The reason the oil was not noticed was because it was leaking from a dry sump line and the turbo car doesn't have conventional headers to catch the oil and generate smoke. Massel was unaware his car was leaking oil until the tech guys started checking the right-lane cars to figure out where it came from - sure enough, it was still leaking in the pts. Since there was no smoke and Massel's car didn't get out of shape, the observers didn't see anything to prompt them to check the track until the fourth car following, a J/AA in the last pair, almost hit the wall. When they found oil, they started looking for the source.
The oil was between half track and 1,000 feet.
Nobody likes reruns, but conditions were not fair for the four cars that went down the right lane in the oil. All four lost. What's the alternative, just shrug it off? Tough luck, try again next year?