Bobby
Unser

Bobby Unser was born on 20 February 1934 in Colorado Springs. When he was one year old the family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Unser started racing in 1949 and won a Southwest Modified Stock Car championship in 1950. In 1955 he and his brothers Jerry and Al decided to pursue careers in the USAC series. That year he made his debut at the Pikes Peak hill climb, finishing fifth. In 1956 he won the title there for the first time. He won six years in a row from 1958 to 1963. In 1986, after a 12-year absence, he returned in an Audi Quattro and claimed a tenth overall victory, more than any other driver. Including class wins, he reached 13 successes.

Unser made his IndyCar debut in 1962 and first started the Indianapolis 500 in 1963. His first IndyCar win came at Mosport in 1967. In 1968 he won the Indianapolis 500 and his first USAC national championship. From 1972 he drove for Dan Gurney's All American Racers team and set a qualifying record at Indianapolis of 195.940 mph. He won a second USAC title in 1974 and a second Indianapolis 500 in 1975. From 1979 to 1981 he raced in the CART series for Team Penske, finishing runner-up in the 1980 championship behind Johnny Rutherford.

In the Formula One World Championship, Unser appeared only in 1968. He was entered for two Grands Prix with BRM and started one of them.

He won the Indianapolis 500 for a third time in 1981 after taking pole position. The morning after the race the victory was taken away and given to Mario Andretti. In October 1981 Unser was awarded the win again following an appeal, and a $40,000 fine was imposed. His career ended in 1981. For 20 years he worked as a television commentator for NBC, ABC and ESPN. Among other honours, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994. He died on 2 May 2021, aged 87, in Albuquerque.

Source: Wikipedia, “Bobby Unser”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.