'Uncle Bobby' Enjoys Surprise Indy 'Roasting' from Friends, Teammates
May 24, 2018 | By Bruce Martin, INDYCAR
Three-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver Bobby Unser thought he was having dinner with friends at the Iron Skillet, a fried chicken restaurant located a few miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But instead of feasting on huge helpings of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, biscuits and apple butter, Unser ended up being the main course.
A surprise Bobby Unser “roast” was held Wednesday night at the Stutz Building in downtown Indianapolis, and by the time this roast was over, Unser was “extra crispy.”
More than 150 of his racing friends turned out to surprise Unser, 84, on the 50th anniversary of his 1968 Indianapolis 500 win. The event was organized by longtime Indianapolis journalist and media personality Robin Miller of NBCSN and BorgWarner’s Steve Shunck.
Thanks to the generosity of several benefactors, the event was held at the lavish Stutz Building on the near Northside of Indianapolis.
When Unser arrived, he thought they were stopping by a charity event for a few minutes and had no idea until he was seated on the front stage that he was being honored.
“All of this is for me?” Unser asked with a surprised look.
What followed was a long laundry list of Unser’s past deeds that he had to be held accountable for, all that have added to the legend that is “Uncle Bobby.”
The first group of roasters included Unser’s former team owner Roger Penske, former teammate and four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears, former competitor and rival Johnny Rutherford and 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones.
After a brief intermission, the heat was turned up on Unser by his family, including nephews and former drivers Al Unser Jr. and Johnny Unser.
There were many candid, off-the-cuff remarks that proved highly entertaining and better kept private, but it was all part of the lore that has made Unser one of the most colorful characters in auto racing history.
“Rick Mears asked me the other days, ‘What are the boundaries?’” Miller said. “I told Rick: ‘There are no boundaries. Let it fly.’”
There were many tales that left Unser red-faced, either from laughter or embarrassment – or a little of both.
But there also were stories about how Unser helped drivers and teammates, even when he didn’t necessarily try to help them.
“Bobby was a great teammate because he didn’t want to tell me anything, and I didn’t want to ask him anything,” four-time winner Rick Mears said. “I had an ego, too. He was really a big help as long as I was in a 4-year-old car.
“When we were teammates and I was just getting started, Bobby would never share much information about the race car, but he really told me more than he realized. I learned more from Bobby Unser, but he doesn’t know how much he taught me.”
Al Unser Jr., a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, recalled what it was like growing up as Bobby Unser’s nephew. Bobby and his brother, four-time Indy 500 winner Al, lived across the street from each other in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“I came home from school one day, and my dad was livid,” Unser said. “I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘I was over at your uncle’s. I’ve been waiting for two weeks for a set of tires that I ordered for my truck. I walked over there for another reason, and there they are sitting in his garage.’
“The UPS truck came to deliver them to my Dad and because my Dad wasn’t home, they automatically went over to Uncle Bobby’s to drop them off at Uncle Bobby’s, and when they get dropped off at Uncle Bobby’s, they stay at Uncle Bobby’s.
“My dad was saying, ‘That’s the last time,’ going on and on.”
“Uncle Bobby” took the tales in stride despite getting roasted.
“Thank you for coming to this,” Unser said. “This really, really means a lot to me.
“What a night. I can’t really believe this. This is a deal I never expected in my life. It was the nicest, nicest evening I ever remember.”
Photo credit: Mike Levitt, LAT