Al Unser Jr.

Al Unser Jr.
Al Unser Jr. at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in March 2011.
Nationality	American
Born	Alfred Unser Jr. (1962-04-19) April 19, 1962 Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Retired	2007
Related to	Al Unser (father) Al Unser III (son) Bobby Unser (uncle) Jerry Unser (uncle) Robby Unser (cousin) Johnny Unser (cousin) Louis Unser (grandfather)
IndyCar Series career
Debut season	1982
Former teams	Forsythe Racing Shierson Racing Marlboro Team Penske Galles Racing Kelley Racing Patrick Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Starts	329
Wins	34
Poles	7
Best finish	1st in 1990, 1994
Previous series
1982 1982-1999	Can-Am CART Indy Car World Series
Championship titles
1982 1986, 1988 1990, 1994	Can-Am Championship International Race of Champions CART Indy Car World Series
Awards
1992, 1994 1994 2007 2009	Indianapolis 500 Champion ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame inductee Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee
NASCAR Cup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	36th (1993)
First race	1993 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Alfred Unser Jr. (born April 19, 1962), nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior", or simply "Junior", is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

History

Unser was born into a racing family in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the son of Al Unser and the nephew of Bobby Unser, both Indianapolis 500 winners themselves. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times.

Early career

By the age of 11, Al Junior was racing sprint cars. After high school, he was already in the World of Outlaws series of sprint car racing. He soon moved into road racing, winning the Super Vee title in 1981 and the Can-Am title in 1982.

Rising CART star

In 1982, Unser made his debut on the CART circuit. He suffered personal tragedy when his sister Debbie was killed in a dune buggy accident, but this did not deter Unser; and a year later, he competed in his first Indianapolis 500, finishing 9th. However, hours after the race ended, Unser Jr. was issued a 2-lap penalty by chief steward Thomas W. Binford for passing 2 cars under caution with less than 40 laps to go as well as blocking eventual winner Tom Sneva from getting by his father with less than 20 laps to go. The penalty dropped him from an original finish of 9th, to 10th. Despite being lauded for his performance as a rookie, Unser Jr. narrowly lost the rookie of the year award to Teo Fabi.

Unser continued racing on the CART circuit, becoming one of the series' rising stars. He finished second in the CART championship point standings in 1985, losing to his father by just one point. He began competing in the IROC championship in 1986, winning that championship with two victories in four races. At the age of 24, Unser was the youngest IROC champion ever. Unser won the 1986 and 1988 IROC championships, the final Indycar driver to win an IROC championship. Unser won the 24 Hours of Daytona, also at age 24 for the first time in 1986 and again in 1987.

Unser continued to improve on the CART circuit, finishing fourth in the points standings in 1986, third in 1987, second in 1988 and finally winning the series for the first time in 1990. In 1989, Unser was on the verge of winning his first Indianapolis 500, but while battling with Emerson Fittipaldi for the lead the two touched wheels and Unser spun, hitting the wall and ending his chances. This race is remembered for a remarkable show of sportsmanship, as Little Al climbed out of his wrecked racecar and gave Fittipaldi the "thumbs up" as he drove by Unser under caution. Unser would have his day at Indy in 1992, however, defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.

During the off-season he drove in the 1993 Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports finishing 36th in his only NASCAR start. He ran well in the race, running with the lead pack all day, until a late race crash with Kyle Petty and Bobby Hillin Jr. During an interview with Mike Joy after the accident, Joy asked him if he would be back. Unser said that he wanted to come back, but it would never happen. Unser also tested a Williams F1 car but never competed in the series.

Penske years

Penske PC-23 driven by Unser in 1994

In 1994, Unser again won at Indy, this time with Penske Racing. His teammates were Emerson Fittipaldi, the man whom he battled with five years before, and Paul Tracy. Unser turned in a dominant season-long performance, winning eight of 16 races on his way to his second CART championship, as well as being named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year that year. In 1995 Unser, along with teammate Emerson Fittipaldi, failed to qualify at Indianapolis, and he would later point to this as the trigger event for his descent into alcoholism and the breakup of his marriage. He would finish second to Jacques Villeneuve in CART championship points in 1995. He finished fourth in 1996, despite having a chance of winning the championship until the end of the season.

