Unser Jr. to retire? Update....It's official

Jerome

Looks like another great family name in racing will no longer be out there on track. That and one less American out there at the same time. [img]/images/graemlins/sad[/img]


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Announcement looms for two-time Indy 500 winner

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Wednesday news conference was scheduled at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway amid speculation that two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. would retire from racing.


Unser, who won CART championships in 1990 and 1994, was not immediately available for comment, but his father, Al Unser Sr., said Tuesday they had discussed on Monday night whether the younger Unser might retire.


A spokesman for the younger Unser's team, Patrick Racing, declined to comment. Officials from other IRL teams said Unser was expected to announce his retirement.


"I know he was unhappy with the race car when I talked to him Monday night," Unser Sr. told The Associated Press. "I'm just not sure what he is going to do."


The 42-year-old Unser, from Albuquerque, N.M., has finished 17th, 11th and 22nd in his three starts for Patrick Racing, which he joined after missing the first three races of this year's IRL season.


He struggled to find a ride after breaking his pelvis last October when he was thrown from an all-terrain vehicle. Unser then spent months rehabilitating

Boiler

IMO he should have been out a long time ago. I know his family is one of the most famous racing families in history but you cant run on a "name" and be competitive. Although it was great to see him win a race last year.

GTS Dean

I had forgotten that he suffered an off-season injury. He broke his pelvis on an ATV. It probably had something to do with his lack of performance. I'd like to see Buddy Lazier pick up his seat if Patrick makes it available.

Fast Freddy

i went to the indy 500 in 1994 and watched him win it. he was one of my fav's

Jerome

He is not in the best of equipment and still tries his best. He is, even at his age, a better driver than 50% of the field out there.

I know I will miss seeing an Unser out there.

Now if AJ could only calm down his "boys". [img]/images/graemlins/laughing.gif[/img]

Chuck 98 RT10

Wow what fate! Al Jr. retiring and I'm looking for a job. And I'm only a year older than him.

Anybody got the number to Patrick Racing?

Chuck 98 RT10

My best memory about Al Jr. was when Emo Fittipaldi put him into the wall with just a couple laps to go at Indy one year. Al clearly had the faster car and was going for the lead when Emo went below the line and drifted up touching Al and spinning him into the wall. In the interview afterwards Al was a class act all the way not blaming Emo for anything.

A year later at The Meadowlands the same thing happened only this time it was Al on the inside and Emo into the wall. Emo bitched and bitched and bitched. I never really liked Emo much after that.

Little Al has had his personal problems but he has always been a class act publicly.

Jerome

Chuck send resume here-

PATRICK RACING
8431 GEORGETOWN ROAD
INDIANAPOLIS
INDIANA
46268
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Sorry, no phone number

viper spray

What is that thing on his face? :lol

Jerome

Jeff Simmons to replace Little Al.

Jerome

INDIANAPOLIS -- Two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. retired Wednesday because he was no longer having fun as a driver.



Unser also won two CART championships, but struggled in recent years and had little success since joining the IRL series in 2000.



"I have always said that I would get out of the race car if driving stopped being fun for me and if I felt that I was no longer competitive on the track,'' Unser said. "After careful thought, I came to this conclusion just after the Richmond race and knew that it was time for me to retire.''



Unser said he would stay with Patrick Racing as an adviser. The team said it would select a replacement driver later.



He worked for several months to find a ride for this season after breaking his pelvis last October when he was thrown from an all-terrain vehicle in New Mexico. After months of rehabilitation, Unser signed with Patrick Racing in March but missed the first three races of the IRL season.



Unser had three IRL starts this year, never finishing in the top 10. His final race was last Saturday at Richmond, where he ended up 22nd.



Unser won the closest Indy 500, defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds in 1992. His other Indy victory came in 1994 when he won from the pole and beat Jacques Villeneuve by 8.6 seconds.



The 42-year-old from Albuquerque, N.M., was the second-generation star from one of auto racing's most famous families: he is the son of four-time Indy winner Al Unser Sr. and nephew of three-time winner Bobby Unser. Al Unser Jr. has lived in Florida for the past several years.



"Very few race drivers will ever accomplish as much on the race track as Al has during his career,'' Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George said. "As a competitor he has upheld the Unser tradition and added balance to their legacy during the last 20-plus years.''



Unser missed two races during the 2002 season while staying at a treatment center for alcohol abuse following his arrest in Indianapolis after his girlfriend said he hit her in the face while drunk. Prosecutors didn't file charges against him.



