Ford
8. 67 Jim Malloy Jim Robbins Seat Belt 1967 Vollstedt Ford

9 15 Mel Kenyon City of Lebanon 1967 Gerhardt Offy T/C
10 96 Johnny Rutherford E. R. E. Enterprises Eisert Chevy

11 9 Joe Leonard Vel's Ford Sales 1967 Mongoose Ford
12 54 Wally Dallenbach Valvoline 1967 Huffaker Offy T/C

13 10 Bud Tinglestad Federal Engineering Gerhardt Offy T/C
14 77 Larry Dickson Dayton Steel Wheel 1966 Gerhardt Ford

15 90 George Snider Leader Card 1967 Watson Ford
16 11 Art Pollard Thermo King Auto Air Conditioning 1967 Gerhardt Offy T/C

17 98 Billy Vukovich Agajanian 1967 Mongoose Offy T/C
18 14 Chuck Hulse Quaker State 1966 Gerhardt Offy T/C

19 62 Bruce Walkup Cleaver-Brooks 1965 Vollstedt Offy T/C
20 101 Bruce Jacobi Earl Smith 1966 Gerhardt Chevy

21 99 Gary Bettenhausen Joe Hunt Magneto 1961 Lesovsky D Offy
22 28 George Follmer George R. Bryant 1967 Cheetah Ford

23 51 Dempsey Wilson Greenman 1964 Halibrand Chevy
24 81 Bob Hurt Central Excavating 1967 Gerhardt Offy T/C


25 61 Max Dudley Dudley Trucking 1966 Gerhardt Chevy too slow Bumped
26 36 Gene Bergin Harvey 1965 Gerhardt Offy too slow
27 68 Danny Ongais Mickey Thompson Thompson Chevy too slow
28 55 Keith Rachwitz Lynch 1965 Halibrand Offy too slow Bumped
29 56 Sonny Ates Boyce Holt Racing 1959 Turner D Chevy too slow Bumped
30 84 Arnie Knepper Midwest Manufacturing 1951 Kurtis4000 D Offy too slow Bumped
31 23 Rick Muther Michener Petroleum 1965 Lola Ford too slow

[!!WALDO!!]

So once the cars got lined up and the sad faces became race faces the race to honor Jimmy Bryan now gave meaning to the mortality that this sport has a tendency to take away. A hot sunny day could make the track a little slick. Agajanian could not understand the crowd as there was a USAC Stock show on the Desert Road Course after Riverside and there were 3 times more people and that race won by Foyt in the Jack Bowsher #31. The racing world was getting strange.
When the green came out Bobby Unser jumped into lead but it got ugly right away as Foyt blew his engine a George Follmer’s Cheetah did not like the oil and bounced hard off the turn one wall. So Follmer and Foyt were gone and Joe Leonard tore up his Half Shaft in the slick and finished one lap. By the time it was cleaned up Bruce Jacobi was gone and Bobby led with a hounding Mario. On lap 23 Mario got Bobby and began to move away. McCluskey began to fight his way into second place and started to look for Mario. On lap 46 Tucson’s Greatest Driver took the lead with Mario riding with him as they were dealing with traffic. Soon the Vollstedt of Bruce Walkup and the Mongoose of Vukovich were in the pits to stay with various problems. Johncock running 5th is now out on lap 56 with rear end problems so 17 cars were running with Gary in the Hunt Dirt car just circulating. On the leaders 80th Lap McCluskey and Andretti had just lapped Rutherford and were behind the now 5th place Al Unser in turn three when the engine blew in Unser’s car. Car scattered everywhere with McCluskey bouncing off of Andretti and pinching Rutherford into the wall. FIRE!! As Rutherford’s car erupts and JR is having difficulty getting out of the car. Finally the fire is out, McCluskey, Andretti are ok but Rutherford is not as he suffers 1st and 2nd degree burns on his hands and minor injuries in other places. The third place runner was Lloyd Ruby who now would lead under this prolonged caution. 13 cars running at this point and the green came out on lap 98 and Bobby jumped Ruby and said good bye to the field and led the rest of the race winning his second race of the year and taking a 100 point lead. Ruby held on to second a lap down with Mel Kenyon on his tail. Wally Dallenbach and Art Pollard ran another lap down giving the Turbo Offenhauser the top 5 spots and 8 out of 12 point paying spots. Goodyear tires have now won all three races this year although Firestone took the next 5 spots.
There will two weeks off before the Trail moves to Trenton, NJ.
OFFICIAL FINISH
1 3 Bobby Unser Rislone Eagle Offy T/C 150 1:29:09.90 100.938 74 Laps
2 25 Lloyd Ruby Gene White Mongoose Offy T/C -1 Lap 18 laps
3 15 Mel Kenyon City of Lebanon Gerhardt Offy T/C -1 Lap
4 54 Wally Dallenbach Valvoline Huffaker Offy T/C -2 Laps
5 11 Art Pollard Thermo King Auto Air Conditioning Gerhardt Offy T/C -2 Laps
6 90 George Snider Leader Card Watson Ford -3 Laps
7 10 Bud Tinglestad Federal Engineering Gerhardt Offy T/C -3 Laps
8 14 Chuck Hulse Quaker State Gerhardt Offy T/C -3 Laps
9 67 Jim Malloy Jim Robbins Seat Belt Vollstedt Ford -5 Laps
10 81 Bob Hurt Central Excavating Gerhardt Offy T/C -13 laps
11 51 Dempsey Wilson Greenman Halibrand Chevy -14 Laps
12 77 Larry Dickson Dayton Steel Wheel Gerhardt Ford -16 Laps
13 99 Gary Bettenhausen Joe Hunt Magneto Lesovsky D Offy -44 laps
14 8 Roger McCluskey G. C. Murphy Eagle Ford 80 Wrecked 34 Laps
15 2 Mario Andretti Andretti Racing Team Brawner Ford 80 Wrecked 24 laps
16 5 Al Unser Retzloff Chemical Lola Ford 80 Blew engine
17 96 Johnny Rutherford E. R. E. Enterprises Eisert Chevy 78 Wrecked, fire, injured
18 4 Gordon Johncock Johncock Racing Team Gerhardt Ford 56 Rear end
19 98 Billy Vukovich Agajanian Mongoose Offy T/C 53 Piston
20 62 Bruce Walkup Cleaver-Brooks Vollstedt Offy T/C 46 Waste gate
21 101 Bruce Jacobi Earl Smith Gerhardt Chevy 14 Rear end
22 9 Joe Leonard Vel's Ford Sales Morris Ford 1 Broken half shaft
23 1 A.J. Foyt Sheraton-Thompson Coyote Ford 0 Blew engine
24 28 George Follmer George R. Bryant Cheetah Ford 0 Wrecked