Unser ranked 13th in 1997, 11th in 1998 and 21st in 1999, not helped by the fact that he had to sit out two races after breaking his leg in the season-opener at Miami in a first-lap accident. Little Al's decline in performance coincided with the Penske team's struggles with their in-house chassis, Mercedes engines and Goodyear tires, which were being abandoned by most teams during this era in favor of Firestones. His teammates suffered similarly disappointing results during this time.

Team Penske began abandoning the maligned in-house Penske chassis for customer Lola chassis during the 1999 season. By the end of 1999, Unser and Penske parted ways and, combined with the death of Gonzalo Rodríguez, Penske replaced Unser and Rodriguez with Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran. Unser would leave CART to join the budding Indy Racing League for the 2000 campaign.

Unser won a total of 31 races during his 17 seasons in CART. His career win total including IRL stands at 34, which is currently the sixth-most all time in American open wheel racing (as of 2013). As a two-time Indy 500 and two-time overall points champion, Unser enjoyed a decorated career as one of the most dynamic and successful drivers in American auto racing.(9)

Indy Racing League

Unser would go on to win a total of three races in his IRL career, but after breaking his pelvis in an all-terrain vehicle accident in October 2003, Unser had difficulty securing a ride for the 2004 season. He finally signed with Patrick Racing three races into the season, but after a 22nd-place finish in Richmond, Unser finally announced his retirement from racing on June 30, 2004. Unser continued to remain involved in racing, however, outside of a driving capacity. He served as an adviser for Patrick Racing and worked as a mentor for his son, Al Richard Unser, who was working his way through the lower ranks of open-wheel racing at the time.

Post-retirement racing and personal issues

Unser practicing for the 2007 Indianapolis 500

Unser before the 2007 Indianapolis 500

In 2006 Unser announced that he would come back to racing again and he would run the 2006 Indianapolis 500, teamed with fellow former winner Buddy Lazier for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. This came just days after Michael Andretti also came out of retirement to run the 500. Unser qualified 27th in the 33-car field, and consistently ran in the upper half until a crash ended his day.

In late August, Unser took part in an A1 Grand Prix test session at Silverstone.

On 25 January 2007, Unser was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, misdemeanor hit and run, failure to render aid in an accident and failure to report an accident near Henderson, Nevada, USA.

On 2 May 2007, it was announced that Unser would drive a car for racing legend A. J. Foyt in the 2007 Indianapolis 500, carrying the No. 50 on his car in recognition of A. J.'s 50 years at the storied race. Unser qualified in the 25th starting position after being bumped from the lineup on the second day of qualifying.

On 18 May 2007, Unser spoke publicly for the first time about his battle with alcoholism when he joined forces with LIVE outside the Bottle, a national educational campaign to help the public understand the need for addressing and treating alcoholism.

During the race weekend of the 2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Unser confirmed that his IndyCar career was in fact over. During the weekend, he returned to the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race that he won in 1985, and scored his second win in the event and his eighth Long Beach victory overall.

In 2010, Unser started the Race Clinic for Paralysis charity.

Unser is on the board of Baltimore Racing Development and helped announce plans for the 2011 Baltimore Grand Prix on Monday, August 17, 2009.

Unser was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009.

On September 29, 2011 Unser was arrested in Albuquerque, New Mexico on charges of reckless driving and aggravated driving while intoxicated. Charges stemmed from an incident where Unser reportedly drag raced his Chevrolet Suburban SUV at speeds of over 100 mph. He was placed on indefinite suspension from his role with IndyCar.

In 2013, Unser entered a sportscar race at Thunderhill Raceway Park, the legendary 25 Hours of Thunderhill, racing with his son Al III as teammates. Unser dominated the race, but co-driver Ivan Bellarosa crashed the car out.

In 2014, once again at Long Beach he participated in the Pro/Celebrity race, finishing fifth, 6.115 seconds behind winner Brett Davern and four other celebrities, winning the Pro Division (30-second disadvantage assessed to professionals) for his ninth Long Beach victory overall, extending the "King of the Beach" nickname. Later that year, Unser raced again at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, participating in the Indy Legends Charity Pro/Am race, during the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association's Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational event. This two-driver race included an Indianapolis 500 veteran in each car. Unser won the race, along with Peter Klutt, driving Klutt's 1969 Chevrolet Corvette. In so doing, Unser became the second driver to win on both the oval and road course at the Speedway.

