Mike Spence, a Formula One driver, had competed in 37 Formula One grand prix since 1963 when he arrived at Indianapolis from England with Colin Chapman. He whipped the Chapman-built, STP-Lotus Turbine around the Indy Speedway on a windy day for a practice lap of 169.555 mph, the second fastest lap ever!
Spence was planning to leave Indy the night of his crash (May 7th) with Graham Hill for Madrid and the Spanish Grand Prix and return later for the Indy 500. Spence was a test driver for English Turbocars. He began rallying his father's Turner 950 in 1957, and his father helped him to buy a second-hand AC Ace-Bristol in 1958. He was soon winning races and setting lap records, racing successfully in both Formula 1 and II series. In 1965, he won the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch; in 1966, the South African Grand Prix; and in 1967, the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch.
The British race driver was racing this year at Indy because Champman had asked him to. He reportedly bragged "I had a heck of a time going slow enough. This track is a bit of a challenge."
Before the day was over, 48 minutes before closing time, he decided to test the turbine of his teammate, Greg Weld. Spence apparently lost control in the 1st turn, slid 300 feet, and hit the wall at a 45-degree angle. Observers believed that the partially loose right front wheel bent back and ripped off Spense's helmet, found with the chin strap still fastened and with the tiremarks on it. The car bounced 390 feet farther along the wall and bounded another 290 feet to the middle of the track.
The chief observer, Walt Myers, said that Spence was going too high on the turn every time around the track and that he had turned on the yellow light to warn Spence. In Spence's rookie driving tests, Chief Steward Harln Fengler had warned Spence about "unconventional cornering." Problem: coming in too low.
Spence had made 162 mph the lap before the crash. He and Graham Hill had both topped 169 mph that day in their Turbocars - the first time two cars had ever made such high speeds in one day. Hill had driven 171.208 mph. (Joe Leonard, however, set a new qualifying record at 171.559)
Spence never regained consciousness. Physicians were preparing to operate when Spence died about four hours after the crash, of head injuries.
Colin Chapman had lost two good friends: Jimmy Clark in April in the Formula II race at Hockenheim, Germany, and now, Mike Spence. Clark had planned to drive for Granatelli in 1968, and Mike Spence had replaced him. Chapman turned over his operation (for this race) to Granatelli, his partner; said he wanted nothing more to do with the 1968 Indy race; and accompanied the body to England. Granatelli remarked that Mike Spence was not only talented, but that "he was pure brilliant."
Michael Henderson Spence, the elder son of a sliding-door engineer, was born in Croydon, Surrey, and lived in Maidenhead. His wife, Sandy, was in London. They had no children.
The next morning after the accident, the turbines were gone from the garages. USAC had them impounded for a thorough check. Nothing was found wrong with the three remaining cars; and Joe Leonard, Art Pollard, and Graham Hill drove them in the race, finishing 12th, 13th and 19th, respectively. (Greg Weld did not make the race.)
Coincidentally, another driver named Spence died in 1929 at the track and a spectator named Spence got killed by a tire that flew off a car in 1938.