POINTS 4/7/1968--Driver
1. Bobby Unser 800**
2. Lloyd Ruby 700
3. Gordon Johncock 490*
4. George Snider 350
5 . Al Unser 320
6. Mel Kenyon 310
7. Wally Dallenbach 300
8. A.J. Foyt 240
9. Mario Andretti 240
10. Art Pollard 225
11. Joe Leonard 210
12. Roger McCluskey 175
13. Billy Vukovich 120
14. Gary Bettenhausen 105
15. Bud Tinglestad 90
16. Keith Rachwitz 80
17. Chuck Hulse 75
18. Jim Malloy 60
19. George Follmer 40
20. Bob Hurt 40
21. Johnny Rutherford 30
22. Dempsey Wilson 30
23. Larry Dickson 15

[!!WALDO!!]

So it was a warm sunny day on April 21st, 1968 as 13,139 filed into the New Jersey State Fairgrounds and the one mile paved oval. This brought the season total to 44,054 in the 5 races or 8811 per race. Sam Nunis was a very happy camper on this day, a reasonable crowd, ABC Wide World of Sports taping this show for the second year and the accessories company reaching down and putting in money. The extra $9,250 in extra cash on top of the $26,280 in purse that made a purse paid out of $35,530. The real disappointment was very few 500 cars were there and only 25 total. Of the 25 only the top 16 qualifiers were entered in the 500 and all but a couple would serve as a back up.
Entries for the 500 were now closed with 77 entries of which there were 8 Turbines, with Turbo Offies, 255.1 Fords, the new lumbering Turbo Fords, Chevys and a lone Dirt Car for Gary Bettenhausen.
The practice session took out Chuck Booth as he popped the Offy in is aging Lesovsky Dirt Car and local driver Leonard “Gig” Stephens the 3 year old Halibrand Offy as both appeared to have put a tall gear in to get a little extra but the gamble didn’t pay off.
After Mario took the pole for the 3rd year in a row it the rest of qualifying became pretty much fill the field. Two cars that were of interest were the new cars of Joe Leonard and Jim Malloy that held the Turbo Ford. Joe was 7th fastest and Jim 11th fastest as this engine was going to the challenger to the Turbo Offy.
Trenton had a long history with Rex Mays winning there back in the 40’s but it wasn’t until USAC days that Trenton became a mainstay. In the early to mid 1960’s they ran 3 races. Spring, Summer and Fall but the Summer race was replaced with the “Northern NASCAR Tour” and in 1967 in front of a standing room crowd they saw Richard Petty win the 300 miler one of the 26 he won in 1967. So with this 150 and the Fall 200, Nunis was also looking to next year as the track would be modified to a 1.5 with a right dogleg down the back stretch so big things were on the horizon.
On this day would Mario beat and stop the Bobby Unser Rislone Express? The Andretti Racing Team did get Overseas National Airways to help pay some bills, but everyone who was really fast a Phoenix are in the first two rows so could Mario with an air breather hold on? Time will tell
LINE-UP
1. 1 Mario Andretti Overseas National Airways 1967 Brawner II Ford 115.979 mph
2. 8 Roger McCluskey G. C. Murphy 1967 Eagle Offy T/C

