Background and career
Alfred Unser Jr. (born April 19, 1962) – nicknamed "Little Al" to distinguish him from his father, Al Unser – is an American former racing driver. Known primarily for his Championship Car career, Unser won two CART championships, and is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. Early in his career, Unser found success in the Can-Am series, winning the championship in 1982. He joined his great uncle, uncle, and father, as a winner of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, doing so in 1983. He is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. He has the most Long Beach Grand Prix victories in history, winning six times.
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. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times.
By the age of eleven, Unser 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. 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 ninth. Hours after the race ended, Unser Jr. was issued a two-lap penalty by chief steward Thomas W. Binford for passing two cars under caution with less than forty laps to go as well as blocking the eventual winner, Tom Sneva, from passing his father with less than twenty laps to go. The penalty dropped him from an original finish of ninth to tenth. Despite being lauded for his performance as a rookie, Unser Jr. 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, becoming the final Indycar driver to win an IROC championship. Unser won the 24 Hours of Daytona, also at age 24, in both 1986 and 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; unfortunately, while battling with Emerson Fittipaldi for the lead, the two touched wheels and Unser spun, hitting the wall and ending his chances of winning the race. This Indianapolis 500 race is remembered for a show of sportsmanship, as Little Al climbed out of his wrecked racecar and gave Fittipaldi the "thumbs up" as he drove by Unser under the yellow flag. Unser would eventually have his day at Indy in 1992, as he went on to defeat Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds, a record that stood for 34 years the second 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 leaders all day, until a late 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 Formula One series.
In 1994, Unser again won at Indy, this time with Penske Racing. His teammates were Emerson Fittipaldi, the man whom he battled only five years earlier, and Paul Tracy. Unser turned in a dominant season-long performance, winning eight of sixteen races on his way to his second CART championship, as well as being named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 1995, Unser, along with teammate Emerson Fittipaldi, failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Unser would later point to this incident 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 still having a chance of winning the championship late in the season. Unser ranked 13th in 1997, 11th in 1998 and 21st in 1999. He was not helped by the fact that he had to sit out two races after breaking his leg in a first-lap accident in the season-opener at Miami. 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. Team Penske began abandoning the much maligned in-house Penske chassis for Lola chassis in 1999. By the end of 1999, Unser and Penske parted ways. 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 seventeen 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 winner 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)
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 announced his retirement from racing on June 30, 2004. Unser continued to remain involved in racing, although 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.
