Turbines Will Dominate Memorial Day 500

Tomorrow in Indianapolis thirty-three cars will take the starter's flag for the fifty-second running of the Memorial Day 500. But it's really only a race for three Lotus turbine STP Oil Treatment Specials owned by Andy Granatelli.

1968 has been billed as the year of the showdown between the conventional piston-powered cars and the new turbine-propelled machines. It's no such thing. The showdown took place a year ago, and tomorrow the turbines will just finish the job they started then.

In last year's 500 Parnelli Jones came within 2 1/2 laps of victory before his gearbox broke down. The rules makers, dismayed at the ease with which the turbine car ran away from the field, placed certain restrictions on turbine power plants.

The United States Auto Club (USAC), the governing body at Indianapolis, stated that the purpose of these rules was to cut the power and torque advantages enjoyed by the turbines to the point where reciprocating power plants could still compete.

Granatelli thought the USAC was unfair and went to court in an effort to have the restrictions lifted. He lost the suit, but arrived at Indianapolis in May with new turbine cars fast enough to give him a victory on the track despite the power restrictions.

Lotus's Colin Chapman built the new cars, which have been termed revolutionary but actually are not. Turbines have been kicking around the Speedway since 1961. The only thing revolutionary about the new Lotus turbines is their ability to go fast.

Last Year's Car

From a technical point of view, last year's Ken Wallis-built car was far more revolutionary than this year's Lotus turbines. It employed a totally new chassis configuration, with the driver and engine positioned next to one another in the center of the vehicle. Chapman borrowed the four-wheel drive train from last year's car, but reverted to a conventional rear engine chassis layout.

Granatelli towed five cars through the gates when practice started May 1. Within a week the STP cars were well established as the fastest cars at the track.

But if Granatelli was up to his ears in fast cars, he was soon precariously low on drivers. Jones decided that he would not drive this year; and doctors announced that Jackie Stewart's hand, injured the month before, would not be healed in time for the race.

Then on May 7, only hours after he had turned in the second fastest lap in Speedway history. Mike Spence was killed in a freak accident while testing teammate Greg Weld's turbine. The next day Weld, who had been slow all month, was released by STP, and Granatelli was left with 1966 winner Graham Hill, and four turbine cars.

Joe Leonard did what he could to improve the driver to car ratio by stuffing last year's car into the first-turn wall during a test run. As a reward Granatelli hired him to drive number 60, which had originally been assigned to Mike Spence. It wasn't a bad move. When the first day of qualifying ended, Leonard held the pole position.

Right next to him sat Graham Hill in another turbine, and in the fourth row was Art Pollard in the last STP car. Pollard had never even been in the car prior to his qualifying run. No piston-powered car came within two miles per hour of Leonard's record-breaking 171.559 mph run.

Piston Proponents

Piston proponents point out that in the past twenty years the race has been won from the pole only three times. Further, the damp, cool weather was made to order for the turbines, and if the temperature reaches 85 degrees on race day, they could lose as much as 20 per cent of their power.

These are the arguments of desperate men. Pole position winners are seldom race winners at Indianapolis because cars are ran differently for qualifying and for racing. In qualifications, they use special fuel which burns quickly while providing tremendous power boosts for short periods of time. In the race they burn pure alcohol, which lowers speed but increases mileage.

Cars are further slowed by full fuel loads. The turbines are vulnerable to this to the same degree that piston cars are, but since they run on kerosene in racing and qualifying, they suffer no speed loss due to fuel changes. Leonard and Pollard can turn laps at over 169 mph with full tanks, while a piston-powered car would be lucky to run within five mph of that.

It's difficult to pick a winner from the three turbines. Hill has been having a good year, but he's never done too well at Indianapolis. He won in 1966 on a series of flukes, but he barely qualified last year.

Pollard lacks experience in turbines, and at Indianapolis. This is only his second year here. Leonard on the other hand, has been racing here since 1965, and finished third last year. He should win tomorrow.