3. 25 Lloyd Ruby Gene White 1968 Mongoose Offy T/C
4. 3 Bobby Unser Rislone 1967 Eagle Offy T/C

5. 1 A.J. Foyt Sheraton-Thompson 1967 Coyote Ford
6 5 Al Unser Retzloff Chemical 1967 Lola Ford

7. 9 Joe Leonard Vel's Ford Sales 1968 Morris Ford T/C
8.54 Wally Dallenbach Valvoline 1967 Finley Offy T/C

9 4 Gordon Johncock Johncock Racing Team 1967 Gerhardt Offy T/C
10 98 Billy Vukovich Agajanian 1967 Mongoose Offy T/C

11 67 Jim Malloy Jim Robbins Seat Belt 1968 Vollstedt Ford T/C
12 11 Art Pollard Thermo King Auto Air Conditioning Gerhardt Offy T/C

13 15 Mel Kenyon City of Lebanon 1967 Gerhardt Offy T/C
14 90 George Snider Leader Card 1967 Watson Ford

15 10 Bud Tinglestad Federal Engineering 1967 Gerhardt Offy T/C
16 23 Rick Muther Michner Petroleum 1965 Lola Ford

17 101 Bruce Jacobi Earl Smith 1965 Gerhardt Offy
18 61 Max Dudley Dudley Trucking 1966 Gerhardt Chevy

19. 36 Gene Bergin Bulldog Stables 1966 Gerhardt Chevy
20. 55 Sonny Ates Boyce Holt Racing 1958 Turner D Chevy

21 57 Rollie Beale Kenny Brenn 1960 Meskowski D Offy
22 37 Bay Darnell Curtis Auto Center 1966 Curtis Chevy

23 87 Chuck Arnold California Speed/Sport 1965 Halibrand Offy 1st Alternate
56 Chuck Booth Nelson 1956 Lesovsky D Offy Blew engine practice
102 Gig Stephens Halibrand Engineering 1965 Halibrand Offy Blew engine practice

[!!WALDO!!]

So as the cameras went on for the taping of this race, everyone was hoping that the race would be better than 1967, when Mario led all 150 laps. As the cars were getting ready to start up, Bud Tinglestad’s Federal Engineering Gerhardt Turbo Offy was not going to make the start so Chuck Arnold in the Joe Barzda owned California Speed/Sport Halibrand Offy got to start.
The Green comes out and Mario takes off but Sonny Ates in the Boyce Holt Racing Chevy Dirt Car spun out. Under the caution there appears be a problem with Trenton’s all time winning driver, A.J. Foyt Jr. Foyt was in the pits on lap three and climbing out with a broken half shaft. The Green came back out with Mario, Roger and Bobby but Bobby marching forward. After dispatching Roger for second, he sails past Mario and takes over and Chuck Arnold breaks a half shaft and Bruce Jacobi bounces the Earl Smith car off the wall. With 5 cars gone, 10 laps in with Bobby, Mario, Roger, Lloyd and Al Unser in the top 5 under the caution. Once the green came out, Gene Bergin missed a shift and blew his Chevy engine and the Caution flew again. Once that deal was cleaned up, before 30 laps both Al Unser and Roger McCluskey were gone as Bobby was in control, the race appeared for third place. Rollie Beale in his first start parked his Ken Brenn Dirt Car as he was really in the way. Just past the 1/3 mark, USAC Stock Car Star, (grandfather to Erik) Bay Darnell blew up his Curtis Chevy and Art Pollard spun out in the oil and hurt his Gerhardt. Another caution and now only 12 cars running by the time the green came out the third place driver Lloyd Ruby was out with a ring and pinion problem and was logged in 12th place eventually. Green displayed, a few laps under the green and whammy as Jim Malloy wrecks hard the Vollstedt Turbo Ford and ends up 11th. The Green flies and Mel Kenyon doesn’t as he tore up his universal joint and is scored 10th. Thanks to the cautions the top 4 cars are on the lead lap as 5 others are just circulating around the track. The only way Bobby was going to lose is if he broke as he was on cruise control. Just past the leaders half way point Trans Am driver Max Dudley calls it quits with an oil leak and finishes 9th. Soon the White Flag came out as Mario was almost a half lap back, Wally was in turn 1 and Gordy was just ahead of Bobby as he started his 150th lap. In a very boring 1:27:02.57 at an average speed of 103.397MPH, Bobby Unser took his third first to the Checkered of the year, 5th for his career. Mario grabbed second with Wally Dallenbach and Johncock on the lead lap. Billy Vukovich was 2 laps down, George Snider was 3 laps down, Rick Muther, 4 laps down and Joe Leonard with the Turbo Ford 5 laps behind.
Not a very good race for ABC to Broadcast but thank goodness for the ability of editing. It was also announced that a race would be Broadcast Live for the first time on Wide World of Sports but with only two dates on Saturday and one would compete against the Olympics it appeared to be the Springfield “Tony Bettenhausen” 100. This would be the first LIVE of any kind other than Closed Circuit.
OFFICIAL FINISH
1 3 Bobby Unser Rislone Eagle Offy T/C 150 1:27:02.57 103.397 300 Points 142 Laps Led
2 2 Mario Andretti Overseas National Airways Brawner Ford 150 Finished 240 Points 8 laps led
3 54 Wally Dallenbach Valvoline Finley Offy T/C 150 Finished 210 Points
4 4 Gordon Johncock Johncock Racing Team Gerhardt Offy T/C 150 Finished 180 Points
5 98 Billy Vukovich Agajanian Mongoose Offy T/C -2 Laps Flagged 150 Points
6 90 George Snider Leader Card Watson Ford -3 Laps Flagged 120 Points
7 23 Rick Muther Michner Petroleum Lola Ford -4 Laps Flagged 90 Points
8 9 Joe Leonard Vel's Ford Sales Morris Ford T/C -5 Laps Flagged 75 Points
9 61 Max Dudley Dudley Trucking Gerhardt Chevy 98 laps Oil leak 60 Points
10 15 Mel Kenyon City of Lebanon Gerhardt Offy T/C 84 laps Broken universal joint 45 Points
11 67 Jim Malloy Jim Robbins Seat Belt Vollstedt Ford T/C 74 laps Wrecked 30 Points
12 25 Lloyd Ruby Gene White Mongoose Offy T/C 65 laps Broken ring/pinion 15 Points
13 11 Art Pollard Thermo King Auto Air Conditioning Gerhardt Offy T/C 56 Spun out
14 37 Bay Darnell Curtis Auto Center Curtis Chevy 54 Blown engine
15 57 Rollie Beale Kenny Brenn Meskowski D Offy 36 Out
16 8 Roger McCluskey G. C. Murphy Eagle Offy T/C 27 Steering
17 5 Al Unser Retzloff Chemical Lola Ford 23 Broken half shaft
18 36 Gene Bergin Bulldog Stables Gerhardt Chevy 15 Blown engine
19 101 Bruce Jacobi Earl Smith Gerhardt Offy 9 Wrecked
20 87 Chuck Arnold California Speed/Sport Halibrand Offy 9 Broken half shaft
21 1 A.J. Foyt Sheraton-Thompson Coyote Ford 3 Broken half shaft
22 55 Sonny Ates Boyce Holt Racing Turner D Chevy 0 Spun out
23 10 Bud Tinglestad Federal Engineering Gerhardt Offy T/C 0 Did not start

