Alfred Richard Unser
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1982-10-23) October 23, 1982
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Related toAl Unser Jr. (father)
Al Unser Sr. (grandfather)
Bobby Unser (great-uncle)
Jerry Unser Jr. (great-uncle)
Robby Unser (first cousin once removed)
Louis Unser (great-grandfather)
Indy Lights career
Debut season2004
Former teamsVision Racing
Brian Stewart Racing
Playa Del Racing
American Dream Motorsports
Starts20
Wins0
Poles1
Best finish8th in 2004
Previous series
2004–2006Atlantic Championship

Alfred Richard Unser[1][2] (born October 23, 1982) is an American former professional race car driver. Unser has competed in the Indy Lights series and Toyota Atlantics Championship. He is part of the fourth generation of the Unser family.

Al Richard Unser is the son of Al Unser Jr., and grandson of Al Unser Sr. Due to his family connections in auto racing, he has sometimes been known as "Al Unser III" or "Just Al." He is currently a Realtor in Albuquerque at Coldwell Banker Legacy.

Family connections

Al Richard Unser is the son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr., grandson of four-time Indy winner Al Unser Sr., and grandnephew of three-time Indy winner Bobby Unser. Another granduncle, Jerry Unser, drove in the 1958 race but died from injuries suffered in a crash in 1959.

First-cousins-once-removed (Al Unser Jr.'s cousins) Robby and Johnny also drove in the Indianapolis 500. Often considered the third generation of the famous Unser racing family, Al Richard Unser is technically the fourth generation of racers to come out of the family. His great-grandfather Jerry Sr., and Jerry's brother Louis, also were racers, but neither drove in the Indianapolis 500.

During his young childhood years, he was often nicknamed "Mini Al" by the media and fans,[1][2] all with the expectation that he might follow in his family's footsteps to race professionally. However, as a child, Unser had reservations about becoming a race car driver.[3][4] For superstitious reasons, his father (Al Unser Jr.) insisted he not be named with the suffix "III".[1][2] By that time both Al Sr. and Al Jr. were stars on the Indy car circuit. Al Sr. was becoming known by the nickname "Big Al." Al Jr. for a time was known as "Little Al," thus Al Richard Unser became known for a time as "Mini Al."

As he got older and reached his teenage years, he decided to eschew the "Mini" nickname, and became known as "Just Al." When starting his professional career, he abandoned any sort of nickname, and has insisted on being referred to as Just Al (i.e., Al Unser), or by his full name, Al Richard Unser.

His first widely-noticed television appearance was at the 1992 Indianapolis 500 at age nine when his father won the race. Unser was seen greeting his father in victory circle. He also posed in official photos with his father and grandfather when Al Jr. won the Indy 500 for the second time in 1994. Unser guest-starred on an episode of Home Improvement alongside his father and grandfather in 1997.[5]

Career biography

Al driving an Infiniti Pro Series car at St. Petersburg in 2005.
Unser racing in the 2008 Firestone Freedom 100, his last Indy Lights race to date

Al Richard Unser began driving go karts at age ten, but stopped racing until after earning his driver's license at age sixteen. After attending driving schools, Unser competed in the Skip Barber Western Racing Series in 2002, winning six races and earning "Rookie of the Year" honors. A year later, he posted four top-ten finishes in the 2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series.

2004

In 2004, Unser made his Toyota Atlantics debut, running in four events. His best finish was an 8th place at Montreal. Unser also ran in eight races in the 2004 Infiniti Pro Series. He posted five third place finishes, and won the pole position at Michigan.

Around that same time, Unser's father, Al Unser Jr. temporarily retired from driving to help with his career.[4]

2005

Unser posted three top-ten finishes in the first four races of the Infinity Pro Series season, including a 4th place at the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis. He then returned to the Toyota Atlantics, finishing the season 7th in points. He ran ten of twelve events with a best finish of 4th.

At the Indy Lights races at St. Petersburg and Indianapolis Unser competed against fellow third-generation driver Marco Andretti of the famous rival Andretti family. It was the only two times that Al and Marco raced together.

2006

In 2006, Unser drove in two Atlantics series events, but lost his ride to funding issues with his team.

2007

Unser was signed to drive for Playa Del Racing in the Freedom 100 for 2007. He drove in three other oval races, posting three top-tens in the four events.

2008

For 2008, Unser was announced as the full-time driver in the #12 car for Playa Del Racing in Indy Lights. After five races, controlling interest in the team was sold to former Las Vegas restaurateur Eric Zimmerman, who renamed it American Dream Motorsports. After finishing 11th position at Indianapolis, Unser was reportedly released by the new owner and replaced by Tony Turco, who brought sponsorship to the program. The team posted an entry for the Milwaukee 100 on May 31, but the car never took to the track.

Unser's father (Al Jr.) drove during several seasons for Galles Racing, and Al Richard once worked for Rick Galles' Chevrolet dealership.

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Barber Dodge Pro Series

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points
2003 STP
11
MTY
18
MIL
14
LAG
6
POR
8
CLE
17
TOR
14
VAN
10
MDO
12
MTL
15
13th 38

Indy Lights

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rank Points
2004 Keith Duesenberg Racing HMS PHX INDY KAN
3
NSH
5
MIL
3
MIS
3
KTY
11
PPIR
6
CHI
3
FON TXS
3
8th 252
2005 Brian Stewart Racing HMS
12
PHX
8
STP
4
INDY
4
TXS IMS NSH MIL KTY PPIR SNM CHI WGL FON 12th 106
2007 Playa Del Racing HMS STP1 STP2 INDY
8
MIL
7
IMS1 IMS2 IOW
7
WGL1 WGL2 NSH
13
MDO KTY SNM1 SNM2 CHI 26th 93
2008 Playa Del Racing HMS
13
STP1
12
STP2
6
KAN
10
INDY
11
MIL IOW WGL1 WGL2 NSH MDO1 MDO2 KTY SNM1 SNM2 CHI 25th 102

Atlantic Championship

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2004 P-1 Racing LBH
Ret
MTY MIL POR1 POR2 CLE TOR VAN 16th 42
Brooks Associates Racing ROA
9
DEN
10
MTL
8
LS
2005 Brooks Associates Racing LBH MTY POR1
7
POR2
6
CLE1
4
CLE2
Ret
TOR
4
EDM
6
SJO
6
DEN
7
ROA
4
MTL
5
7th 198
2006 Mi-Jack Conquest Racing LBH
19
HOU
Ret
MTY
Wth
POR CLE1 CLE2 TOR EDM SJO DEN MTL ROA 42nd 2

References

  1. 1 2 3 Britton, Bonnie (May 29, 1983). "Of 3 Unsers named Al, only one isn't in '500' (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 92. Retrieved February 2, 2017 via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. 1 2 3 Britton, Bonnie (May 29, 1983). "Of 3 Unsers named Al, only one isn't in '500' (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 96. Retrieved February 2, 2017 via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. "The Unser Family". Unser Racing Museum. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Alfred Unser, 21, has clear goals". ESPN.com. June 30, 2004. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  5. "Al Unser(s) To Guest Star On Television". ChampCar.com. March 10, 1997. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
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