Al Unser Jr.

Penske PC-23 driven by Al Unser, Jr. in 1994.

Alfred Unser, Jr. (born April 19, 1962 in Albuquerque, New Mexico), nicknamed "Little Al" or "Al Junior" is an American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

History

Al Unser, Jr., the son of Al Unser and the nephew of Bobby Unser, both race car drivers in their own right, grew up surrounded by racing. 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.

In 1982, Unser made his debut on the CART circuit, finishing fifth at the California 500. A year later, he competed in his first Indianapolis 500, finishing tenth. 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 (as of 2004). Unser won the 1988 and 1986 IROC championships. Unser won the 24 Hours of Daytona, also at age 24.

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 out, hitting the wall and ending his chances. Unser would have his day at Indy in 1992, however, defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 of a second, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history (as of 2005). During the off-season he drove in the 1993 Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports finishing 36th in what would be his only NASCAR start.

In 1994, Unser again won at Indy, this time with Penske Racing. His teammate was Emerson Fittipaldi, the man whom he battled with five years before. Unser turned in a dominant season-long performance, winning eight of 16 races on his way to his second CART championship. However, Unser would begin to fade in CART, perhaps due to alcohol problems that would later lead to his arrest. He would finish second to Jacques Villeneuve in CART championship points in 1995, but after finishing fourth in 1996, 13th in 1997, 11th in 1998 and 21st in 1999, Unser would eventually 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.

He won his first IRL race that same season at Las Vegas. 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 of 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, Al Unser, Jr. finally announced his retirement from racing on June 30, 2004. Unser continued to remain involved in racing, however, outside of a racing capacity. He served as an adviser for Patrick Racing and worked as a mentor for his son, Alfred Unser, who is currently working his way through the lower ranks in open-wheel racing.

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.

Unser has acknowledged several personal problems including alcohol abuse he says was related to his ups and downs on the track. This was including an arrest for domestic violence. He claims that he has put his life back together and is living well today.

External links

• Unser Profile on Official A1 TEAM USA Site

Champ Car career results

Year	Team	Wins	Points	Championship Finish
1982	Forsythe Racing	0	30	21st
1983	Galles Racing	0	89 (new system)	7th
1984	Galles Racing	1	103	6th
1985	Shierson Racing	2	150	2nd
1986	Shierson Racing	1	137	4th
1987	Shierson Racing	0	107	3rd
1988	Galles Racing	4	149	2nd
1989	Galles Racing	1	136	5th
1990	Galles/Kraco Racing	6	210	1st
1991	Galles/Kraco Racing	2	197	3rd
1992	Galles/Kraco Racing	1	169	3rd
1993	Galles Racing	1	100	7th
1994	Penske Racing	8	225	1st
1995	Penske Racing	4	161	2nd
1996	Penske Racing	0	125	4th
1997	Penske Racing	0	67	13th
1998	Penske Racing	0	72	11th
1999	Penske Racing	0	26	21st

2 championships, 31 victories

Indy Racing League results

Year	Team	Wins	Points	Championship Finish
2000	Galles Racing	1	188	9th
2001	Galles Racing	1	287	7th
2002	Kelley Racing	0	311	7th
2003	Kelley Racing	1	374	6th
2004	Patrick Racing	0	44	24th

3 victories, best series finish: 6th

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Note
1983	Eagle	Cosworth	5th	10th	Out of Fuel
1984	March	Cosworth	15th	21st	Water Pump Broke
1985	Lola	Cosworth	11th	25th	Engine Failure
1986	Lola	Cosworth	9th	5th
1987	March	Cosworth	22nd	4th
1988	March	Chevrolet	5th	13th
1989	Lola	Chevrolet	8th	2nd	Crash
1990	Lola	Chevrolet	7th	4th
1991	Lola	Chevrolet	6th	4th
1992	Galmer	Chevrolet	12th	1st
1993	Lola	Chevrolet	5th	8th
1994	Penske	Ilmor-Mercedes	1st	1st
1995	Lola	Ilmor-Mercedes			Failed to Qualify
2000	G-Force	Oldsmobile	18th	29th	Radiator Damage
2001	G-Force	Oldsmobile	19th	30th	Crash
2002	Dallara	Chevrolet	12th	12th
2003	Dallara	Toyota	17th	9th
2004	Dallara	Chevrolet	17th	17th
2006	Dallara	Honda	27th	24th	Crash