Points Going into Indy
1. Bobby Unser 1100***
2. Lloyd Ruby 715
3. Gordon Johncock 670*
4. Wally Dallenbach 510
5. Mario Andretti 480
6. George Snider 470
7. Mel Kenyon 355
8. Al Unser 320
9. Joe Leonard 285
10. Billy Vukovich 270
11. A.J. Foyt 240
12. Art Pollard 225
13. Roger McCluskey 175
14. Gary Bettenhausen 105
15. Rick Muther 90
16. Jim Malloy 90
17. Bud Tinglestad 90
18. Keith Rachwitz 80
19. Chuck Hulse 60
20. Max Dudley 60
21. Bob Hurt 45
22. George Follmer 40
23. Johnny Rutherford 30
24. Dempsey Wilson 30
25. Larry Dickson 15
1. Rislone #3 1967 Eagle Offy T/C 1100**
2 Gene White #25 Mongoose Offy T/C 535 Ford 180 715
3. Johncock Racing Team #4 Gerhardt Offy T/C 580*
4. Valvoline #54 Huffaker-Finley Offy T/C 510
5. Andretti Racing Team #2 (#64) Brawner Ford 480
6. Leader Card #90 Watson Ford 470
7. Thermo King Auto Air Cond/ City of Lebanon #15 Gerhardt Offy T/C 355
8. Retzloff Chemical #5 Lola Ford 320
9. Rislone #3 1966 Eagle Ford 300*
10. Agajanian #98 Mongoose Ford 120 Offy T/C 150 270
11. Sheraton-Thompson #1 Coyote Ford 240
12. Thermo King Auto Air Cond #11 Gerhardt Ford 75 Offy T/C 150 225
13. Vel's Ford Sales #9 (#29) Mongoose Ford 210
14. G. C. Murphy #8 Eagle-Offy T/C 160 Ford 15 175
15. Joe Hunt Magneto #99 Lesovsky D Offy 105
16. Jim Robbins Seat Belt #67 Vollstedt Ford T/C 30 Ford 60 90
17. Michner Petroleum #23 Lola Ford 90
18. Federal Engineering #10 Gerhardt Offy T/C 90
19. Johncock Racing Team #4 1966 Gerhardt-Ford 90
20. Lynch #55 Halibrand Offy 80
21. Vel's Ford Sales #9 Morris Ford T/C 75
22. Quaker State #14 Gerhardt Offy T/C 75
23. Dudley Trucking #61 Gerhardt Chevy 60
24. Central Excavating #81 Gerhardt Offy T/C 45
25. George R. Bryant #28 Cheetah Ford 40
26. E. R. E. Enterprises #96 Eisert Chevy 30
27. Greenman #51 Halibrand Chevy 30
28. Dayton Steel Wheel #77 Gerhardt Ford 15

[!!WALDO!!]