With Unser's retirement, the IRL has lost two of its best-known drivers since May 2003. Michael Andretti retired at age 40 after last year's Indianapolis 500 to focus his attention on ownership in the Andretti-Green team.



"I've always had a ton of respect for him. He's a great guy,'' Michael Andretti said in a written statement. "I'm proud to have raced against him for as many years as I did. He's had an unbelievable career and I hope he enjoys looking back at all his accomplishments.''


Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway and the pre-eminent promoter of open-wheel racing events in the United States, said in a statement that Unser Jr. transcended the sport.


"Al Unser Jr., is to be congratulated on a career that spanned 20 years at the highest level of racing in the United States," Gossage said. "Athletes like Muhammed Ali and Nolan Ryan come to mind as comparable sports legends that continued to excel over long periods of time. Millions of people around the world have been thrilled by Al's talent as he carried on his family's legendary ways, highlighted by his two Indy 500 victories.


"It was my honor to present Al with what turned out to be the final Indy Car trophy of his career just a little more than a year ago in the 2003 Bombardier 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. He has won his battles -- on an off the track -- and remains a champion in so many ways. There will always be only one 'Little Al.'"

JT

I had heard that he may be focusing now on helping HIS son's racing career. Maybe there will continue to be Unser's racing at Indy.....

GTS Dean

Simmons won the Infinity Pro race at Indy, then qualified an IndyCar on the next day. He ran very well in the 500. Probably a good move for Patrick Racing.

Jerome

Janni is onto it I see.


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Alfred Unser, 21, has clear goals

Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Alfred Richard Unser knows the size of the shoes he's trying to fill, but the oldest son of Al Unser Jr. is eager to keep the family's illustrious racing tradition going.



Al Unser Jr., a two-time winner of the Indy 500 and part of the Albuquerque family that has nine victories at the famous oval, announced his retirement Wednesday.



Unser said he no longer was having fun in racing, but also wants to devote more time to his son's budding career. The younger Unser will make his pro racing debut Saturday in a 100-mile race in Kansas -- part of the IRL's Infinity Pro Series.



Alfred Unser, 21, knows what's ultimately expected of him.



"Definitely, I have a goal of being at the Indy 500,'' he said. "It's in my genes, it runs in my veins.''



He's not only Al Unser Jr.'s son, but also the grandson of four-time Indy winner Al Unser Sr., and the great-nephew of three-time Indy champion Bobby Unser.



After listening to his dad announce his retirement on a nationwide teleconference call, Alfred shared what it's like to be a member of one of racing's most famous families.



"He (Al Unser Jr.) was talking about following in his dad's footsteps but I've got more pressure cause I've got my dad's footsteps and my grandpa's. So my shoes are really big to fill,'' he said.



Al Unser Jr. got his first taste of racing when his dad put him in a go-cart at the age of nine. Al Unser Jr. did the same with Alfred when he was 10, but it took Alfred some time to embrace the sport.



"He really didn't seem to enjoy it,'' said dad. "He got into racing around the time he was 16 and got a car.''



"At the time I didn't know how to handle the pressure that was given to me,'' said Alfred. "I didn't know how to take it and turn it into performance on the racetrack.''



Al Unser Jr. said Wednesday his retirement will open a new chapter in his life, one that will also include more time with his three other children -- Joey 7, Shannon, 15, and Cody, 17.



"I'm happy for Al,'' said his ex-wife Shelley. "I think this is a great opportunity for him to be more a part of his children's lives. He certainly has missed out on an awful lot of what they've got going on.''



Cody Unser, who suffers from the rare spinal cord disease transverse myelitis and is paralyzed from the chest down, applauded her dad's decision to quit racing.



"As a little girl, watching him race was very exciting,'' she said. "I'm surprised that he held out this long. There were times I didn't know how he handled not winning a race.''



Losing has always been a tough option for the Unsers.



Shelley Unser's most enduring memory of her former husband's career is his first Indy win in 1992, when he beat Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish ever in the race. In 1989, Unser came up just short of victory lane when his car and Emerson Fittipaldi's touched on lap 199 and Unser's car hit the wall.



"I'll never forget it,'' Shelley said Wednesday. "After trying so hard and losing with the Emerson crash, I kept saying, 'Dear God, please don't let him finish second.' "It's extremely difficult being in the Unser family if you haven't won an Indy 500.''

Denny Wagner

Richard Simmons to replace Jerome!!

Jerome

Hey ya fucker! [img]/images/graemlins/laughing.gif[/img]