Al Unser

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Alfred "Al" Unser (born May 29, 1939) is an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. Now retired, he is the second of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times, the fourth of five to have won the race in consecutive years, and won the National Championship in 1970, 1983, and 1985.

The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times.

He is the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child (Al Jr.) as fellow Indy 500 winners (coincidentally, all three captured their final Indy 500 wins racing for Team Penske).

Al's nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race. After his son Al Jr. joined the top circuit in 1983, Unser has generally been known by the retronymic name of "Al Unser Sr." or "Big Al."

Personal life

Unser was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the youngest of four sons of Mary Catherine (Craven) and Jerome Henry "Jerry" Unser. His father and two uncles, Louis and Joe, were also drivers. Beginning in 1926 they competed in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, an annual road race held in Colorado. Joe Unser became the first member of the Unser family to lose his life to the sport, killed while test-driving an FWD Coleman Special on the Denver highway in 1929.

Al's oldest brother Jerry became the first Unser to drive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualifying 23rd and finishing 31st in the 1958 Indianapolis 500. However, tragedy struck the next year when he was killed by injuries sustained in a fiery crash during a practice session.

Middle brother Bobby drove in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1963, and in 1968, became the first member of the family to win. Son Al Unser Jr. drove in his first in 1983.

Unser married Wanda Jesperson in 1958 and they had three children- Alfred Jr., Mary, and Deborah. Deborah died in a dune buggy accident in 1982. Al and Wanda divorced in 1971 and Al married Karen Sue Barnes on November 22, 1977. Karen and Al divorced in 1988.

Al Unser, with his family, owned and operated the Unser Racing Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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Racing career and Indianapolis 500

He began racing in 1957, at the age of 18, first competing mainly in modified roadsters, sprint cars, and midgets. For the first time in 1965, he competed in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and finished ninth. In 1970, he appeared in Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, where he would drive for the next seven years.

In 1970, he defeated the Indy 500, two years after his brother, Bobby, was killed. He dominated for only ten of the 200 laps and averaged 155.74 km/h (250.654 km/h) during the run. The victory was mainly due to his quick pit stops, as well as the fact that VPJ had a massive advantage over the field that year. He won the United States Auto Club national championship for the first time in a lifetime on oval, road, and dirt tracks. In 1967, Unser was the Year's Rookie of the Year, competing in USAC's Stock Car division.

Vel's Parnelli Jones won the Indy 500 for the second time in 1971, starting from the fifth position (253.850 km/h), with Peter Revson's McLaren as the champion. Unser's attempt to become the first three-time Indy 500 champion was thwarted when he finished second behind Mark Donohue in the 1972 Indianapolis 500. Starting with the team in 1977, Unser will continue driving for the team until 1977. Although upgrading their chassis, as well as their unsuccessful F1 attempt, VPJ lost their competitive advantage over the course of a few years. The team regained competitive form by 1977, but Jim Hall Racing's departure was announced at the end of the year. In a 2020 interview, Unser would later admit that his departure from VPJ resulted from differences with Jones and his associates over the team's direction, though Unser maintained a friendship with Jones.

Despite starting the 1978 Indianapolis 500 from the fifth position in a First National City Travelers Checks Chaparral Lola, Unser's car was considered to be a second-tier entry at best, if not an outright long shot to win. On lap 75, he and opponent Danny Ongais engaged in an on-again off-again duel for 75 more laps before his engine failure enabled Ongais to take the lead by a commanding 35 seconds. Despite suffering right-wing misalignment due to a tire blowing on his final pit stop, the lead fell steadily over the course of the race's final 20 laps, with victory by nine seconds to spare at the checkered flag. Unser's average speed of 161.363 mph (259.689 km/h) was ranked as the second fastest run ever run (one mile per hour less than the 1972 record), but it would not be topped for second for the second time in four years.

Unser departed Jim Hall's team for the Longhorn Racing Team, owned by Bobby Hillin Sr. in 1979. Though Detroit went winless for three seasons, he would later recall that driving with the Hillin family was his most enjoyable experience as a driver before his triumphant Penske years. After three years, the team folded operations, leaving Unser out of a ride.

Unser rode for four years in a Penske-owned car in 1983 and 1984. Unser rode 61 laps in the late stages of the 1983 Indianapolis 500. With less than 20 laps remaining, Unser has a challenge from Tom Sneva, who led the most laps. Unser began to walk away from Sneva with help from his son, who was several laps behind. However, Sneva overcame Al Jr. and set sail for Unser Sr. Sneva recovered by 11 seconds from losing the race by 11 seconds, avenging his departure from the team in 1978. Unser Jr. was banned two laps for his behavior in addition to passing two cars under caution on lap 170 after the race, as well as having passed two cars under caution.

Unser won the IndyCar championships in 1983 and 1985, winning one race and then having multiple top-five finishes. Penske decided to place the team's focus on teammate Rick Mears after he recovered from serious injuries in 1986. As a result, Unser shortened his calendar to just a few IndyCar races a year, which he will do going forward.

Unser was a semi-regular champion in IROC, winning three races and the 1977-1978 championship outside of his open-wheel career. After winning the pole, Bob's final IROC start was an 11th-place finish at the 1993 Michigan race.

In NASCAR, three of them in the late 1960s and two in 1986. Both of his best performances came at fourth-place, one at the 1968 Daytona 500 and the other at the 1969 Motor Trend 500 at Riverside International Raceway, with one in 1968. He did not do well in two 1986 debuts, finishing 29th at Watkins Glen and 20th at Riverside, and 20th at Riverside.

Career highlights

At 644, Unser has run the second most laps of any racer in the Indianapolis 500 history. On the last lap of his 4th victory, Unser tied Ralph DePalma's long-running record of 612 laps.

Unser is the first person to win the 500 at 47 years old (1987), beating his brother Bobby's previous record.

In 1976 and 1978, Unser won two 500-mile races at Pocono (in 1976 and 1978), and two more in Ontario (in 1977 and 1978), bringing his total number of 500-mile race wins (including four Indianapolis 500s) to eight.

In 1978, Unser became the IROC champion. He also competed in the 1968 Daytona 500 and four other NASCAR Winston Cup & Grand National races, all held on road courses with a best finish of fourth (twice).

Motorsports career results

(key) (races in bold indicate pole position) (key) (key)

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(Bold) – The most important (key) (Bold – Pole position is awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or performance time. (Most laps led.)

(Bold) (Bold – Pole Position) is the most important). (Last laps led):

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Awards

• In 1986, Unser was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.
• In 1998, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
• He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991.