Some Corrections:
Car In Bold Entered In the 500 with Entry Number.
Car Owner Points
1. Rislone #3 1967 Eagle Offy T/C 800**
2 Gene White #25 Mongoose Offy T/C 535 Ford 180 715 (#6)
3. Johncock Racing Team #4 Gerhardt Offy T/C 580* (#58)
4. Valvoline #54 Huffaker-Finley Offy T/C 510 (#94)
5. Andretti Racing Team #2 (#64) Brawner Ford 480 (#64)
6. Leader Card #90 Watson Ford 470 (#87)
7. Thermo King Auto Air Cond/ City of Lebanon #15 Gerhardt Offy T/C 355 (#15)
8. Retzloff Chemical #5 Lola Ford 320 (#5)
9. Rislone #3 1966 Eagle Ford 300* (#79*)
10. Agajanian #98 Mongoose Ford 120 Offy T/C Ford 150 270 (#98)
11. Sheraton-Thompson #1 Coyote Ford 240 (#84)
12. Thermo King Auto Air Cond #11 Gerhardt Ford 75 Offy T/C Ford 150 225 (#16)
13. Vel's Ford Sales #9 (#29) Mongoose Ford 210 (#29)
14. G. C. Murphy #8 Eagle-Offy T/C 160 Ford 15 175 (#38)
15. Joe Hunt Magneto #99 Lesovsky D Offy 105 (#47)
16. Michner Petroleum #23 Lola Ford 90 (#23)
17. Federal Engineering #10 Gerhardt Offy T/C 90 (#31)
18. Johncock Racing Team #4 1966 Gerhardt-Ford 90
19. Lynch #55 Halibrand Offy 80
20. Vel's Ford Sales #9 Morris Ford T/C 75 (#9)
21. Quaker State #14 Gerhardt Offy T/C 75 (#14)
22. Jim Robbins Seat Belt #67 Vollstedt Ford 60 (#67)
23. Dudley Trucking #61 Gerhardt Chevy 60
24. Central Excavating #81 Gerhardt Offy T/C 45 (#81)
25. George R. Bryant #28 Cheetah Ford 40 (#28)
26. E. R. E. Enterprises #96 Eisert Chevy 30 (#96)
27. Jim Robbins Seat Belt #67 Vollstedt Ford T/C 30 (#27)
28. Greenman #51 Halibrand Chevy 30
29. Dayton Steel Wheel #77 Gerhardt Ford 15 (#77)

Engine Points
Turbo Offy: 3140***
Ford: 2810*
Turbo Ford: 105
Offy: 185
Chevy: 60

Tire Points
Goodyear: 2410****
Firestone: 1890

(#79*) This became the #42 Car when that car was not finished it was to be a 1968 Eagle-Ford. So when that car didn't show the only car that met the Eagle Ford requirements in the Leader Card Stables was this car.

[!!WALDO!!]

