A picture says a thousand words... and this one is no exception. It depicts much more than just the first three starting positions of 1968. The cars depicted here were the three prinipcals of the 1968 race, a race that saw defeat snatched from the jaws of victory due to inter-team rivalry.

Much like 1967, a Turbine looked en-route to victory. Hampered by a failing gearbox that left him only with high gear to exit the pits, Bobby Unser found himself in second place with nine laps to go. Joe Leonard was leading under the caution when the green flag came out. Leonard stepped on the gas pedal at which time the turbine severed a fuel shaft and the turbine coast to a halt and handing the lead to Unser.

Ironically, the fuel shaft problem could have been averted. Of three Lotus turbines in the 1968 race, two were entered by Andy Granatelli of STP fame, and the third - Graham Hills turbine - was entered by Lotus founder Colin Chapman. You could say it was like two teams within a team. When Granatelli had first seen the turbine he immediately recognized a potential design flaw with the very fuel shaft that severed on Leonard’s car. He suggested an alternate design to Colin Chapman, who reassured Granatelli that the design was thoroughly tested and there was no problem with it.

During the race Graham Hill was eliminated early due to a suspension failure on his Lotus (Lotus cars were known for their, um, “frugal” design). After the race Granatelli was looking at Hill’s wreckage and noticed to his utter shock that Chapman did in fact make Granatelli’s suggested design change to the fuel shaft... but only on Hill’s car. Apparently Chapman had sabotoged two of his own cars - the ones entered by Granatelli - to try to ensure victory for his driver, Hill.

In addition to Hill and Leonard, Art Pollard drove the other Granatelli turbine, and a fourth turbine, driven by Mike Spence (#30), was also entered, but sadly Spence met his demise at the hands of the turbine while practicing for the 500.