In 2015, Unser participated in several Goodguys AutoCross competitions while racing Speedway Motors' 1970 Camaro. He also raced in the Sports Car Club of America Solo National Championship, placing second in his class, and is entered again at Thunderhill for the 25 Hours. Because of his age (over 50), Unser is eligible to drop down a level from professional class to an "amateur" class (Silver level) under the FIA driver rankings used for sportscar races, although the National Auto Sport Association does not use such ratings.

On May 20, 2019, just days before the 2019 Indianapolis 500, Unser Jr. was charged for DUI for a fourth time.

On October 1, 2021, Unser's memoir entitled Al Unser Jr: A Checkered Past, co-authored by Jade Gurss, was published by Octane Press.

Personal life

Unser married Shelley; the couple later divorced. He has four children, Al Richard Unser, Cody Unser, Shannon Unser, and Joe Unser. Cody lost the use of her legs on February 5, 1999 when she was 12 years old. She, along with her mother Shelley, founded the organization "Cody Unser First Step Foundation" at age 13 and she writes about the cause on U.S. News & World Report. Shelley Unser died on August 15, 2018. On September 30, 2021, Unser Jr. married Norma Lawrence.

Motorsports career results

American Open Wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Formula Super Vee

Formula Super Vee results
Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Rank	Points
1981	Galles Racing	Ralt RT5/81	VW Brabham	CLT 1	MIL 1	WGl 3	ROA 2	BRN 1	MIL 1	MCH 3	RIV Ret	PHX 2	1st	98
Source:

PPG Indycar Series

CART results
Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Rank	Points
1982	Forsythe Racing	March 82C	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX	ATL	MIL	CLE	MCH	MIL	POC	RIV 5	ROA	MCH	PHX										21st	30
1983	Galles Racing	Eagle 83	Cosworth DFX V8t	ATL 6	INDY 10		CLE 9	MCH 7	ROA 2		RIV 4	MDO 18	MCH 10	CPL 10	LAG 4	PHX 8								7th	89
		March 83C				MIL 13				POC 2
1984	Galles Racing	March 84C	Cosworth DFX V8t	LBH 17	PHX 25	INDY 21	MIL 3	POR 1	MEA 4	CLE 24	MCH 26	ROA 13	POC 21	MDO 19	SAN 6	MCH 6	PHX 2	LAG 4	CPL 4					6th	103
1985	Shierson Racing	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX V8t	LBH 9	INDY 25	MIL 24	POR 2	MEA 1	CLE 1	MCH 15	ROA 17	POC 2	MDO 4	SAN 3	MCH 23	LAG 3	PHX 2	MIA 3						2nd	150
1986	Shierson Racing	Lola T86/00	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX 12	LBH 2	INDY 5	MIL 8	POR 3	MEA 9	CLE 8	TOR 4	MCH 8	POC 6	MDO 5	SAN 2	MCH 21	ROA 11	LAG 23	PHX 6	MIA 1				4th	137
1987	Shierson Racing	March 87C	Cosworth DFX V8t	LBH 2	PHX 14	INDY 4	MIL 5	POR 20	MEA 8	CLE 3	TOR 20	MCH 18	POC 23	ROA 3	MDO 23	NAZ 6	LAG 4	MIA 2						3rd	107
1988	Galles Racing	March 88C	Chevrolet 265A V8t	PHX 18	LBH 1	INDY 13	MIL 20	POR 4	CLE 4	TOR 1	MEA 1	MCH 21	POC 2	MDO 4	ROA 7	NAZ 19	LAG 6	MIA 1						2nd	149
1989	Galles Racing	Lola T89/00	Chevrolet 265A V8t	PHX 2	LBH 1	INDY 2	MIL 8	DET 21	POR 10	CLE 7	MEA 5	TOR 20	MCH 4	POC 9	MDO 2	ROA 20	NAZ 4	LAG 3						5th	136
1990	Galles-Kraco Racing	Lola T90/00	Chevrolet 265A V8t	PHX 3	LBH 1	INDY 4	MIL 1	DET 27	POR 3	CLE 15	MEA 11	TOR 1	MCH 1	DEN 1	VAN 1	MDO 3	ROA 4	NAZ 16	LAG 2					1st	210
1991	Galles-Kraco Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet 265A V8t	SRF 16	LBH 1	PHX 6	INDY 4	MIL 19	DET 4	POR 4	CLE 4	MEA 2	TOR 23	MCH 3	DEN 1	VAN 3	MDO 5	ROA 2	NAZ 4	LAG 2				3rd	197
1992	Galles-Kraco Racing	Galmer G92	Chevrolet 265A V8t	SRF 4	PHX 5	LBH 4	INDY 1	DET 9	POR 3	MIL 7	NHA 8	TOR 7	MCH 4	CLE 3	ROA 2	VAN 2	MDO 3	NAZ 11	LAG 9					3rd	169
1993	Galles Racing	Lola T93/00	Chevrolet 265C V8t	SRF 15	PHX 4	LBH 21	INDY 8	MIL 5	DET 6	POR 5	CLE 19	TOR 5	MCH 8	NHA 8	ROA 25	VAN 1	MDO 8	NAZ 25	LAG 5					7th	100
1994	Team Penske	Penske PC-23	Ilmor 265D V8t	SRF 14	PHX 2	LBH 1		MIL 1	DET 10	POR 1	CLE 1	TOR 29	MCH 8	MDO 1	NHA 1	VAN 1	ROA 2	NAZ 2	LAG 20					1st	225
			Mercedes-Benz 500I V8t				INDY 1
1995	Team Penske	Penske PC-24	Mercedes-Benz IC108B V8t	MIA 15	SRF 6	PHX 8	LBH 1	NAZ 13	INDY DNQ	MIL 2	DET 5	POR 1	ROA 28	TOR 26	CLE 18	MCH 2	MDO 1	NHA 3	VAN 1	LAG 6				2nd	161
1996	Team Penske	Penske PC-25	Mercedes-Benz IC108C V8t	MIA 8	RIO 2	SRF 9	LBH 3	NAZ 3	500 8	MIL 2	DET 22	POR 4	CLE 4	TOR 13	MCH 4	MDO 13	ROA 10	VAN 5	LAG 16					4th	125
1997	Team Penske	Penske PC-26	Mercedes-Benz IC108D V8t	MIA 27	SRF 27	LBH 4	NAZ 3	RIO 7	GAT 18	MIL 20	DET 8	POR 25	CLE 4	TOR 20	MCH 20	MDO 22	ROA 7	VAN 5	LAG 11	FON 22				13th	67
1998	Team Penske	Penske PC-27	Mercedes-Benz IC108E V8t	MIA 22	MOT 2	LBH 29	NAZ 15	RIO 16	GAT 19	MIL 3	DET 24	POR 5	CLE 17	TOR 17	MCH 22	MDO 6	ROA 27	VAN 5	LAG 6	HOU 7	SRF 22	FON 27		11th	72
1999	Team Penske	Penske PC-27B	Mercedes-Benz IC108E V8t	MIA 26	MOT	LBH	NAZ 24	RIO 12							MCH 13						HOU 15	SRF 22	FON 7	21st	26
		Lola B99/00							GAT 12	MIL 19	POR 16	CLE 5	ROA 9	TOR 9		DET 15	MDO 25	CHI 25	VAN 25	LAG DNS

IndyCar Series

(key)

IndyCar Series results
Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2000	Galles Racing	G-Force GF05	3	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	WDW 25	PHX 9	LVS 1	INDY 29	TXS 3	PPIR 10	ATL 3	KTY 27	TXS 17									9th	188
2001		G-Force GF05B			PHX 23	HMS 6	ATL 17	INDY 30	TXS 8	PPIR 11	RIR 3	KAN 20	NSH 14	KTY 4	GAT 1	CHI 8	TXS 6					7th	287
2002	Kelley Racing	Dallara IR-02	7	Chevrolet Indy V8	HMS 19	PHX 5	FON 11	NAZ 12	INDY 12	TXS 2	PPIR 6	RIR 5	KAN 17	NSH	MCH	KTY 6	GAT 7	CHI 2	TXS 20			7th	311
2003		Dallara IR-03	31	Toyota Indy V8	HMS 13	PHX 4	MOT 5	INDY 9	TXS 1	PPIR 14	RIR 10	KAN 14	NSH 8	MCH 9	GAT 20	KTY 4	NAZ 6	CHI 19	FON 9	TXS 9		6th	374
2004	Patrick Racing	Dallara IR-04	20	Chevrolet Indy V8	HMS	PHX	MOT	INDY 17	TXS 11	RIR 21	KAN	NSH	MIL	MCH	KTY	PPIR	NAZ	CHI	FON	TXS		25th	44
2006	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara IR-05	31	Honda HI6R V8	HMS	STP	MOT	INDY 24	WGL	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIL	MCH	KTY	SNM	CHI				35th	12
2007	A. J. Foyt Enterprises		50		HMS	STP	MOT	KAN	INDY 26	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	NSH	MDO	MCH	KTY	SNM	DET	CHI	32nd	10