1968 Indianapolis 500 Entry List

Car # Driver Car Name Year Chassis/Engine Points
1 A.J. Foyt Jr Sheraton-Thompson Spl. 1968 Coyote/Ford 000
2 Mario Andretti Overseas National Airways 1968 HawkIII/TCF 000
3 Bobby Unser Rislone 1968 Eagle/TCO 000
4 Gordon Johncock Gilmore Broadcasting 1968 Gerhardt/TCO 000
5 Al Unser Retzloff Chemical 1967 Lola/Ford 320
6 Bobby Grim Gene White Company 1967 Mongoose/TCO 715
8 Roger McCluskey G.C. Murphy Spl. 1968 Eagle/TCO 000
9 Joe Leonard Vel’s Parnelli Jones Spl 1968 Morris/TCF 75
10 Bud Tinglestad Federal Engineering Spl 1968 Gerhardt/TCO 000
11 Art Pollard Thermo King Air Conditioning 1968 Gerhardt/TCO 000
14 Chuck Hulse Quaker State Spl 1967 Gerhardt/TCO 75
15 Mel Kenyon City of Lebanon Indiana Spl 1967 Gerhardt/TCO 355
16 Not Assigned Thermo King Air Conditioning 1967 Gerhardt/TCO 225
17 Arnie Knepper Bryant Heating and Cooling Spl 1967 Vollstedt/Ford 000
18 Johnny Rutherford City of Seattle Spl 1967 Eagle/Ford 000
19 Sonny Ates (R) MVS Spl 1967 Cecil/Ford 000
20 Parnelli Jones STP Oil Treatment 1968 Lotus/Turbine 4wd 000
21 Not Assigned Bryant Heating and Cooling Spl 1968 Vollstedt/TCF 000
22 Rick Muther Michner Petroleum Spl 1966 Eagle/Ford 000
23 Not Assigned Michner Petroleum Spl 1966 Lola/Ford 90
24 Not Assigned Retzloff Chemical 1968 Lola/TCF 4wd 000
25 Lloyd Ruby Gene White Company 1968 Mongoose/TCO 000
26 Ronnie Duman Central Hardware Thunderbolt 1965 Gerhardt/TCO 000
27 Jim Malloy (R) Jim Robbins Seat Belt Spl 1968 Vollstedt/TCF 30
28 Masten Gregory 1967 Cheetah/Ford 40
29 Not Assigned Vel’s Parnelli Jones Spl 1967 Mongoose/Ford 210
30 Greg Weld (R) STP Oil Treatment 1968 Lotus/Turbine 4wd 000
31 Not Assigned Federal Engineering Spl 1967 Gerhardt/TCO 90
32 Al Miller Wally Weir 1966 Gerhardt/Ford 000
34 Chuck Booth (R) Speedy’s Broasted Chicken 1966 Huffaker/Chevy 000
35 Jochen Rindt Repco Brabham 1968 Brabham/Repco 000
36 Not Assigned Jack Adams Aircraft 1966 Lola/Ford 000
38 Not Assigned G.C. Murphy Spl. 1967 Eagle/TCO 175
39 Not Assigned Carroll Shelby/Botany 500 1968 Wallis/Turbine 4wd 000
40 Parnelli Jones STP Oil Treatment 1967 Granatelli/Turbine 4wd 000
41 George Follmer (R) 1967 Cheetah/Ford 000
42 Not Assigned Olsonite Eagle/AAR 1968 Eagle/Ford 000
45 Ronnie Buckman (R) Weinberger Homes Spl. 1967 Eagle/Ford 000
46 Not Assigned Peterson Lotus Chevrolet Spl 1963 Lotus/Eisert-Chevy 000
47 Gary Bettenhausen (R) Joe Hunt Magneto 1961 Lesovsky/Offy Dirt 105
48 Dan Gurney Olsonite Eagle/AAR 1968 Eagle/Weslake-Ford 000
49 Sam Sessions (R) Weinberger Homes Spl. 1967 Eagle/Ford 000
50 Les Scott (R) Navarro Injection Spl. 1964 Watson/TC Rambler 000
51 Dempsey Wilson Greenman-Wilson Cam Spl 1964 Halibrand Shrike/Chevy 30
54 Wally Dallenbach Valvoline Spl 1968 Finley-Huffaker/TCO 000
56 Jim Hurtubise Pepsi Cola/Frito Lay Spl 1967 Hurtubise-Mallard/TCO 000
57 Not Assigned Overseas National Airways 1968 HawkIII/Ford 000
58 Not Assigned Gilmore Broadcasting 1967 Gerhardt/TCO 580
59 Not Assigned Cleaver-Brooks Spl 1968 Hayhoe-Brabham/TCO 000
60 Jackie Stewart STP Oil Treatment 1968 Lotus/Turbine 4wd 000
62 Bruce Walkup (R) Cleaver-Brooks Spl 1968 Hayhoe-Vollstedt/TCO 000
63 Bill Puterbaugh (R) City of Long Beach Spl 1967 Thompson/MT-Chevy 000
64 Not Assigned Overseas National Airways 1967 HawkII/Ford 480
66 Bruce McLaren (R) Carroll Shelby/Botany 500 1968
Wallis/Turbine 4wd 000
67 Not Assigned Jim Robbins Seat Belt Spl 1967 Vollstedt/Ford 60
69 Denis Hulme Carroll Shelby/Botany 500 1968 Wallis/Turbine 4wd 000
70 Graham Hill STP Oil Treatment 1968 Lotus/Turbine 4wd 000
71 Jerry Titus (R) Stewart-Warner Spl 1967 Marathon/Ford 000
72 Bob Hurt (R) Jack Adams Aircraft Spl 1968 Bryant/Turbine 000
73 Not Assigned Quaker State Spl 1966 Gerhardt/TCO 000
75 Not Assigned Stewart-Warner Spl 1967 Marathon/Ford 000
76 Not Assigned Bardahl Eagle Spl 1967 Eagle/Ford 000
77 Larry Dickson Dayton Steel Wheel Spl 1966 Gerhardt/Ford 15
78 Jerry Grant Bardahl Eagle Spl 1968 Eagle/TCF 000
79 Not Assigned Rislone 1966 Eagle/Ford 300
80 Not Assigned STP GAS TREATMENT 1967 Lotus 42/Ford 000
81 Not Assigned Central Excavating Spl 1967 Gerhardt/TCO 45
82 Jim McElreath James H. Greer Spl 1967 Coyote/Ford 000
84 Not Assigned Sheraton-Thompson Spl. 1967 Coyote/Ford 240
87 Not Assigned Leader Card Racers 1967 Watson/Ford 470
88 Rollie Beale (R) Ken Brenn Spl 1966 Gerhardt/Ford 000
90 George Snider Leader Card Racers 1968 Watson/TCO 000
94 Chuck Stevenson Valvoline Spl 1967 Finley-Huffaker/TCO 510
95 Not Assigned Repco Brabham 1968 Brabham/Repco 000
96 Not Assigned E.R.E. 1968 Eisert/Eisert-Chevy 30
97 Not Assigned Wagner-Lockheed Spl 1966 Jones-Phillipp-Shrike/TCO 000
98 Billy Vukovich Jr. (R) Wagner-Lockheed Spl 1967 Mongoose/TCO 270

