Unser Jr., Still Racy at 54, Grateful for Return to ‘Hallowed Ground’
June 23, 2016 | By Phillip B. Wilson
There was a time when off-track issues kept Al Unser Jr. away from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, “Little Al” grew up in a racing family with a unique understanding of what it means to race at IMS. His father of the same name won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” four times and his uncle Bobby celebrated three times.
Al Unser Jr. couldn’t have been more grateful for an opportunity to come back and race on “hallowed ground.” Sportscar Vintage Racing Association owner Tony Parella invited Unser to participate in the inaugural Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational in 2014. Unser was part of the winning team in the first Indy Legends Charity Vintage Pro-Am race.
Unser, 54, returned for a third consecutive year last weekend. He spoke with the same passion for his favorite place — few drivers put it into words the way Unser does.
“Anytime that you come here and you drive any kind of race car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, doesn't matter what time of year it is, you could be out here when nobody's out here, when it's just a test, and it's a thrill,” Unser said Friday, a day before he finished third in the Pro-Am. “It’s exciting.
“So that's what this place means to me, it's hallowed ground. No matter when you're here — it could be full of snow and you could be on a snowmobile — and it would be a great, great ride.”
After the news conference, Unser talked about what it meant for Parella to extend the invite three years ago.
“I enjoy coming to Indy and racing, no matter what,” Unser said. “For Tony Parella at SVRA to invite me to run here the first year, from where I had been in my life with my divorces and all of the outside issues I’ve had outside the racetrack, for Tony to give me a call and invite me was super. It was fantastic. I couldn’t thank him enough. And then we came here and won the inaugural (Pro-Am) race.
“For the Speedway to allow SVRA, any other kind of racing other than the Indy 500 or the Brickyard 400, was a huge step. It was a huge step for the Speedway, a huge step for Tony Parella and SVRA, and it was success. All of a sudden, I think the folks at the Speedway went, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of people who love vintage racing and they love the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.’ They put ‘em together and it was a huge success.”
Unser won the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994. His affinity for racing at the track began long before ever taking his first lap around the 2.5-mile track.
“To me, I dreamed about running in the Indy 500 as a kid, watching uncle Bobby and dad,” he said. “To accomplish that dream in 1983 during rookie orientation, just to pull out of the pits in an Indy car onto the racetrack, was a total dream come true. Then to qualify and race in it, and it took me a while to win it, Emerson Fittipaldi in ’89, that was a crusher.”
Unser was in a duel for the lead with Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989 when the wheels of their cars touched in Turn 3. Unser spun out and crashed into the wall. Fitttipaldi won the race.
When Unser finally won the race in 1992, he was overcome with emotion and uttered the memorable words, “You just don’t know what Indy means.”
He still knows.
“It made my family’s career, not just mine,” Unser said. “I think (four-time Indy 500 winner) A.J. Foyt said it the best. The Speedway made him. He didn’t make the Speedway. Now, I’ve heard my uncle Bobby say those words, but the first time was A.J. Foyt, and it’s the truth.”
During the Pro-Am Friday promotion, two-time Indy 500 runner-up Roberto Guerrero spoke of how he had experienced so much at the Speedway. That resonated with Unser, who was sitting just a few chairs away.
“Roberto talked about how he’s had the highs and the lows,” Unser said. “He was here tire testing (in 1987) and it put him into a hospital for three months.
“I came back here as a defending champion and missed the show. That’s a low. (Laughs.) That’s huge.”
Unser elaborated.
“It’s harder to qualify on the last row than the front row, and ’95 proved that to me, for sure,” he said. “We were on the front row in ’94 and then missed the show in ’95. That’s the kind of adversity this place puts on every individual who comes here, as a crewman, a car owner, a sponsor, all of that kind of stuff. In ’82 when Kevin Cogan took out Mario Andretti and A.J. (at the start), I remember Mario saying, ‘This place either makes or breaks your career.’ It can do either one. It for sure can. You have to respect it.
“God’s eyes are on you at Indy.”