THE UNSER FAMILY HERITAGE

Jerry Unser | Bobby Unser | Al Unser Sr.

Jerry Sr. (1899-1967)
Jerry Sr., born Jerome Henry Unser in 1899, was the second son born to Louis and Marie Unser. Jerry and his brothers were the first to ascend Pike's Peak in a motorcycle and sidecar in September of 1915, the year before an actual road had been built. Once the Pike's Peak road was built they were regular competitors in the annual race.

After serving in the Navy during WWI, Jerry lived a short time in California. There he served with the Castro Valley volunteer fire department. *He salvaged a 1917 Winston Touring Car from a ditch and converted it into Castro Valley’s first fire truck. In 1931 Jerry returned to Colorado Springs where he met and married Mary Craven, an accomplished pianist, and started his family. First came twins Jerry Jr. and Louis, followed by Bobby. In 1936 Jerry moved his family to Albuquerque where he opened a small garage. Within a few years he had relocated his garage, adding a filling station, to the western end of Central Avenue. Son Alfred (Al) was born in 1939. By this time Jerry had earned a reputation for being able to “fix things nobody else could.”

Jerry’s sons learned to drive a Model A Ford he’d acquired, on the burro trails on the outskirts of Albuquerque. Before long they had progressed to driving in races. Jerry taught each of his sons to stick with their endeavors, no matter how difficult, and to do their best at everything they tried. The boys competed in and won at many short tracks in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado and in 1955 they competed in their biggest race yet, Pike’s Peak.

Jerry Unser died in 1967 and his wife, Mary, continued to be their sons’ biggest fan until her passing in 1975.

Bobby (1934- )
The third son of Jerry and Mary Unser, born in 1934, Bobby (Robert William) Unser began his racing career driving his father’s cars in the annual Mexican road race at age 15 and by the time he was 18 he was winning races and championships. His goal in his early days of racing was to win at Pike’s Peak. He accomplished this at the young age of 22 in 1956.

Bobby then pursued a wider range of racing and became known as an outstanding Sprint car driver. He learned to fly airplanes in order to get to distant races quickly. Bobby made his first trip to Indy in 1963, and had his first win there in 1968. He went on to win the Indy 500 in ’75 and ’81 as well. He was a 2-time USAC-CART national champion (1968, 1974) and ranks 5th on all-time CART list with 35 career wins. Bobby is the father of two sons, Bobby Jr. and Robby, and two daughters, Cindy and Jeri.

After retiring from Indycar driving in 1982, Bobby did developmental work for Audi, lapping one at 206.8 MPH. And in 1986, after a 12 year absence from the Pike’s Peak race, he won his event for the tenth time driving an Audi Quattro, breaking the tie he had with Uncle Louis for nine overall victories apiece. The 1986 win brought Bobby’s total number of Pike’s Peak victories to 13, including two stock car class victories (1969 and 1974) and a single sports car class win (1963).

Bobby has continued to pursue his interests with energy and passion. He has been a commentator for ABC television at many Indycar races and in 2003 he published a book, ““Winners are Driven: A Champion’s Guide to Success in Business and Life”.

Al Sr. (1939- )
Al (Alfred) Unser was born in 1939, the youngest son of Jerry Sr. and Mary Unser. As a teen, Al played football, but racing quickly became his first love. In 1957 he won his first race in a modified stock car built by his father and brother Bobby. This was just the beginning of an amazing career.

His first big wins were at Pike’s Peak in 1964 and ’65. Also in 1965 Al went to his first Indianapolis “500” where he finished ninth in A.J. Foyt’s backup car. Al’s car had blown its engine during qualifying and Foyt generously offered a ride to the dejected young rookie. Greater things were still to come….

Al was only the fourth driver ever to achieve back to back wins of the Indy “500”—in 1970 and ’71—a feat not repeated since! In 1978 Al became the first and only driver to win the Triple Crown of 500-milers –Indianapolis, Pocono, and Ontario—in a single year. In 1985 he won his third national championship after taking over the injured Rick Mears’ car and beating his son, Al Jr., by one point.

Indianapolis “500” race day in 1987 was a surprise to everyone, including Al himself. Five days before his 48th birthday Al won his fourth Indy “500” driving a backup car owned by Roger Penske, who had asked Al to step in for the injured Danny Ongais in early May. Al had traveled to Indianapolis that year not sure if he would even drive in the race.

“Big Al” retired from racing in 1994 with eight 500-mile victories, 39 career wins, and he is ranked third on the all-time Indy Car victory list. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1998. Since retirement he has served as a driver coach and consultant for the Indy Racing League.