Engines:
Ford 255.1: 27
Turbo-Offy 168: 25
Turbines 15.99: 8
Turbo-Ford 168: 7
Stock Block Chevy 305: 4
Repco : 256 2
Offy 251.9 1
Thompson Chevy 254: 1
Weslake Ford 305: 1
Turbo Rambler 6 209: 1
Turbine 12.5 :1

Chassis:
Gerhardt 15
Eagle 11
Lotus 5
Lola 4
Vollstedt 4
Mongoose 4
Hawk 3
Watson 3
Coyote 3
Wallis 3
Cheetah 2
Hayhoe 2
Brabham 2
Finley 2
Marathon 2
Cecil 1
Halibrand Shrike 1
Jones-Phillipp-Shrike 1
Glen Bryant 1
Mallard 1
Morris 1
Huffaker 1
Granatelli 1
Eisert 1
Eisert-Lotus 29 1
Lesovsky Dirt Car 1

71 Rear Engine Cars
4 Side Engine Cars
1 Front Engine Roadster
1 Front Engine Dirt Car

68 Rear Wheel drive
9 4 wheel drive.

[!!WALDO!!]

Next the Month of May 40 years ago......

[!!WALDO!!]

On Wednesday May 1st the Speedway open but it was the most subdued in recent memory as Arnie Knepper won for Phil Hedback, Rolla Vollstedt and the Bryant Heating and Cooling Team the 1st on to the track at 9:00:05 AM.
Only 9 cars were on the track for the 12 hours of practice they were the #17 Knepper/ Vollstedt, #19 Sonny Ates/MVS, #36 Bob Hurt/Adams, #60 Mike Spence/STP, #69 Denis Hulme—Bruce McLaren/Botany, #70 Graham Hill/STP, #76 Jerry Grant/Bardahl, #90 George Snider/Leader Card and #98 Billy Vukovich/Agajaian. Both Hurt and Hill had top speed at over 154 MPH.
40 cars were on the grounds and Bruce McLaren finished two phases of his rookies test. Ates started his but had a fueling problem and Vukovich was out familiarizing himself with the track. Bob Hurt was in the refresher phase of his rookie test.

On Thursday May 2nd, Rookie and Veterans were on the track together with Billy Vukovich, Jim Malloy and Bruce McLaren the first rookies approved.
Sonny Ates got three phases done, Mike Spence got 2 phases done and Rick Muther did some laps in the #22 Michner Petroleum car.
Foyt made his first appearance and also assigned fellow Texan Jim McElreath to the #82 James H. Greer Spl, a 1967 Coyote that Joe Leonard finished 3rd with, as the driver.
44 cars were now on the grounds with Sam Sessions getting approved to the #49 car but alias Danny Ongais was not approved to the Mickey Thompson City of Long Beach Spl.
Only 12 cars made it to the track.

Friday May 3rd was a busy day as Parnelli Jones announced he would not be driving but he was going to be a car owner. Rain and showers restricted duty as 19 cars made it to the track and George Snider had an incident in the #87 Leader Card car as be broke a crankshaft locking up the rear end causing him to turn 1.5 times covering 400 feet and brushing the inside wall with his right front.
51 cars were now in the garage.

Saturday May 4th had seven yellows, rain, track inspection, familiarization, spin, tow in and a dog.
Mike Spence was fastest at 164.239 and Joe Leonard left the #9 Vel’s Parnelli Jones entry for the Parnelli vacated #40 and did 158.786 in his first ride.

Sunday May 5th there were a total of 56 cars, with 20 cars on the track. Greg Weld was working on his refresher in the #30 Turbine and Hill busted 165 in the #70 and Joe was past 163 in the #40.
A.J. Foyt won the Yankee 250 USAC Stock Car race at IRP beating Norm Nelson and Frank Freda. Sonny Ates set a new half mile world record at Winchester of 16.93—106.007 in qualifying. Larry Dickson won the feature over Bob Pratt and Ates.

Monday May 5th as 58 cars on the grounds Dan Gurney broke up the Turbines with a 167.1 in the Gurney/Weslake powered Eagle. Both Joe and Art Pollard wheeled the #40 car to high 163s and Spence and Hill were over 165.
Rollie Beale and Greg Weld gets approved while Midget veteran Henry Pens gets sent home. There were 6 minor cautions for various reasons, 32 so far.

