The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 1

TODAY Partly Cloudy, Warmer High, 73; Low, 50 The Indianapolis TAR TODAY'S CHUCKLE Some men are henpecked because they don't give their wives enough chicken feed. Yesterday High, 67; Low, 54 'Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty" II Cor. 3-17 VOL. 65, NO. 361 633-1240 A1 FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1968 10c WA7 9 a UVJ VA7U UUVJ Turbines Keep Jinx Championship Bobby Whisks To Victory In Record Time; Gurney 2d Hill Hits Wall; Joe Leonard.

Art Pollard Cars 'Just Die By DAVE OVERPECK It was 1967 all over again. Joe Leonard had the STP Lotus-Turbine pointed toward victory yesterday, but the whispering speedster went mute at the start of the 192d lap. Bobby Unser, running five seconds behind and content to settle for a highly honorable second place, whisked by and cruised to victory in the 500-Mile Race. The slender veteran of five previous 500s completed the 200 laps in 3 hours, 16 minutes and 13.76 seconds for a record setting average speed of 152.822 miles an hour, bettering A. J.

Foyt's 1967 mark of 151.207. Unser brought his Rislone Eagle turbocharged Offy home 53.8 seconds ahead of Dan Gurney In the Olsonite Eagle with a stock block engine. Third place went to Mel Kenyon in the City of Lebanon (Ind.) Gerhardt turbo Offy. Then came world road racing champion Denis Hulme in a second Olsonite Eagle, this one powered by a conventional Ford racing V-8. This was supposed to be a race that the turbines would win at will.

But it didn't work out that way. Unser established his abil ft- p. 1 (Star Photo By James Ramsey) BOBBY UNSER, JOE LEONARD RAN THIS TIGHT DURING MUCH OF THE RACE Unser Leads Leonard on Main Straightaway During Their Long Duel By JOE HAMELIN "One thing should come of all this at least I don't think they'll have the guts now to ban the turbine." With that, Andy Grana-telli rose from behind his desk, took off his coat, sat down again, shook a dozen sympathetic hands, watched the reporters -walk from the garage, and then took out a handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes. His three bright red wedge-nosed STP babies had failed. Graham Hill kissed the wall midway through the 500-Mile Race and the machines of Joe Leonard and Art Pollard just plain died.

"We don't know what happened," he had said a minute earlier. Later it was learned the turbines were on the wrong kind of formula an unleaded white gasoline. "It's not important what happened. Whatever happened was meant to happen. "Anyone will tell you, no one comes here with a branJ new car and wins the race especially Andy Granatel-li." THERE WAS some quiet cussing among the STP crew yesterday, and some brooding, and there were a few tears.

But this time there was no funeral, no wake, not like last year when Parnelli Jones and No. 40 went out on the 197th lap. Last year newsmen battled for position with the crowd outside a set of bolted doors for 25 minutes while the STP team composed itself. The doors were open yesterday. Inside, owner, driver and crew were numb.

It was almost as if they knew that, in the end, the wine would again turn to vinegar for Andy Granatelli as it always has at the Indianapolis Motor MI UFA), TIRED AM) WIRED Infielders Real Mudders (Star Photo By Charles Berry) BOBBY UNSER TASTES THE SWEETNESS OF SUCCESS IN VICTORY LANE Gets Victory Kiss From '500' Festival Queen, Marice Littlejohn 'HOOT, HOG, OK DIE' By JOHN H. LYST Mud was the name of the game yesterday the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. If you were lucky, you only lost a shoe, maybe a sock. Disaster was fumbling the fried chicken or dropping a car key. EARLY MUDDERS got choice squatter's rights for the 52d staging of the annual infield spectacle.

Half the usual autos participated because of sinking parking facilities. And although officials stood by a 300,000 crowd estimate, they may have based that on dry measure ment. The usual infield crowd obviously was thin. THE BRAVE ONES that made a day of it sat, slept or stood in the mire on an array of floating boards and chairs. A firm foundation for a prime seat on the southwest turn was a piece of cardboard, a copy of a daily newspaper or somebody else's blanket.

University of Iowa dental students beat the mud by staking out a claim on one of the asphalt walkways. SOME OTHERS just kicked off their shoes, enjoyed the ooze, took barefoot walks in the muddy slicks and got their kicks drinking beer or Bobby Declares Lucky To Win' eating bananas. Nobody worried about slipping on the peels. Only archeologists may find some of the beer cans. One group of students played touch football in the muck and the contest mired down in a minor fight.

