Frank Thomas

Unser Notable Sports Figures
Awards and Accomplishments
1950-51 Southwest Modified Stock Car Championship
1956, Pike’s Peak Hill Climb Winner
1958-63,
1965-66,
1968-69,
1974, 1986
1968, 1975 Indianapolis 500 winner
1969, 1974 United States Auto Club National Champion
1974 Martini and Rossi Driver of the Year
1974, 1976, California 500 Champion
1979-81
1975 International Race of Champions title
1979 Six Championship Auto Racing Teams wins
1980 Pocono 500 Champion
1990 Inducted into Auto Racing Hall of Fame
1993 Fastmasters Champion
1994 Inducted into International Motorsports Hall of Fame
2000 Inducted into Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame
“Unser’s Peak” came ten years later when he tied his
uncle’s record of nine wins. “The Unser brothers raced at
Pike’s Peak to beat each other and most of all to beat
Uncle Louis,” Unser told Karen Bentley in The Unsers.
Unser’s professional racing career took off in 1963
when he raced in his first Indianapolis 500. He crashed
early and placed thirty-third. His first Indy-car win came
in 1967 at Mosport, Ontario. A year later he not only
won his first Indianapolis 500, but also set the record as
the first driver to race over 170 miles per hour at Indianapolis.
In 1969 Unser won his first USAC National
Driving Championship.
Bobby Unser earned a reputation as a driver who not
only liked to drive fast, but who also pushed himself and
his cars to the limit. On the contrary, younger brother Al
Unser was a much more patient driver with a more laidback
personality than Bobby. Al Unser kept the competition
tight within the family. Two years after Bobby’s
first Indianapolis 500 win, Al won the prestigious race
and followed up with a second consecutive win in 1971.
“It would get tense between me and Al about who would
win,” Bobby Unser told Karen Bentley, “but it never
stayed. We were able to separate business and family —
we never really got in a fight.”
However, Bobby Unser was not going to let his little
brother have all of the glory. In 1972 Unser set another
Indianapolis 500 record for the fastest qualifying time at
195.94 miles per hour. In 1974 he won his second
USAC National Driving Championship and a year later
he won his second Indianapolis 500. In the late 1970s
Unser also won several races for Championship Auto
Racing Teams (CART). In 1980 he became the first driver
to win the California 500 four times.
Indy Controversy Led to Retirement
Unser’s biggest and most controversial win came at
the 1981 Indianapolis 500. Unser had started the race in
1670
the pole position. Three and a half hours later he won
the race, beating Mario Andretti by only 5.3 seconds. This
was Unser’s third Indianapolis 500 win and at the age of
47 he was the oldest driver to win the race. However,
when the race was over, Andretti complained that Unser
had passed illegally during the race. On lap 149 Unser
was coming out of the pits during a yellow flag and had
passed seven cars, even though passing is not allowed
during a yellow flag. Upon reviewing the videotapes,
race officials decided that Unser should be penalized
one lap for this infraction, which meant that Andretti
was the new winner of the race. This was the first time
in Indy history that a winner had been stripped of a victory.
Unser and car owner Roger Penske were furious and
they filed protests. “We weren’t cheating,” Sports Illustrated
quoted Unser from a press conference following
the incident, “We had the fast car, no matter what the decision.”
Eventually a USAC appeals panel overruled the
decision. Unser was reinstated as the 1981 champion,
but he was fined $40,000 for the passing infraction. Despite
the victory, Unser was bitter about the whole experience
and no longer desired to race Indy cars.
In 1982 Unser decided to retire from Indy racing.
“For the first time I realized that I had been thinking
only of Bobby Unser, and perhaps it was time to think
about my family,” the New York Times quoted Unser. By
this time Unser had been married three times. He had
two children, Bobby Jr. and Cindy, with his first wife
Barbara Schumaker. He also had two children, Robby
and Jeri, with his second wife Norma Davis.
Being a professional racecar driver meant that Unser
was not home most of the time. “Successful as my racing
has been, my family life, in a lot of ways, has been a
failure,” wrote Unser in The Bobby Unser Story. “You’re
not successful unless you spend part of every day with
your kids.” By the time Unser decided to retire, his son
Bobby, Jr. and his nephew Al, Jr. had already begun their
racing careers and his younger son Robby was also
showing an interest in the sport. Unser wanted to be
available to help the next generation of Unser drivers.
More Controversy Off the Tracks
Although Unser retired from Indy cars, he did not
stop racing altogether. In 1983 Unser was the owner and
manager of the car that won Pike’s Peak, driven by his
nephew, Al, Jr. Three years later Unser himself won the
race, setting a record 13 wins at “Unser Peak.” In 1991
Unser participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona Race
with his brother Al, his nephew Al Jr., and his son
Robby. In 1993 he set a new land speed record of
223.709 miles per hour racing a gas-modified roadster.
The same year he also won the Fastmasters Championship
for drivers over 50 years old.
Unser also did not leave the public spotlight when he
retired. In 1987 he began working as a commentator for
ABC Sports Television. Unser’s commentary was very