[!!WALDO!!]

On Tuesday May 7th the day of speed was off to a fantastic start as many cars, 28 in total where out on the track. Mike Spence turned a 169.555 in the #60 STP Turbine but here are the top speeds:
#60 Spence: 169.555
#70 Hill: 169.045
#48 Gurney: 167.1
#42 Gurney: 166.945
#40 Leonard: 164.775
#25 Lloyd Ruby: 164.3
#40 Art Pollard: 163.4
#30 Mike Spence: 163.1
At 5:12 PM a large thud was heard from turn 1 as after turning a 163.1 in the #30 STP Turbine, Mike Spence was into the wall left side first in front of Grandstand E after a slid of 300 feet, then the car hung against the wall for 390 feet, edging away from the wall sliding 240 feet before coming to a stop in the middle of the track at the exit of turn one. The car was extensively damaged and Spence who lost his helmet in the crash was taken to Methodist Hospital with was described as severe head injuries.
Practice was over for the day and Chief Steward Harlan Fengler announced that at first inspection there was no failure but a further investigation would be made and all cars of this type would be held off the track until the investigation was completed and being done solely in the interest of safety as the cars were a new product.
9:45PM Mike Spence from Maidenhead, Berks. United Kingdom succumbed from his injuries.

A very quiet May 8th as rain put the track town for 267 minutes. A.H. Dowd of Shelby Racing Enterprise sent a letter to Harlan Fengler withdrawing the 39, 66 and 69 cars in the “interest of safety”. Truth was the 15.99 air intake would open to a whopping 21 inches and would not have been caught except all cars would have to be inspected even closer. So instead of being disqualified from attempting to make the race they took a higher road. Bruce and Chris Amon left but Denis Hulme assumed as defending World Champ a ride would open.
Colin Chapman left Indy as in the last 30 days he lost two very good drivers and friends placing Andy Granatelli in charge of this effort. Jackie Stewart gets turned down due to a broken wrist suffered in Spain so the #20 and #60 now have no drivers and there are 4 less cars to attempt to qualify.
One thing that brought a smile to faces was Gary Bettenhausen out in the Dirt Car turning laps. The last time was in 1964 when Cliff Griffith was running laps near qualifying speed that year.
Roger McCluskey had fast time of 165.868. 53 minutes of yellow today consuming a total of 669 minutes out of a possible 4,320 minutes as of 6:00PM that day.

After a rainy morning, traffic picked up in the afternoon as Mario made his first appearance as did Al Unser. Gary Bettenhausen got 2 phases done in the dirt car and had 7 laps over 150 in that phase as the day ran out.
McCluskey upped his speed by a half a mile an hour as both Bobby Unser and Foyt got over 163. So far only 9 cars, 10 drivers had gone faster than 163.


After 10 days with 7 more days to go 69 of the 77 entries were on hand so with 3 of the 69 gone only 7 cars were not there. Rain interfered as God didn’t make little Green Apples and it don’t rain in Indianapolis in the Spring Time, blared on the radio.
Roger McCluskey did it again surpassing 167.326 with Bobby Unser on his tail at 167.286. The turbines were still parked as Art Pollard was back into his assigned #11 Thermo King Car and got 165.502 out of it. Gordon Johncock got nearly the same from his Gerhardt of 165.259. Foyt hit the charts with a Ford at 165.198.
Others over 160 were: #5 Al Unser 164.144; #2 Andretti 163.934; #9 Leonard 162.896;
#59 Bruce Walkup 162.426; #15 Kenyon 162.308; #98 Vukovich 162.201; #27 Malloy 161.255; #31 Tingelstad 160.714 and #90 Snider 160.714.
A Note: Bill Vukovich has been on the track 40 different times in the #98 during first 9 days of practice. This is a season high for one car or driver.

Guess what? Saturday May 11th lost the whole day to rain. Only the 8th full rain day since 1961.
This year there was a possible 5,940 minutes of practice available, the track has been closed 1,675 minutes and open 4,265 minutes and rain kept it closed for 1,022 minutes.
A notice from the Chief Steward requiring the #20, #60 and #70 to intall steering and suspension parts that meet the requirements of paragraph A and B, Rule 4 of Appendix B-General Specifications of the Official Competition Rules of USAC. No time requirement was posted.
Some new drivers received there assignments:
Bobby Grim #6
Ronnie Buckman: #45
Sam Sessions: #49
Bill Puterbaugh: #63
Rollie Beale #88
Chuck Stevenson #94
Cars not at the track:
#24 Bowes Seal Fast Lola/Turbo Ford 4wd.
#50 Navarro Injection Spl. Watson?Turbo Rambler 6----Les Scott
#72 Wynn’s Storm Gilbert/Turbine----Bob Hurt
#95 Repco Brabham Brabham/Repco----Jack Brabham
#96 Eisert Racing Eisert/Chevrolet
#39 Car withdrawn.

40 years later, it rained on May 11th.....