But that, like other isolated infield skirmishes, had no serious consequences. Police and Marion County sheriff's deputies had many of the same problems as spectators in muddy areas. Turn to Page 14, Column 4 ItvatUiiH' Short On $10 Th'heis To Ttmrnens Tickets still are available for $10 for both the "500" Festival PGA and Ladies' PGA golf tourney, plus free parking. The package ticket price will go to $15 after tomorrow. Tickets are available at the Eastern Air Lines on Monument Circle, Haag drugstores, country clubs, banks, municipal golf courses, and Speedway Golf Course site of the tourneys.

However, the banks are closed tomorrow. Last Of Inside Today's Star News Summary On Page 3 ing deep in his heart he really had no chance to win. He said publicly that the turbine cars were in a class by them selves and the piston brigade (including his turbo-charged Offy) would be running for a class title only. "I SAID IT and I still believe it," he declared with heavy emphasis after reaping racing's richest prize. "I didn't feel they'd finish 1-2-3, but knew my chances were mighty, mighty slim.

"No matter what Andy Granatelli says, I felt all day that Leonard could run away from me whenever he de cided to make the move. I'm sure it was part of Andy's Turn to Page 18, Column I 4 jr OWNER GRANATELLI Last Angry Man i ft -1 Speedway. Leonard, outwardly calm, keeping an iron grip on his poise, stood in the middle of the very, very quiet three-stall garage and said softly: "It was as if I had turned off the key. It just stopped, just like that. No warning at all.

It just went clunk." The No. 60 STP Lotus-turbine went clunk on the 192d lap, with Leonard in command and less than eight minutes away from a date in Victory Lane. "Of course I thought we had it," Joe said. "I thought we Turn to Page 18, Column 1 Amusement Deaths. 44-45 Statistics 45 Pages.

32-33 Editorials 26 TV-Radio 24 Bridge 20 Finance 44 Want Ads 45-55 Collins 56 10 Weather 24 Comics 36 Sports Werner 26 Crossword 19 Pages 37-43 Women 8-10 Modest 'I Was By RAY MARQUETTE Bobby Unser sat in the cockpit of his sleek racing machine, the engine roar giving him a headache and the sight of Joe Leonard serenely cruising well ahead of him forcing a heartache. "I was sitting there wondering to myself what chance 1 had if the green flag would come out," he grinned after winning the first 500-Mile Race of his life. "The chances Dow uf own Sres Open Tonight 3 The Slar's Telephone Numbers 'Main Office I Sports Results 633-1200 "Circulation Want Ads 633-1212 ity to run with the turbines early when he swept past Leonard to take the lead on the eighth lap. HE WOUND UP leading 127 circuits around the 2 54 -mile oval. But with 10 laps to go, it looked like he would still have to yield ultimate victory to Leonard and the turbine that everyone has cussed and discussed all month.

Then, as they took the green flag at the start of the 192d lap, Leonard punched the throttle and nothing hap pened. The turbine quit, Leonard pulled it off the track in the first turn and Unser swept by toward victory. After the race, STP boss Andy Granatelli was uncertain just what made the turbine fail. But the best guess was that something went wrong in the fuel system. Leonard's failure was almost as heartbreaking for Granatelli and the turbine crew as last year when Parnelli Jones had the first tur-bocar within four laps of victory before a $6 ball bearing Turn to Page 14, Column 1 Other urN Pago 11, 10, 37, 311, oG Other Stories Pages 10, 2.1, The Weather Joe Crow Says: Bobby Un-ser's win over the turbines in the 500 -Mile Race proves there's still vroom" at the top.

Indianapolis Partly cloudv and warmer today. Mostly cloudy tonight with showers likely. Showers and thunder- showers likely tomorrow and continued miia. Indiana Partly sunny and warmer today throughout the state. Chance of showers and thundershowers tonight and tomorrow.

High temperature range 75, north, and 75 80 south. weren't good and the only way I figured to catch him would be if he got behind someone or into trouble and then, maybe, I could do something. "NOW, WE'LL NEVER know if I could have beaten him. But I feel I accomplished something and I'm both surprised and happy to win." But the fates that sit high in the sky and turn the faucets of destiny off and on, caught Leonard and his pole-record STP turbine car just nine laps from the end of the race and the 32-year-old Bobby was king of the hill. Ironically, the winner of the 52d 500-Mile Race, by his own admission, went across the starting line know '68 Story Of The The Turbines For iyy i '1 JOE LEONARD'S TURBINE STANDS DEAD AS BOBBY UNSER TEARS BY STP Car Goes Out In 192d Lap; Unser Roars To Victory SECONDS AFTER LEONARD QUITS, ART POLLARD ALSO IS OUT He Sits On His Turbine And Waves As Unser Zips Past A J.J 1.