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Note	Team
1983	Eagle	Cosworth	5	10	Out of Fuel	Galles
1984	March	Cosworth	15	21	Water Pump Failure	Galles
1985	Lola	Cosworth	11	25	Engine Failure	Shierson Racing
1986	Lola	Cosworth	9	5	Running	Shierson Racing
1987	March	Cosworth	22	4	Running	Shierson Racing
1988	March	Chevrolet	5	13	Running	Galles
1989	Lola	Chevrolet	8	2	Crash	Galles
1990	Lola	Chevrolet	7	4	Running	Galles/Kraco
1991	Lola	Chevrolet	6	4	Running	Galles/Kraco
1992	Galmer	Chevrolet	12	1	Running	Galles/Kraco
1993	Lola	Chevrolet	5	8	Running	Galles
1994	Penske	Ilmor-Mercedes	1	1	Running	Penske
1995	Lola	Ilmor-Mercedes	DNQ			Penske
2000	G-Force	Oldsmobile	18	29	Radiator Damage	Galles
2001	G-Force	Oldsmobile	19	30	Crash	Galles
2002	Dallara	Chevrolet	12	12	Running	Kelley
2003	Dallara	Toyota	17	9	Running	Kelley
2004	Dallara	Chevrolet	17	17	Running	Patrick
2006	Dallara	Honda	27	24	Crash	Dreyer & Reinbold
2007	Dallara	Honda	25	26	Running	Foyt

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	NWCC	Pts
1993	Hendrick Motorsports	46	Chevy	DAY 36	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL	81st	55

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1993	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	40	36

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Season	Make	1	2	3	4	Pos.	Pts	Ref
1986	Chevy	DAY 11	MOH 1*	TAL 7	GLN 1	1st	62
1987		DAY 5	MOH 4	MCH 1*	GLN 2	2nd	65
1988		DAY 4	RSD 3	MCH 3	GLN 1*	1st	66
1989		DAY 4	NZH 4	MCH 5	GLN 1*	2nd	60
1990	Dodge	TAL 2	CLE 2	MCH 5		2nd	44
1991		DAY 4	TAL 10	MCH 3	GLN 3	5th	47
1992		DAY 6	TAL 7*	MCH 7	MCH 1*	3rd	59
1993		DAY 3	DAR	TAL 1*	MCH 3	2nd	60.5
1994		DAY 2	DAR 10	TAL 5	MCH 1	2nd	56
1995		DAY 10*	DAR	TAL	MCH 1*	7th	42
1996	Pontiac	DAY 5	TAL 1	CLT 8	MCH 5	5th	48
1997		DAY 1*	CLT 5	CAL 6	MCH 4	4th	57
1998		DAY 8	CAL 2	MCH 12	IND 2	4th	46
2001	Pontiac	DAY	TAL	MCH 2	IND 5	NA	0
2002		DAY 5*	CAL 8	CHI 2	IND	7th	39

Video games

• Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing, a 1990 NES game featuring Unser.
• Al Unser Jr.'s Road to the Top, a 1994 SNES game.
• An unreleased Sega Genesis game featuring Unser titled Al Unser Jr. Racing was showcased at the 1994 SCES.
• Al Unser Jr. Arcade Racing, a 1995 computer game featuring Unser.[1]

Pop culture references

• In season 11, episode 12 of The Simpsons called The Mansion Family (originally aired on January 23, 2000), Bart is riding a bicycle through Mr. Burns's mansion screaming "I'm Al Unser Jr."

External links

• Official website
• Al Unser Jr. driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• LIVE Outside The Bottle Official Site
• The Greatest 33
• Al Unser Jr: A Checkered Past