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IRL: 'Big Al' thrilled about Unser reunion this weekend in Orlando

25 January 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Text provided by IMS

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Al Unser Sr. and Al Unser Jr. this week will be reunited once again in auto racing.

But if anyone thinks Unser Sr. believes his son is going to come in and wipe out the opposition in Saturdays Indy Racing League season opener -- the Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. - theyre completely wrong.

"Everybody thinks hes going to kick butt," Unser Sr. said. "Hes not going to do it. The IRL guys are not asleep. They run hard, and theyve got good teams.

"I told him last year to come over and watch these guys stand on the gas."

The senior Unser, one of three four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500, has been a driving coach and consultant for the Indy Racing League since it s inception in 1996. Al Jr., a two-time winner at Indy, continued driving for Roger Penske in CART over this same period until he and Penske parted company at the end of the 1999 season.

The younger Unser then got back together with his first Indy-car owner, fellow Albuquerque, N.M., resident Rick Galles. Unser Jr. won his first CART championship (1990) and Indy 500 (1992) driving for Galles. He will drive the Galles ECR Racing G Force/Aurora/Firestone machine in the race that kicks off the leagues fifth season.

Al Sr. isnt disparaging his sons considerable driving talents. He just knows how tough the Indy Racing League competition is and that it will take some time for Al Jr. to adapt.

"Hell have to sit back and study things," Unser Sr. said.

"Hes got to learn the drivers, learn the cars, learn the tracks. Its not an easy chore. He still has to sit down and face it as a new challenge. Its going to be an all-new project. Hell be starting over."

Despite his analytical observations about his sons move to the all-oval circuit, Al Sr. is extremely excited that his son has made the switch.

"That I am," he said. "Its good for me, its good for him, its good for the series. All the way around, its a good deal."

It was back in 1983 when Al Jr., then 21, joined his father, already a three-time winner, at Indy to become the first father-son combination to compete in the same race. It became an even greater story when the younger Unser raced between his father and Tom Sneva at 200 mph in an effort to help his father win for a fourth time. Eventually, Sneva got around both Unsers to score his only Indy victory, with Unser Sr. coming home second.

Al Unser Sr., now 60, retired in May 1994 during Indy 500 practice. He drove in 27 Indys, won the race in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987, and won 39 Indy-style races overall. He won championships in 1970, 1983 and 1985. The last crown came by a 151-150 count over his son when he made a late pass at Miamis Tamiami Park for fourth place to Al Jr.s third, earning just enough points to beat him.

Al Jr. displayed the same talent as his father. He won both the Indy 500 and the CART title in 1994. But at Indy in 1995, both he and teammate Emerson Fittipaldi failed to qualify, one of the most stunning happenings in race history. Unser Jr. scored his 31st career victory later that year at Vancouver, but hasnt won since. Last season he appeared in 17 of the 20 CART races and placed 21st in the standings.

Unser Sr. just chuckles at first when it is mentioned that some racing observers say his sons winning ways wont return.

"They said the same thing about me, and I came back and won the championship and the Speedway," he said.

Unser Sr. indicated that Penske Racing lacked a competitive package in the last few seasons, and that none of the other Penske drivers outran Unser Jr.

"I dont think he has lost anything," Unser Sr. said. "When people say he has lost it, they cant say that, because he didnt have a chance."

The elder Unser said he had years where he couldnt, as he put it, hit a bull in the hind end with a fiddle, particularly when he was driving the Alfa Romeo and Porsche cars.

Al Sr. said "in a way" he encouraged his son to switch circuits. But he didnt take Al Jr. aside and tell him to do this or do that.

"He knows the IRL is the way to go," Unser Sr. said. "Hes old enough to make his own decisions. He wants to go to Indy; he wants to win it again. Ninety-five percent of the CART guys havent been there. It still is the greatest race in the world."

At Walt Disney World, father and son wont park their motorhomes side by side as they did so many times in the past at Indy. Al Sr. is flying out instead of driving and will work with Brian Barnhart, director of racing operations, during the event. He wont nose around the Galles ECR team making a father pest of himself, either.

"I cant," he said. "I wont interfere with Al."

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